The Summer Barbecue Season

Tomorrow is July 1st, the heart of summer, and more importantly, barbecue season here in the U.S.  And today I am featuring a photograph taken in the backyard of my Uncle Jack (my mother's brother) and Aunt Helen's home many years ago in Evergreen Park, just to the west of the South Side Chicago neighborhoods of Beverly and Brainerd (where my sister Susan and I grew up).  Uncle Jack was hosting a barbecue, and although my sister thinks it strange that he has everyone sit on the cement driveway instead of the lawn, and that he did his barbecuing in the garage, it all seems okay to me.  Uncle Jack had a hernia operation after Pearl Harbor so that he could join the Air Force and take part in WWII.  It was a sobering experience.  He slogged through the jungles of New Guinea, the Philippines, and God knows where else, and contracted malaria.  Because of this, his health suffered for the rest of his life.  Our family always made fun of him and his wife because they refused to be treated by anyone other than the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and made frequent car trips there.  However, as I have gotten older and have seen our health care system in action, the more I realize they were absolutely correct, and wise before their time.  In any case, this post is supposed to be about barbecues, and families enjoying the summer and just being together, a poignant example of which is this photograph.  And yes, I have featured it before on this blog, but I don't care.  And so, from left to right in this photo are my grandmother Louise (my mother's mother), my mother Mary, my father Nelson, Uncle Jack, and my Uncle Bill (my mother's other brother, visiting from Cleveland).  If I could build a time machine and go back there, I would do so in an instant.  Time to look for a DeLorean and a flux capacitor on e-bay, I guess.  And by the way, I myself took this photograph.  Definitely the sign of a child prodigy.

Reminiscing About A Trip To The Deep South...

Today I am featuring a photograph of my father that I took on top of Lookout Mountain, just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, back in August of 1963.  My father Nelson, mother Mary, grandmother Louise (my mother's mother),and I were driving from Chicago to Pompano Beach, Florida to spend a week at the Sun Castle Hotel, right on the ocean and quite a bargain at $8.00 a day per person, including breakfast and dinner. On the way, we drove up to the top of Lookout Mountain to see the Civil War Battlefield Park.  At the time I was a spry 10 year old and headed down the side of the mountain at breakneck speed.  My father called me back, telling me he was too old to climb back up a mountain.  I accepted that at the time (I thought my father was really ancient), but now I realize he was only 54 years old at the time.  He was either lying or really out of shape.  In any case, this was my first trip to the South, and before desegregation, and so it was quite an eye-opening experience for a 10 year old.  Segregated bathrooms, segregated motels, and people living in shacks that looked like the Beverly Hillbillies original cabin.  What a shameful era.

The Wanted

I just finished reading an advanced reading copy of The Wanted, the latest Elvis Cole and Joe Pike mystery by Robert Crais.  Crais is a very good writer, and this is a very exciting story.  A woman finds a very expensive Rolex watch in her teenage son's room, and hires Cole to find out if he is selling drugs.  It turns out he is not selling drugs, but is involved with two other teenagers in 18 burglaries in high end neighborhoods in and around Beverly Hills, California.  Unfortunately, they have stolen a laptop that someone desperately wants back, and will kill to get it.  This is a great story, and I advise you to pick up a copy immediately.

The 2018 Highlands Street Fair - Part II

No. I am not finished talking about the 2018 Highlands Street Fair and the neighborhood where it is held. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, the 36th annual Highlands Street fair was held this past Saturday, and the Highlands is one of Denver's hippest neighborhoods.  Being the "King of the Hipsters," I really enjoyed attending the festival this year and hanging out with my people.  In the collage above (going clockwise starting at the top left) are some of my fellow hipsters enjoying the day, a trendy Highlands restaurant with a a wonderful patio, the Oasis Brewery, which was once a Boulder institution, remained closed for many years after the recession hit, and has now reopened in a former church in the Highlands neighborhood, and a photography booth at the fair, featuring photographs framed with old windows.  I might even borrow (i.e. steal) that idea one of these days.  After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?  Right?

