The April Mutts Of The Month

I took the above photograph of the April Mutts of the Month tied up in front of the Whole Foods grocery store in lower downtown Denver (LoDo), just before the coronavirus ramped up and the governor issued a stay-at-home order for all of Colorado.  This particular Whole Foods has a cafe with craft beers and a Birdcall chicken restaurant, where I assume the owner of those two dogs was hanging out.  And I was quite happy that those two dogs were so willing to pose for me, unlike my sister's two dogs, Tutu and Blackberry, who never pose for photos.  Not that I am bitter about that lack of cooperation.  Not me.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

I have been doing a lot of walking in Denver's Washington Park lately, due to the coronovirus limiting travel, and I have made several observations.  First, the park is, of course,  much more crowded these days.  On weekdays, where just a month ago most of the people I saw on my walk were senior citizens and mothers with strollers, these days there are people of all ages getting exercise. And second, a large number of these individuals, especially millennials, are walking around by themselves in deep conversation, often emphasizing points with dramatic hand gestures, without any sign of a cell phone.  No doubt they are using Bluetooth technology to do this.  Years ago, we used to see people like this back in Chicago all the time, and made sure we avoided them, because it was obvious that they were not really talking to anyone.  These days, it turns out that we are still avoiding these walking talkers, just like in the old days, but for different reasons. Also, I have noticed a lot of people with cloth masks on their faces, looking like they have just robbed a convenience store.  We made sure we also avoided people like that back in Chicago, too.  As I said before, the more things change...

Road Warriors Beware - Do You Have A Spare?

Late one evening last week, I got a flat tire on my way home from Fort Collins to Denver.  It was the first flat I have had since I bought my Hyundai Accent 5 years ago, and I must say I was shocked when I opened the trunk to get the spare out and found out there was no spare. Evidently, certain car companies are cutting costs by eliminating this feature, and salespeople are not letting buyers know.  This led to an exciting evening for me, especially after I called AAA and was told, due to the coronavirus, I would not be able to ride with the tow truck driver, even though I was sitting out in the middle of nowhere.  A supervisor made an exception for me, thank goodness, and in the end I was able to ride along to the tire store in Firestone, Colorado, where I downloaded the Uber App and arranged for a ride home.  And I must say, I was impressed with that service. I was picked up within 5 minutes by someone also driving back to the Denver area from Fort Collins, and although it was pricey, I at least didn't have to sleep in the car all night.  And the moral of all this: check your trunk to see if there is actually a spare back there, and if not, get one.  Unless, of course, you like to take unexpected Uber rides.  And who doesn't?

Remembering My Grandmother Spillard

The photograph on the left is of my maternal grandmother, Louise Spillard, who was born back in 1888.  It was one of my mother Mary's favorite photos, showing my grandmother dressed like a Gibson Girl.  My great grandfather, Charles St. Pierre (my grandmother's father, also known as "Pa"), owned a farm with his brother Dolph in Saint-Eustache, Quebec.  The family had 5 children, and spent summers in Canada at the farm and winters in Chicago, where my great grandfather worked as a carpenter.  My great grandmother, Mary Jane, was English, and her family did not approve of her marriage to a Frenchman.  With so many children, the family struggled, and Aunt Maggie - my great grandmother's sister - offered to help by taking in my grandmother, making one less mouth to feed.  Aunt Maggie promptly took my grandmother out of school, and turned her into a servant. She was forced to get up early each morning, light the fire, cook breakfast, and do all kinds of other domestic chores. Finally, she ran away back home, and years later, when Aunt Maggie offered to "help out" my Grandmother Spillard by taking in my mother Mary, you can just imagine her reply. Eventually, Pa sold his share of the farm to his brother, and the family - with the exception of Allie, one of the sisters - moved to the South Side of Chicago full time. What I want to know is whether that sale of half interest in the farm was legal?  And if not, I want my share.  Now!

Will The Anti Vaxxers Now Change Their Tune?

Just before the coronavirus crisis exploded, as I was heading home after a long bike ride, I noticed a gathering of anti vaxxers in front of the Colorado State Capitol, as seen in the photograph above. They were protesting a proposed law to eliminate many exceptions to mandatory vaccinations.  There are a lot of claims on social media that vaccinations cause autism, as well as other serious problems, and many people have stopped vaccinating their children.  Among other things, this resulted in a very large outbreak of both measles and mumps throughout the country last year. With the real danger now posed by this current and possible future pandemics, will these anti vaxxers change their minds and finally embrace science?  Nah. Dream on.

Exercising During The Pandemic

I drove out to beautiful, exotic, but still pretty damn boring Lakewood, Colorado yesterday afternoon to get a little exercise and go for a walk with my friend Stuart, seen in the photograph on the left standing on a bluff overlooking that Denver suburb. We walked around the neighborhood for a while looking at houses.  Stuart tells me he is tired of apartment life, and is considering buying a place in the Applewood neighborhood, which unfortunately is still part of Lakewood.  And by no means do I want to imply anything negative about that proud city.  Personally, I just love suburban sprawl.

Before heading out to Lakewood, I was able to bike from my condo across from the University of Denver to lower downtown and around Coors Field (home of the Colorado Rockies) before heading back home.  As usual, there were a lot of people out exercising in Washington Park, and a lot of bicyclists throughout the city, such as the one in the photograph on the right with a dog riding in a basket in the back.  Personally, I think that that biker should consider walking the dog instead of driving it around on the back of his bike, but I am, after all, getting old, and am a bit old fashioned.

Once I got to Denver's 16th Street Mall and proceeded to Lower Downtown (LoDo), I saw a few people walking around, but not many. The plaza in front of Union Station, usually a hipster hot spot and seen in the photograph on the left, was totally deserted.  Not a surprise, considering the stay-at-home restrictions, but it also shows that when bars, restaurants, and brewpubs are all closed, there is not much reason to hang around down here.  If the pandemic lasts for more than a few months, I'm afraid that LoDo might wind up looking like this for a long time to come.  Scary.

The Guardians

I just finished reading The Guardians, John Grisham's latest novel. Grisham is a well-known author who has written 33 novels, but I think this is the first book of his that I have read.  And why is that? Grisham's main characters are always lawyers, and before now books featuring lawyers have never appealed to me.  However, I read a very favorable review of this book and put my name on the waiting list for it at the Denver Public Library.  I received a call that it was on hold for me at the nearby Eugene Field Branch Library, and picked it up right before DPL shut down due to the corona virus. The story involves a minister and lawyer named Cullen Post, who works for a small organization called The Guardians, which fights wrongful convictions.  Post takes on the case of a Florida man convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his lawyer.  However, when Post starts digging into the case, the real killers start to get very nervous.  I enjoyed reading this book, and recommend you pick up a copy.

And why is my local library branch named after Eugene Field, author of the children's poem Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod?  That is because Field was the managing editor of the Denver Tribune from 1881 to 1883, and lived in the house seen in the photograph on the right during that time.  After he moved to Chicago in 1883, the house fell into disrepair, and in 1927, preservationists convinced Margaret Brown (of Unsinkable Molly Brown fame) to purchase the house (built in 1875) and donate it to the City of Denver.  It was then moved to it's current location in Denver's Washington Park and served for many years as a branch of the Denver Public Library.  The current Eugene Field Library is located half a mile to the east, and retains the same name.  And by the way, Field wrote Winkin, Blinkin, and Nod in 1889, long after he left Denver.  And there you have it.  Is this blog not informative, or what?