The Denver Beer Company - A Neighborhood Gathering Spot

My sister Susan and I stopped in at the Denver Beer Company on South Downing Street here in Denver the Monday before last and I was surprised to find it was doing a booming business. I expect the place to be hopping on a Friday or Saturday, but a Monday? Located where the University, Platt Park, and Rosedale neighborhoods meet, it is within walking distance of all three and has attracted a huge following among the neighbors. Every night there are retirees, families with children, young singles, and thanks to the proximity of the University of Denver, college students, too. It is also very dog friendly. Surprisingly, a woman sitting at a table across from us introduced herself and told us she lived in the same building we did, which I thought was kind of nice. It is indeed very pleasant to sit out on the patio in the late afternoon and enjoy the pleasant weather and the ambience, which is what Susan is doing in the above photograph. And best of all, the Denver Beer Company has very good beer. Despite that, Susan actually decided to order wine instead. Talk about sacrilege! What can you do?

The Wildlife Of Washington Park

I have to admit, the wildlife in Denver's Washington Park are not all that wild. Most of the population seems to consist of geese, who tend to arrive and never leave, such as the fellow in the photograph on the left. In fact, when the population gets too large, the City of Denver culls many of them and gives the meat to food banks to feed the poor. In fact, I noticed a goose at the park just last week fitted with a tube on its neck with WN49 printed on it. That can't be a good sign for that particular goose. In fact, I would have to say its goose is cooked. In 2019 and 2020, the city culled over 2,000 geese from its parks (known locally as Goosegate), to the strong objection of animal rights activists and residents. Some activists even tried to stop the culling in federal court, but a judge denied the injunction. And so it goes on.

Of course, squirrels make up a good part of the wildlife population at Washington Park, too. But let's face it, squirrels are everywhere and pretty damned boring. And always seem to be begging for food. Or stealing it. My sister Susan had a lot of bird feeders in the yard when she owned her townhouse up in Fort Collins, and whenever I was up there, the only creatures I saw on those feeders were squirrels. To a lot of homeowners around here, they are known as tree rats. On the other hand, fortunately for them, nobody tries to catch a squirrel to cook for Christmas dinner, and the City of Denver, as far as I know, has never tried to cull them. At least yet.

In other parts of the Denver area, bears are often seen wandering around neighborhoods, not to mention deer and elk. The most exciting wildlife seen in Washington Park to date are coyotes, although I myself have never seen one wandering around there. I only know of their possible presence due to the warning signs in the park, such as the one in the photograph on the left. However, I did once see two coyotes along the banks of the Platte River, a few miles to the west of Wash Park. At least I think they were coyotes. I suppose they could have been wild German Shepards. They were on the opposite side of the river, splashing around, and I would have gotten as close as possible in order to make a positive identification if I was on that side of the Platte, but those are the breaks. Perhaps next time.

Watching The Colorado Rockies Play The Texas Rangers At Coors Field

My friend Mark, sister Susan, and I drove down to Denver's Coors Field to watch the Colorado Rockies play the Texas Rangers yesterday afternoon. We bought the tickets a week earlier, and so were committed to attending the game, despite the cool temperatures and the forecast for rain. Combined with the fact that the Rockies lost to the Rangers the previous evening by a score of 10 to 0, it was not surprising that attendance for the game was a little sparse, as seen in the photograph on the left that I took during the playing of the National Anthem. The box score I checked online after the game said the attendance was 18,726, but I suspect there were a lot of no-shows. When the game started, it was cold and windy, and then the rain started. But we had umbrellas, and after a while the rain stopped, the sun came out, and Coors Field was surrounded by blue skies.

It was a close game, and an exciting one, with the Rockies ahead 4-3 at the start of the 9th inning. However, I had paid in advance for 3 hours of parking in a lot just a few blocks away, and by the time the 9th inning started I needed to move the car or face being towed. Susan and I left Mark to watch the final three outs - no doubt the Rockies' closer would make quick work of the last three Ranger's batters. After finding a metered spot, I would meet up with Mark after the game, when he would no doubt fill me in about a great Rockies victory. Before we left, the usher was kind enough to take the photograph on the right of, from left to right, Mark, Susan and me. Once Susan and I got to the car, the rain started up again, and it was really pouring by the time I took my umbrella and walked back to the ballpark to meet Mark, who informed me that the Rockies blew the lead, gave up two runs, and went down in order in the bottom of the 9th, losing by a score of 5-4. Who could have seen that coming? The Rockies now have a record of 19 and 31 (a .380 winning percentage), currently the 2nd worse team in the Major Leagues. All I have to say is thank God for the Los Angeles Angels.

Graduation Madness!