The 2018 Highlands Street Fair

This past Sunday was the 36th annual Highlands Street Fair.  I ran across this festival 2 or 3 years ago, and was very impressed with it, but have not been able to attend it again until this year.  The Highlands is the oldest neighborhood in Denver.  When I first moved here, it was promoted as "the low cost alternative to Washington Park," one of Denver's most upscale neighborhood.  These days, it is filled with trendy restaurants, upscale boutiques, young ultra hipsters, and wealthy young parents with designer baby strollers. In the collage above (going clockwise starting at the top left) are hipsters enjoying the festival, the Mead Street Station, a popular Highlands hangout, a typical Highlands Victorian (or is it a Queen Ann?), which you could have had for a song back in 1981 (eat your heart out), and young mothers with designer baby strollers in front of West Side Books, a Highlands institution run by Lois, a good friend and fellow bookseller of my friend and former University of Denver Bookstore colleague Valarie, who actually once lived right around the corner from here in a classic Victorian before she sold it and moved to the suburbs.  Traitor!

Something Good To Say About the Rockies Organization

I know I have been pretty critical of the Colorado Rockies organization in the past (I am still pretty steamed about them charging $100 for a Rockpile seat - the worst seat in the house - on Opening Day), but I must say that Photo Day, which took place last Saturday, was a really nice thing to do for the fans.  They got to mix with both current players and stars from the past, have their photo taken with their favorite players (such as the woman in the photo on the left taking a photo with Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzales), and generally feel like a part of the Rockies family.

The fans really appreciated the gesture, and while waiting for the players to come onto the field, I overheard people talking about previous Photo Days they had attended.  One fan discussed how she and a friend had to take the red eye home from a trip to Las Vegas in order to arrive at Coors Field in time for the event.  I myself have never attended Photo Day before, and was pleasantly surprised at how they let the fans onto the field and allowed them to stand along the warning track surrounding the field.  I was admonished by one of the ushers for having my one of my toes on the grass, but no problem.  I understand the field has to be pristine for the game, which the Colorado Rockies lost to the Miami Marlins (one of the worst teams in baseball, by the way) 6 to 2.  And there I go again, criticizing the team once.  Those positive feelings didn't last long, did they?

Photo Day At Coors Field

Yesterday was Photo Day at Denver's Coors Field.  I had bought a Rockpile seat the day before to make sure I could get in (at a cost of $13.00, no, less - last year they were $5.00) and got to the gates of the stadium just a little before 10:00 A.M.  There was already quite a crowd waiting to get in, but I snagged a spot along the perimeter in right field that turned out to be a pretty good spot for photos.  The fans were allowed onto the field along the warning tracks, and were able to greet the players, take photos with them, shake hands, and talk with them for the next hour.  It was a lot of fun, and since this was the 25th anniversary of the Colorado Rockies first season, a lot of former players were there to greet the fans, too.  In the collage above, going clockwise from the upper left, are Larry Walker, Vinnie Castillo, Todd Helton, and Pedro Astacio, just a few of the many great Rockies players on hand.  And yes, it was worth $13.00, even if the Rockies played horribly in the game that afternoon and lost to the Miami Marlins 6 to 2.  Probably reminded all these old players of the good old days.

Melanie Hikes The Camino de Santiago

The person chosen to replace me as the bookkeeper when I retire from a local Denver Bookstore chain in August - Melanie - is currently hiking the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Trail in the north of Spain. She is taking a route that goes along the Mediterranean, which I didn't even know was an option until I looked it up on the internet, and saw you have a choice of 9 different routes on your walk to Santiago's Saint James Cathedral.  I can just see Melanie now, on the trail, singing her "Melanie" songs ("I've got a brand new pair of roller skates, you've got a brand new key," etc.).  I suspect there is probably a lot of tension on the trail among the other pilgrims because of this.  I just hope it doesn't get ugly.  In any case, Melanie is due back July 11th to begin intense training to learn my job by the end of August.  Hopefully she doesn't decide to stay in Spain permanently.  Don't make me come after you, young lady!  And no, the above photograph is not of one of the Camino de Santiago routes, but a photograph I took out the window of a train going from Granada to Madrid. Hopefully it looks like the area along one of those nine trails.  But if not, I say close enough.

