Dee Garrett caught me flipping two well-known Reno streets around - Humboldt and Holcomb.

Here's text of a poem I wrote many moons ago, text taken as it appeared in the 2005 "You're Doing WHAT to the Mapes?", still available in limited numbers $15 bucks w/postage, e-mail me for one* :

On the Loose With Realtor Suess

I once lamented in the column that the street name “Locke” (for long-time pharmacist Bill Locke) was ixnayed by the City of Reno in 1981 because it might sound like “Rock” to a speeding fire truck driver.  If that’s so, the capitalized street names that follow – all for real and all in Washoe County – should sent the local street-naming committees into overtime for the next few years:

We’ve a Quail and a Vale, a Dale and a Ruth; a Swaledale, a Gale, a Muth and a Booth;

Ralston and Purina, Sandra and an Arbor; a Marina and a Sandy and one called Harbor.

A Ron and a Dawn, a Von and a Velerie; a Fawn, a Jon, a Hahn and a Mallory;

Stine and Line, Rhein and Pine; Damon and Pythia, Forsythia and Vine.

Molly and Polly, Sally and Rilla, let’s not forget Jolly, Valley and Villa.

Suzy Lake and Sphynx, Suzanne and Sue; a street named Lynx and one named Larue.

We know Mall and Fall and Ball, y’all; and Tholl and Wall and (close) dePaul;      

(Who sang puff de dragon with dePeter and deMary).

And all of this starts to get scary, with Cherry and Lymbery, Geary and Gary.

We’ve a Haley and a Bailey, Robb and Clover;

To a fireman they might sound like Cobb or Plover.

Rye and Sky and Nye and Champion;

A Whistle and a Thistle, but what is a Rampion?

Bates and Gates, Kate, State and Leather; all seem to rhyme with Tate, Feather and Heather.

Dow Jones or Jones might mislead the man in the firetrucky,

But not half as much as Buck, Tuck or Lucky.

Caballo, Denio, Rio Tinto and Cello; Papoose and Caboose, Pinto and Mello.

Marne, Tarn and Barnes, Carlin and Hodge, they all sound a lot like Marvin and Lodge.

Prater and Slater, Pearl and Earl; Oh! How I wish we’d a street called Squirrel!

Brook Drive and Brooks Circle, and a third street called Brookie;

And if Brook rhymes with Nanook, then what rhymes with Brookie?

We have Lacy and Staci, Snow and Coe; Tracy and Casey, and old Latigo.

There’s a Little Ford and Ford, and indeed, a Taurus;

But Prior and Dyer don’t do that much for us.

A Duke and a Prince, a King and a Queen;

Daniel, Daniel Webster, plain old Webster and Lean.

Ben and Ben Franklin, Franklin and tough rhymin’;

Bank, Robert Banks, Roberts and Lyman.

Sandra and Dee, Bobby and Darin – this is the place to throw in McCarran.

            (Or the towel…?)

• • •

No one caught me; I had to go to Carson City for “Nye” when this ran [in 1997].  Have a

 good week and God bless America!

(*and thanks for the gratuitous plug)