It is graduation time once again, and living across the street from the University of Denver's Ritchie Center, I get a reminder of this two or three times a day during the month of May, when it seems like every high school in the Denver area holds its graduation ceremonies there. I took the photograph above yesterday afternoon of the crowd gathering outside the Ritchie Center after commencement ceremonies for Aurora, Colorado's Gateway High School. It is a festive time for graduates, but kind of hellish for residents living nearby. Graduation attendees often park in tenant's assigned spaces at apartment and condo buildings in the area, despite signs declaring "No DU Event Parking," put up in the hope the new graduates are able to read. And the traffic after the ceremony lets out clogs all the streets in the area, making getting out of the neighborhood a true adventure. In any case, it is just another rite of spring here in the DU neighborhood. And the crowd is indeed cheerful and very festive, creating a celebratory atmosphere. And so, only a bit grudgingly, I say Happy Graduation!

Our Mutual Friend

And no, this is not a blog about that classic novel by Charles Dickens, which according to Goodreads is "a satiric masterpiece about the allure and peril of money," which of course would be a worthwhile topic. Instead, this is about the brewpub by that same name, located in Denver's River North (RiNo) neighborhood (aka hipster central). I have passed this place many times - it has been around since 2012 - but have never gone in to have a pint and learn its connection to Charles Dickens. Which I suspect I will have to do, since their website doesn't mention anything about it. Just the price you have to pay to get the facts. No thanks necessary.

The Opening Round Of The City Series, And The Excitement Is Palpable...

This past weekend was the opening round of Chicago's City Series, a highpoint in the city's baseball calendar, when my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox and the North Side Chicago Cubs face each other in a series which many local baseball fans consider just as important as the playoffs. All three games at Rate Field, home of the White Sox and seen in the photograph on the left, were sellouts (over 38,000 people per game), and the atmosphere was electric. Friday night the Cubs pounded the Sox by a score of 10 to 5. The next night the White Sox came from behind to beat the Cubs 8-3, to the delight of the thousands in attendance. Yesterday's game was a classic. I checked in on MLB.com and saw that the White Sox were already down 3-0 before having to leave to do errands (me, not the White Sox). When I got back home and tuned in the game, it was tied 4-4 in the 7th inning. Then, in the bottom of the 8th, the Sox scored three runs and led by a score of 7-4. Now all they had to do was get three quick outs and take the series. Except the Cubs scored three runs in the top of the 9th and tied the game, which went into extra innings. And, of course, the Cubs, who are in first place in the National League Central, scored a run in the 10th for an 8-7 lead. All hope lost, right?

No! Backup catcher Edgar Quero, coming into the game hitting .151, hit a home run with a man on base to win the game 9-8, to the joy of Sox fans everywhere. And this is not a small thing. The White Sox are 7 and 3 over their last 10 games, one game out of first place in the American League Central, and Chicago Tribune baseball writer Paul Sullivan says, and I quote: "the Sox not only look like they have turned a corner in the rebuild but also might be bona fide contenders in a watered-down American League Central." He even suggests this might be a repeat of the 1977 season, when both the Cubs and White Sox were in first place for weeks before both teams faded at the end. That was the year the White Sox were called "the South Side Hit Men," Harry Caray was in the television booth, and organist Nancy Faust began playing "Nah Nah Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" whenever an opposing pitcher was removed from the game. And, I might add, my hero Bill Veeck owned the team. A time I remember very well. The photograph on the right, by the way, shows the White Sox players greeting Edgar Quero after hitting that game-winning home run. And I have to say, I can't wait for the second round of the City Series in August, when the White Sox will meet the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Hopefully with both teams in first place.

Hearts Were Broken Yesterday: Celtic Once Again Wins The Scottish League Championship

Just like Gregg Phillips, the Trump Administration's pick to lead FEMA's (the Federal Emergency Management Agency's) office of response and recovery, who claims to have once been teleported to a Waffle House, my friend Mark and I teleported to Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland yesterday morning to watch Celtic Glasgow play Heart of Midlothian FC of Edinburgh for the Scottish Premiership soccer championship, proof of which is the photograph above of Mark at Celtic Park, which has NOT been manipulated through Photoshop. Hearts only needed a tie to win that title, but gave up the lead on a penalty kick, losing to Celtic by a score of 3-1. Celtic has now won this championship 14 out of the last 15 years and this victory marks their fifth-straight Scottish league title. The only comparable records in Major League Baseball for a feat like this are the New York Yankees winning four World Series in a row from 1936 to 1939, five in a row from 1949 to 1953, and four out of five World Series between 1996 and 2000, which made me a true hater of the New York Yankees to this day. Imagine if the Yankees or the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball's current fat cats, had won the World Series 14 out of the last 15 years. The Commissioner of Baseball would currently be hiding out in an undisclosed location, no doubt planning his escape to a shack at the tip of Patagonia. In any case, the game was indeed very exciting, and everyone outside of Glasgow was rooting for Hearts. But it wasn't to be. It was heartbreak for Hearts, and as a Chicago White Sox fan, I can truly sympathize.