Blue Bear Redux

I was looking over the photographs in my computer yesterday evening and ran across the above photograph of the Blue Bear, a piece of public art created by a University of Denver art professor and located just outside the Denver Convention Center.  This is a very popular piece of art work here in Denver, and probably the only piece of public art I actually like in this town.  At the bookstore where I work, they sell small replicas of this bear, which are very popular, too.  And so I say to the City of Denver: Buy more large, blue animal sculptures and fewer gigantic avant-garde dancers.  And I won't even mention the large pile of red beans by the bike path.

The First Day Of Summer

Today is the summer solstice, the first day of summer, and the longest day of the year.  Officially, the summer solstice was at 4:07 A.M. here in Denver.  I hope everyone got up to celebrate it, just like I did.  In any case, in honor of the start of summer, I am featuring a photograph of my sister Susan and brother-in-law George, taken during a bike ride along Lake Michigan, sometime back in the early 1970s when we all lived in Chicago.  Chicago has a great lakefront, and biking it on a warm summer day is the best way, in my mind, to enjoy it.  Denver, of course, has no large body of water to bike along, unless you count the Cherry Creek Reservoir, which I certainly don't.  Time to visit Chicago again, and bring a bike.

The Monsoon Season

It has been raining here in Denver for a solid week now, and yesterday was no exception.  I took the above photograph from the balcony of my condo around 7:00 yesterday evening. The wind and rain was intense, and it was hard to see across the street. However, nobody is complaining.  It has been very hot and dry here this spring, and there have been a number of pretty bad forest fires burning in the state.  These rains are helping control these fires, and that is very good news. Starting Thursday, the rains are forecast to end, and it will be back to normal.  Hopefully normal will not include more forest fires.

The Zoo Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I spent Saturday afternoon at the Denver Zoo.  The zoo was less busy than usual, but still very popular with families.  In fact, most of the visitors seemed to be made up of families, with parents showing these strange animals to their children for the first time, such as in the photo on the left.

And the family in the photo on the right is all excited about seeing the large mandrill, which contrary to previous visits seems to actually like the attention.  I assume all these kids will start begging their mother for a pet mandrill, and why not?  A pet mandrill will teach the kids responsibility and also the consequences of keeping a wild animal that is not their brother in the house.

Not all of the families were human, by the way.  One of the cape buffaloes was taking care of its cafe yesterday, and one of the orangutans had a tiny baby she was carrying wherever she went.  And the baby gorilla is now old enough to go outside when the weather is nice.  In the photograph on the left, the baby - followed by his mother - is quickly heading back to the ape house, where no doubt food is waiting for them.  The great outdoors is fine, but dinnertime is dinnertime, after all.  I think many Americans feel the same way.

Soleful Looks At The Denver Zoo

I went to the Denver Zoo Saturday afternoon and found it surprisingly uncrowded for a weekend.  We had a few minor showers a little earlier, and that might have scared people off, but in any case, I had a clear sight line to the animals, which is always good for photos.  And all of the animals seemed to be pretty pensive. Going clockwise from the upper left in the collage above, the lion seems to be wondering how he ever wound up where he is, and what the meaning of his life is.  Just to be cooped up in a cage all his life?  The large mandrill has been moved to his own cage, separate from the other two mandrills.  Always so elusive in the past, he now seems to crave companionship, and spent a lot of time right up against the glass Saturday, trying to hang out with the zoo visitors.  The baby zebra (although not so little these days) looks like he is making faces at the visitors, probably entering his teenage years.  And the gorilla still looks as hostile as ever, as if it is all our fault that he is locked up in a small compound.  And maybe it is.

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day, and if my father Nelson was alive today, he would be 109 years old, which probably would have made him pretty damn grumpy.  I took the above photograph of him in November of 1969, sitting in the living room of my sister Susan and brother-in-law George's apartment at 1130 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, right across the street from Grant Park.  Dad was a youthful 60 years old back then, five years younger than I am now.  I think of myself as just a kid even today, but back then I thought my father was old as the hills. Amazing how your perspective changes as you get older.  Dad was a dentist all his life, and just hated it.  Happily, 6 1/2 years after this photo was taken, he and my mother Mary retired to Stuart, Florida, where they spent their happiest years.  Good for them.  Happy Father's Day everyone!

