It's chilly outside

I was walking to my car one morning this week, and a man in a gray-hooded sweatshirt yelled out "Hello!" as he power-walked toward me.

"Hi," I said, getting into the car.

What am I doing? I thought.

I'd never met this man before and, while I already hated him, he seemed like he was just that guy in every neighborhood who takes power walks weekday mornings and says "Hello" to everyone who lives near him.

He chuckled like I'd given the perfect response.

"So," he yelled over his shoulder. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Uh," I said, stopping in the middle of closing the door. "Fine."

"Yeah," he laughed. "Pretty chilly out this morning, huh?"

What? I thought. Why is he doing this?

I wanted to explain to him without talking that this could only go on for so long. I'm going to close this door, I thought at him, or you're going to get too far away to continue this conversation.

Also, I said to myself, what is either of us going to gain from this? It's dark outside, and I can't tell who he is and he can't tell who I am. I guess if he sees my car or I see a man in a gray-hooded sweatshirt yelling at people getting into their cars, we can both know that the shape we're looking at could contain the mind of a person who will exchange pleasantries with anyone at anytime for any reason whatsoever.

"Yeah," I yelled to him. "It is pretty chilly."

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Paula Scott is now in business at Healing Hands, 628 E. John St. She does therapeutic, relaxing and deep-tissue massages. Call 841-1711.

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The scores have been tallied for the best Bloody Mary contest the Feisty Goat held Oct. 28, the morning after Nevada Day. First place, Danielle Rosemore from Mo & Sluggo's; second place, Jack Perretti from Timber's; and third place, Dani Chandler, independent.

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Maurice Dussaq, president of FASTSIGNS in Carson City and Reno, contributed to "Buying a Franchise," a new book from the Better Business Bureau.

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Trisha Zinda is now in with Time for Livin', a personal assistant business, 312 W. Fourth St. Contact her at 671-4600 or timeforlivin@sbcglobal.net.

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Charter Communications has launched the Gospel Music Channel, what the company says is America's first channel dedicated to all styles of family-friendly Christian and gospel music. Call 1-888-Get-Charter.

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City National Bank announced that it has "forged a community partnership" with Austin's House in the Minden/Gardnerville area and gave the group a $1,000 donation to help care for homeless children throughout Douglas County.

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Local entrepreneur Colleen Bannister "has combined her greeting card company with her personal training business to create a product that she hopes will aid people in their quest for weight loss," according to a press release.

The ThinK sports bottle is a water bottle for working out, or just to keep in one's car. The bottle has the logo "ThinK" on the front - a combination of the words "think thin." Directly below the logo on the front of the bottle are the "ingredients": ideas, thoughts, and focused energy = goals. ThinK Bottles are sold at Eagle Fitness, a North Carson City gym out of which Bannister trains, and also online at www.35thoughts.com and www.6weekworkout.com.

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Lance Gilman has hired Tara Shultz to be his executive assistant for his various enterprises, which include the massive Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, the World Famous Mustang Ranch and the Wild Horse Spa Resort.

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Sierra Pacific Power said finding "a suitable location to establish a company or business in Northern Nevada just got a whole lot easier, thanks to Nevada Site Search (www.nevadasitesearch.com), an interactive geographic information system (GIS), hosted by Sierra Pacific Power Company's Economic Development Department (econdev.sierrapacific.com)."

• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevada appeal.com or 881-1212.