Buying Empire!

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 10:04 am

Shambala wrote:
Ugly Dougly wrote:Hey, what about that Empire? What not buy it up?
Thanks UD. And if we are going to have a REAL town, we will need a pharmacy and a pharmacist to dispense LEGAL drugs for a change.
Do we have anyone within our midsts that feels that can deal with various drugs and not abuse their power?

ANYONE?

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:33 pm

FIGJAM wrote:All I hear are crickets.

....and the kid that took out the Empire store yesterday, apparently learning how to drive. It's got a drive through now.

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:48 pm

LostinReno wrote:
FIGJAM wrote:All I hear are crickets.
....and the kid that took out the Empire store yesterday, apparently learning how to drive. It's got a drive through now. :?

SWEET! hes one step ahead of us

Post by **Sham** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 5:38 pm

Tell me a story. What happened to the Empire Store?

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 6:53 pm

Shambala wrote:Tell me a story. What happened to the Empire Store?

From what I've heard, a local kid was learning to drive and made a major wrong turn with the gas pedal. Went through the brick wall and made it all the way to the deli. As far as I know, no one was hurt. I'll see if I can figure out how to post the picture. Like Empire needs another blow.

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:04 pm

photo courtesy of Dave Cooper from the Gerlach FB page.

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:23 pm

LostinReno wrote:
photo courtesy of Dave Cooper from the Gerlach FB page.

I guess the kid took his parents seriously when they told him to go into the store and get some milk.

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:38 pm

omg hahahah I can just imagine the kid panicking and forgetting where the brake is and flooring it for a sec or two....

Deb Prothero · Post by **Deb Prothero** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:42 pm

wonder if he'll get his license?

pity the poor store owners - they've had lots of expenses

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:50 pm

lucky420 wrote:omg hahahah I can just imagine the kid panicking and forgetting where the brake is and flooring it for a sec or two....

I can't imagine his/her fear as the wall got closer and closer.

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:51 pm

How will they ever replace all the Burning Man stickers that were on the door?

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 9:07 pm

TomServo wrote:How will they ever replace all the Burning Man stickers that were on the door?

Holy crap! You're right Tom! All those memories gone!

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Wed Dec 22, 2010 9:41 pm

Deb Prothero wrote:wonder if he'll get his license?

pity the poor store owners - they've had lots of expenses

From what they said, they'll be ok, shook up, but ok (I'm assuming they're insured) they were more worried about the people in the car, they got some tickets. Poor kid's probably scarred for life! LOL.... Go learn to drive out on the playa....after it dries out

Bummer about all the stickers, maybe it held the window together??

Post by **Sham** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:09 am

Holy crap, what a mess. I think someone said that the store was going to have to close in January anyway. Now they hopefully get a big juicy insurance check as a lovely parting gift.

A good Public Adjuster can get them all the money they sunk into that place and let them come out of that ordeal with some of their savings back.

Post by **Sham** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:38 am

I'm not sure how to turn this photo. I took this picture back at the very end of September in 2008. As I was taking this, I could hear banging and smashing in the store. I assumed is was some construction going on at the time.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:45 am

I can't help but wonder how all of this is going to impact the event. Not really just the Empire situation, but in a more systemic sense. I wonder how many people just aren't going to be in a situation to go over the next few years. The event itself might reflect what is going on in the communities surrounding it.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:33 am

The insurance on the building is going to US Gypsom, as they own the premises. I hope that they had insured the contents of the store and get money back. The "fixtures" may be US Gypsum's as well. So, the owners wouldn't get money on the deli case or shelves.

Post by **Sham** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:06 pm

As I look at the before and after photos of the crash, it appears that "someone" removed all the Burning Man stickers from past years off the right door, as well as the blue Vintage Aluminum one that I put on that fateful day the store was ransacked. This accident may be the revenge of the burning gods.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:33 pm

Consider all the houses that will likely be unoccupied for a decade or more, it would seem like the perfect materials for one hell of a burn project. Imagine moving a couple of blocks of those houses to the playa and burning them ... along with the Empire store.

Call it Empyre

(would also be one hell of a cleanup project, maybe USG would help with that)

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:43 pm

Actually, make Empire (Empyre) the temple.

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 8:56 pm

That's why we need to rally together and buy Empire. We have all the people we need to make Empire a town again (see the first 7 pages) It's a shame to see it go.