Tango Down

I just finished reading Tango Down, the latest Sam Acquillo mystery by Chris Knopf.  I just love this series, and Tango Down is just as good as the rest.  It centers around the adventures of Sam Acquillo, who lost his high profile R and D job at a major corporation and decided to move to the house he grew up in on Little Peconic Bay in the Hamptons and become a carpenter.  Instead of a peaceful lifestyle, he winds up getting involved in all kinds of dangerous situations, and this time is no different.  One of his clients is murdered, and a fellow carpenter is accused of it. Sam and his lawyer friend Jackie set out to prove him innocent, and it turns out to be a risky undertaking.  Be sure to put your name on the list for it at the library, or if you have the bucks, buy it from your local bookseller.

Watching The Colorado Rapids With Mark!

I went to Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado (motto: You can never have enough oil refineries) with my friend Mark - seen in the photograph on the left - to see the Colorado Rapids play the Chicago Fire this past Wednesday night.  And yes - it was indeed a soccer match. Mark - a true Anglophile - was beside himself with excitement about the start of the World Cup, and was in true honest to god soccer mode.  Plus, it was announced that very day that the 2026 World Cup will be held in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and that Denver will be one of the host cities.  Talk about excitement, although I suspect the tickets will be a bit pricey.  Considering that I refused to buy a Colorado Rockies Opening Day ticket (after 24 straight years) because it cost well over $100, I can't see buying a ticket to a World Cup game unless by then I am completely senile.

However, during halftime, or whatever they call it in soccer, they played a game of "bubble soccer," where the participants played soccer following the usual rules, but wearing big bubbles, as seen in the photograph on the right. Now this looks like something that might catch on, and I am very enthused about it.  I am very seriously considering starting a new league featuring this sport.  As usual, I will be the idea person, and I hope my faithful blog followers will finance the venture. Be sure to e-mail me the amount you want to invest, and I will let you know how many shares you will get for it.  I am pretty sure that this will satisfy all SEC requirements under the Trump administration's new relaxed regulations, right?  And now, if you will excuse me, I have to check various internet websites to see what villas are selling for on the French Rivera.  Let the good times roll!

Pizza And Beer With Stuart

I had pizza and beers with my friend Stuart at the Old Chicago Restaurant on South Colorado Boulevard here in Denver Tuesday night.  Afterward we headed to the Starbucks inside the local Barnes and Noble for after dinner coffee.  I know that as an employee of a local bookstore in fierce competition with B and N, I shouldn't have stepped foot in the place, but I did anyway.  I just like books, and happened on a $10.00 bargain book called Ballparks Yesterday and Today.  I couldn't resist, and bought it.  What can I say?  It features photographs of not only the old classic ballparks, but the new ones too.  I am just weak. And Stuart is doing just fine, by the way, and is seen posing in front of the dinosaur section at Barnes and Noble in the photo above.  Dinosaur section?  Really?

Experiencing The Colorado Mountains

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I drove up to Breckenridge Saturday afternoon to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere of the town.  And as long as I was there, I decided to drive up Boreas Pass to enjoy a bit of the scenery.  I usually don't make that drive until the fall, when the aspens change color and are especially impressive, but I decided what the heck - the scenery is still pretty nice.  And would I like to live in the mountains year round?  No thanks - 8 months of shoveling snow and bitter cold weather is not my thing. I guess I am just not a sport anymore - if I ever really was, that is.

A Visit To Breckenridge

I drove up to Breckenridge this past Saturday afternoon to walk around and enjoy the cool Colorado mountain air. Breckenridge is an old mountain town that has been gentrified up the wazoo.  It is what you would imagine a 19th century mining town would be like if it were populated by wealthy yuppies.  There are lots of restaurants, bars, shops, and real estate offices advertising properties often priced above a million dollars.  I myself prefer this kind of ambiance.  I have been to nearby Leadville - another historic mining town - and it still resembles what it must have looked like back in the 19th century, which is not pretty.  Of course, it has been years since I have visited there, so maybe by now it has been all gussied up, but I doubt it. Leadville is the town where Baby Doe Tabor, told by her husband on his deathbed to always hold on to the Matchless Mine, froze to death in her cabin one winter.  Something like that has a way of permeating the atmosphere of a place.

