The Return of Star Brooks

I wanted everyone to know what happened to Star Brooks because today I made the decision to kill her. You might be saying "what?" I know I am. I made the decision to change my name and use my pen name back in the mid - 80's. Times were simpler then, and according to California law then all I needed to do was change it on my driver's license and on my social security card, become an "aka" for a few years and then it would be legally changed or so I thought. My husband did the same and then we married. The "a.k.a." part finally went away. I did everything under the name "Star Brooks" and even worked and filed my taxes under the name. Until now. I am so depressed that I have to change my name to my birth name to be legal it sucks, but the driver's license expires on my birthday, which is the 23rd of February and I cannot drive, I have my original birth certificate and according to Nevada law I need that and my original social security card, and I can qualify for and get my Nevada i.d.. I was going to go to Truckee and get my license renewed in the name of Star but I no longer had a California address. I cannot drive, at least not a stick shift because I was fired from the job I loved in August and failed to find medical help which included taking blood pressure pills regularly and the state did not help me before I suffered a debilitating stroke. I was in the hospital for over 30 days and am still waiting on that help. I want to let everyone know that there is no system to fall on, and it seems particularly broken in Nevada. It has been a poor choice of where to live. Now I have little proof of anything I did during the nearly 30 years I did them and I cannot afford a legal name change. I am stuck with a name I am not familiar with and I absolutely hate it.

I have gone through a lot this past year, in the name of gambling and the life-style of a gambler. I have nibbled at the ankles of casino heads and corporations alike. I have seen it go from days of manual tracking to the pin point precision of the tracking player's club cards. I have gone from somebody who counts as someone to being virtually nobody at all. I should be used to it but I am not. I grew up believing in the American dream, and there isn't one. If there is, I don't know where or who had a monopoly on it, but I am sure it isn't in a Nevada casino unless you happen to win a life-changing amount. That surely ain't me!

I urge everyone looking at moving to Nevada to weigh the consequences thoroughly. It is a right to work state. Resources for the poor, the elderly, or the disabled do not exist. There are no bones to be thrown. It isn't the same in every state, I know now that leaving California was almost a fatal mistake. Others dreaming of moving to Nevada should think thrice about it. You can now gamble almost everywhere. I will still keep up with Nevada casinos, still think it is a great place to visit, but I certainly do not wish to live here. If I suddenly woke up with money to spare and good health I would take my money and my health and move. But if you are looking to visit, please check http://www.theRenoGambler.com for updates on what is happening at places like Circus Circus, the Eldorado, Boomtown, the Atlantis, and more. I'm still in touch with their PR people and will continue to pass that on. You can reach me by email at renogambler@hotmail.com.