So whaddaya say folks? Let's run it up the flagpole and see if it waves!! Do it for the gipper! A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. Let's shoot for the moon!! There's a glimmer of hope here! Many hands make work light!It's all for one and one for all! Ask not what Empire can do for you, ask what you can do for Empire!

Thank you and good night friends of Empire.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:12 pm

maryanimal wrote:That's why we need to rally together and buy Empire. We have all the people we need to make Empire a town again (see the first 7 pages) It's a shame to see it go.

So whaddaya say folks? Let's run it up the flagpole and see if it waves!! Do it for the gipper! A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. Let's shoot for the moon!! There's a glimmer of hope here! Many hands make work light!It's all for one and one for all! Ask not what Empire can do for you, ask what you can do for Empire!

Thank you and good night friends of Empire.

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:14 pm

ygmir wrote:
maryanimal wrote:That's why we need to rally together and buy Empire. We have all the people we need to make Empire a town again (see the first 7 pages) It's a shame to see it go.

So whaddaya say folks? Let's run it up the flagpole and see if it waves!! Do it for the gipper! A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. Let's shoot for the moon!! There's a glimmer of hope here! Many hands make work light!It's all for one and one for all! Ask not what Empire can do for you, ask what you can do for Empire!

Thank you and good night friends of Empire.

Atta boy Yggy!! That will be our town motto!!

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:15 pm

I wanna be an Ewok

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:17 pm

ygmir wrote:I wanna be an Ewok

*POOF* You're an Ewok!

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:20 pm

"It's a shame to see it go. "

One of the parts of growing up is learning that sometimes things happen that are just a damned shame and you need to toss them in the "damned shame" bucket and keep going as best as you can.

Learning to just let go and realizing there are things you have no control over is a major step. Better to honor the town, and its memory with a funeral pyre, in my opinion.

maryanimal · Post by **maryanimal** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 7:56 pm

geekster wrote:"It's a shame to see it go. "

One of the parts of growing up is learning that sometimes things happen that are just a damned shame and you need to toss them in the "damned shame" bucket and keep going as best as you can.

Learning to just let go and realizing there are things you have no control over is a major step. Better to honor the town, and its memory with a funeral pyre, in my opinion.

Aww thanks dad! I knew you'd explain it to me in a way that my small mind would unterstand! Your the best dad in the whole wide world! Can I have a pony?

Thecatman · Post by **Thecatman** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:18 pm

Deb Prothero wrote:pity the poor store owners - they've had lots of expenses

Hopefully the kids parents have insurance that'll cover it.

I never saw it in any of the newspapers: RGJ or Nevada Appeal.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:37 pm

Well, from reading the comments, it just seems to me that some people just can't seem to accept certain things and get on with life. Dwelling on Empire, getting mad, maybe even having a protest, isn't going to change anything and simply makes the pain worse for all involved.

And it wasn't so much meant specifically for you as for generally the readers of the thread.

Buying empire is out and out nonsense. If the place could support the town without USG, we wouldn't have to worry about buying it, that would take care of itself.

Now tell me, who the hell is going to actually live there unless they are either A: independently wealthy and don't need an income (and why would someone move there from Marin or Berkeley, where all the trust-fund kids live?) or B: no job and would simply go on government benefits anyway.

People in Category A aren't going to want to move there and people in Category B aren't going to be wanted by the county to move there to simply add to an already heavy burden.

Tell you what, go to Empire for the month of January. It isn't at all like it is in August.

Without USG, there is no employment. Who is going to want to move there? What will they do? Drive to Reno every day to work? Have you SEEN Nevada's unemployment rate?

Buy Empire? Better to burn it on the playa.

It is a company town and the company is dying. They have been going broke for years. There isn't anything evil or nefarious going on. This is what happens when you have an economy that depends on one single item and the demand for that item wanes. The day was bound to come at some point anyway. At some point the mine would give out and they would have to close down the town anyway.

It is a shame. But there isn't anything that I can think of to be done. There just isn't a viable economy in that location. There isn't enough water to really farm. That coal fired power plant would have probably been a good deal for them. As it stands now, they get 100% of nothing.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 8:45 pm

it's been my impression, this thread was "just for fun" and an exercise in dreaming.

well, at least that's how I take it.

now:
can I see your license?