More On The Summer Art Market

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, this past weekend was the Art Student League of Denver's Summer Art Market, one of the best art festivals in Denver.  All the exhibitors are members of the ASLD, and the artwork is for the most part that rare combination of high quality and low price.  You can't beat that.  And best of all, the festival takes place in one of Denver's old, established neighborhoods, with lots of great Victorian homes and colorful and interesting businesses.  You just feel happy walking around, what with the people watching and the great atmosphere.  A wonderful way to spend a summer afternoon, even if the temperature is 95 degrees.  It is, after all, a dry heat, so you don't feel it.  Much.

Visiting With Joe At the Summer Art Market

I visited with my friend and former University of Denver Bookstore co-worker yesterday at the Art Student League of Denver's annual Summer Art Market, one of my favorite art festivals of the year.  Joe, who not only is an artist but teaches printmaking for the Art Student League, too,  is doing well and said he was having a good day selling his art work, despite the 95 degree temperatures.  Joe also still works part-time at the DU Bookstore, where I was the Finance Manager before the University of Denver outsourced the store to Follett Higher Education Group, but let's not go there today.  In any case, the festival runs through today on Denver's Grant Street between 1st and 3rd, so check it out if you can, and check out Joe's web site at http://www.joehigginsmonotypes.com/.  Good to see you Joe!

On The Art Of Taking Moose Selfies

Colorado was a mooseless state when I first moved here back in 1981, but a concerted effort has been made in recent years to reintroduce the species, and they (Colorado Parks and Wildlife, to be specific) have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.  Moose can now be regularly seen in the streets of mountain towns such as Breckenridge and Frisco, and many people - both tourists and locals alike - are trying to take "moose selfies," often with disastrous results.  It turns out that moose are not a particularly friendly species, and if approached, often wind up charging the would be photographer.  I say all that is needed is some simple tips, and here they are: Establish eye contact with the animal, smile, give it a nice pat on the back, stand next to it, and take the photo.  That is exactly what I did in the above photograph, and it worked out beautifully.  Try this the next time you are up in the mountains and let me know how it went, if you survive.

Read Before You Sign

That is the message being sent by the rather tall young lady in the photo seen on the left, taken at last weekend's People's Fair.  It is targeting the people who come up to you on the street, asking you to sign petitions for various causes.  At the bookstore where I work on East Colfax Avenue here in Denver, these petitioners hang out every day on the sidewalk in front of the store.  It seems to be a different cause every day, and they always try to get my attention as I take my daily walk after lunch each day.  I always have a good excuse - I have to get back to work, and so I am never ever tempted to sign, but I definitely agree that you should read before you sign.  And as for the young woman, it's probably due to abnormal growth hormones.

Sh*t Show

I just finished reading Sh*t Show, the new book by Charlie LeDuff.  LeDuff is a former reporter for the Detroit News, and wrote Detroit: An American Autopsy, which I read a few years ago and found a truly absorbing story.  LeDuff was born and raised in Detroit, and that is where his family lives, and so the book was more a personal memoir than pure reporting.  Therefore, when I saw an advanced reading copy of Sh*t Show in the break room of the Denver bookstore where I work, I grabbed it.  The books is about LeDuff's experiences while filming a TV series called The Americans for Fox News.  It took him across the country to interview a variety of people struggling in today's America.  His conclusion is that black or white, liberal or conservative, many of the issues people struggle with are the same.  LeDuff is neither pro Republican nor pro Democrat, and can best be described as anti-politician.  His conclusion: whoever is elected, nothing will change. It is a bit of a downer, but the book is still a worthwhile read.  LeDuff, by the way, will be speaking at the Tattered Cover Bookstore on East Colfax Avenue here in Denver tonight.  Be sure to catch his talk if you can.

Dinner With Valarie At The Goods!

