News Flash! An Early Spring In The West, Six More Weeks Of Winter In The East

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow yesterday morning, which was, of course, Groundhog Day, and thus predicts six more weeks of winter. And in Boulder, Colorado, Flatiron Freddy, a top-hat wearing, stuffed marmot, did NOT see his shadow, and so predicts an early spring. Besides the fact that people in Boulder believe that a dead, stuffed marmot has the ability to see or not see its shadow, this makes perfect sense. In the Eastern half of the country, they have been experiencing massive snow and cold, while here in the West, we've barely seen any winter weather at all, and so there is no reason to believe things will be changing any time soon. And by the way, I obtained the photograph above of Flatiron Freddy appearing with an "Olympic curling-inspired entrance" at Boulder's Chautauqua Park off the 9NEWS website. They don't call Boulder "25 square miles surrounded by reality" for nothing.

Watching Tottenham Play Manchester City With The Colorado Spurs

My friend Mark (seen in the photograph above) and I went to Esters Pub here in Southeast Denver yesterday morning to watch the Tottenham Hotspurs play Manchester City with the Colorado Spurs supporters group. Since Manchester City is in 2nd place in the English Premier League and Tottenham is currently in 14th and struggling, I didn't expect much of a contest and thought there would not be a large turnout. But when the soccer match started, the room was filled with fans. Tottenham was a bit listless and down 2-0 at the end of the first half, but they came alive in the second half and tied up the game, to the delight of everyone there. There were a number of choruses of "When the Spurs Come Marching In," and the hardcore fans at the bar kept pounding it and shouting out various chants that I did not understand, especially the one where they pound the bar numerous times and shout "Yeats," who as far as I know was a 20th Century Irish Poet with no connection to the Tottenham Hotspurs. Let's face it - English soccer is weird, and English soccer fans are even weirder. I'm just sayin'. And oh yes - the game finished in a 2-2 tie.

Meanwhile, Back In The Sunshine State...

Thanks to an arctic blast moving into the South from God knows where, the State of Florida is experiencing record cold temperatures. Today, the high temperature in Stuart, Florida, where my sister Susan and I own a condo, will be 46 degrees, with a low of 31, compared with a high today here in Denver of 62 degrees and a low of 33. Tomorrow, both cities are forecast to have a high of 57. And so, while Denver is experiencing springlike weather and many people are wearing shorts, although also complaining about a lack of snow, down in Stuart the locals are bundled up in parkas and complaining about the bitter cold. I suspect not even the snowbirds, down there for the season, will be wearing their speedos and bikinis for the next few days, although it would be a great source of amusement for the natives if they did. I am just glad that Susan and I decided to head up to Denver from Stuart for a few months to get out of that cold Florida weather. And by the way, I took the photograph above on Stuart Beach this past December, right before we headed back to Denver. As you can see, it wasn't exactly beach weather back then, either. Even paradise can have cold snaps, although if you go there in August, you stand a good chance of staying warm. Until you head into the grocery store, of course, which they keep at a steady 32 degrees year-round.

ICE Out Protests Hit Colorado

Thousands of Coloradans took part in ICE Out demonstrations yesterday, according to reports in the Denver Post. Crowds in Denver marched past the Colorado State Capitol and through downtown to Denver's La Alma-Lincoln Park, where an afternoon rally drew over a thousand people. Many schools closed for the day, students walked out of schools that didn't close, and many people skipped work or closed their businesses to join the protest against ICE (Immigration Control and Enforcement) and Donald Trump's actions. And will these demonstrations change anything? In my opinion, only if enough people flood the streets of every city in the country to the point that everything - trains, buses, cars, everyday life itself - stops, and then keep it up until Congress finally decides to take action and put a leash - and perhaps a muzzle - on Trump and his policies. And they won't do it unless they feel there is no alternative. Otherwise, we will all have to wait until the next election, or perhaps even the next administration, to start putting all the pieces back together.  And by the way, I took the photograph above in front of the Colorado State Capitol yesterday afternoon, long after the parade passed by. What else is new?

The ICE Out Protest and General Strike Is Today!

Activists have called for nationwide protests and a general strike today to protest ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) operations in this country. It is still uncertain what the response will be here in Denver. Yesterday, in the Denver Post, the big story about the event was that the ICE Out protests and general strike will close more than a dozen restaurants on January 30th, which seems to sum up what many Denverites are most concerned about. There was no other article in the paper about today's event. However, Westword, a free weekly alternative newspaper, had a listing of various protests taking place around Denver, although most of them are taking place on Saturday instead of today. It did list a protest taking place at the Colorado State Capitol Building, where such protests are usually held, at 6:00 P.M. on Saturday, although no permit for this event has been issued. One sign that there could be a big turnout is the fact that in suburban Aurora, the Aurora Public Schools, as well as a school district in nearby Adams County, will be closed today, due to so many teachers calling in sick. Hopefully that means there will indeed be a big turnout. In Minneapolis, tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets last Friday in below zero temperatures to protest ICE, as seen in the photograph above that I took off the internet. The protests there seem to have finally convinced the Trump administration to make some changes to ICE tactics, although how that plays out, we have yet to see. And that is what it will take to really produce meaningful change. Everyone turning out in the streets, so much so that nothing can move in virtually every city in the country. Let's hope that happens.

A Rare Weekend Of Snow

Denver got some much-needed snow this past weekend, but unfortunately, not very much. Denver received between 1 and 2 inches, which combined with the strong winds was enough to play hell with the 2nd half of the Denver Broncos-New England Patriots AFC Championship Game, but not enough to help with the dry conditions here this winter. Colorado's mountains did receive more snow than Denver, with many ski resorts receiving double-digit amounts, but meteorologists say that this is not nearly enough to turn things around. As of Monday, Colorado's snowpack is still only 58% of normal, the lowest level since the 1970s. The next chance of snow isn't expected until February 10th, and the weather forecasters are not sure that will be much of a storm, either. This when everywhere east of the Rockies seems to be buried in snow, with more forecast this weekend. Colorado gets most of its snowfall between February and April, but if that doesn't happen, it will mean high wildfire risk and low water basins this summer. Not a good situation. And by the way, I took the photograph above last Sunday driving through the Ken Caryl Ranch area, which is against the foothills southwest of Denver and a popular area for hikers. And if you are from out of state and decide to head to Colorado for a vacation this summer, better bring your own water with you. Lots of it.

Lunching With Peter At Spanky's

I had lunch yesterday afternoon at Spanky's Roadhouse here in Denver with Peter, my friend and former Tattered Cover Bookstore officemate. Peter is doing well, although being a big Denver Broncos fan, he is still disappointed about the team's 10-7 loss this past Sunday in the AFC Championship game, although I notice he is still proudly wearing his Denver Broncos cap, as seen in the photograph above. Peter was the Accounts Payables person at the Tattered Cover for many years. After that local bookstore chain went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it was decided that the best course of action would be to sell it to Barnes and Noble, which promised everyone the chain would continue as an independent operation. And then after the sale went through, promptly laid off all the back-office people and kept only a single manager and the sales floor personal, much like Follett Higher Education Group did when the University of Denver Bookstore was outsourced to them. The moral of the story: beware corporate takeovers. In any case, Peter and I had a nice lunch, and he caught me up on how everyone we used to work with back when I was the Tattered Cover's bookkeeper is doing these days. Great to get together with you again, Peter!