I had dinner with my friend Valarie at The Goods - the restaurant that adjoins the local Denver bookstore where I work and home of the "greatest burger on earth" - last night.  Valarie, as regular blog readers know, is now retired, but was the Operations Manager at the University of Denver Bookstore back when I was the Finance Manager there.  It has been a while since we have seen each other, so we had a lot to catch up on. Valarie is enjoying retirement, and both Cheyanne and Dillon, her two children, have bought homes and moved out her and her husband Jake's house.  Also, she and Jake are off to London and Scotland this month, and after that her daughter Cheyanne will join her in Paris.  Talk about roughing it.  And by the way, according to our waiter, the "greatest burger on earth" title was not from a survey, but bestowed by the restaurant itself.  Surprise.   Good to see you again, Valarie!

The People's Fair 2018

This past weekend was the People's Fair, an annual event that takes place in Denver's Civic Center Park. There are three big festivals in this park:  Cinco de Mayo in May, The People's Fair in June, and the Taste of Colorado in September.  All are virtually the same festival, and even many of the booths are the same.  The People's Fair used to be run by a non-profit neighborhood organization called Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods (CHUN), but a few years ago they decided they needed to buy a Victorian mansion adjacent to Cheesman Park for their headquarters, and sold the fair to a for-profit organization.  I couldn't help but notice that the crowds were down this year from what they used to be.  Plus, parking was not hard to find.  Was it the midday heat, or a rebellion by the people?

When I say that many of the booths are the same, I am not kidding, and the evidence can be seen in the photograph on the right.  At the Cinco de Mayo celebration this past May, the turkey leg booth was in the exact same place as at this year's People's Fair.  The only difference is the addition of a sign that says Das Turkey Leg, probably left over form last years Oktoberfest.  I know it is probably the same booth. However, I can only hope that they are not the same turkey legs.  If so, I hope that by the time they get to September, they have medical attendants standing by.

I parked my car a couple of blocks south of the Denver Art Museum, and both walking to and from the festival, I couldn't help but notice a lot of homeless people sleeping on the grass, many more so than usual.  It took me a while to realize that a lot of these homeless people spend their days in Civic Center Park, and the People's Fair has driven them off for the weekend.  They are not nearly as noticeable in the park, and so it at times like these that you notice just what a large homeless population Denver, not to mention so many other cities, has.  It makes you wonder if this problem will ever be solved.  On this subject I remain a pessimist.

The First Full Week Of June 2018!

It is June, believe it or not.  The months seem to be flying quickly these days.  And today I am featuring the June photo from the 2018 CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) Historical Calendar, which you still can download for free from the CTA web site at https://www.transitchicago.com/historicalcalendar/.  The photo features the last run of streetcar number 7213 on June 21, 1958 (a big mistake in hindsight, of course, but then again everything seems quite clear for Monday morning quarterbacks).  In any case, when this streetcar was retired after only 10 years of service, I was 5 years old and about to start kindergarten in the fall. Number 7214 traveled to 81st and Halsted, not too far from where I grew up at 93rd and Aberdeen in the Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago.  However, at the time I was too occupied with watching Garfield Goose and Ding Dong School to pay attention.  If only I could go back and put that hindsight to good use.

Catching A Rockies Game With The Gang

My friend Mark, who works at the University of Denver's Anderson Academic Commons (the library), organized a trip to see the Colorado Rockies play the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field last night.  It was a very pleasant evening, although the first place Rockies fell apart in the 7th inning, giving up 8 runs and losing the game 12 to 4.  This made Bill, former operations coordinator at the DU Bookstore, very happy, since although a native Coloradan, he moved with his family to LA when his was 13 and didn't return to Colorado until graduating college, first with a bachelor's degree in surfing from the University of California Santa Barbara and then a Master's in History at UC Davis.  Coming back thoroughly corrupted by that Southern California lifestyle, I might add.  In any case, in the above photo are (from left to right) Bill, Dale (Mark's father), Mark, Renee (Bill's wife), and Kay, Mark's mother.  Good to see all you again, guys!

The Pool Is Back!

Talk about a sure sign of summer - the pool at my condo building, located directly across the street from the University of Denver, is filled with water, although a kind of dirty looking water, which I assume means they are still working on it.  I am not familiar with pool-ology, and so am not sure how they will make the water non-toxic, but I am sure it will happen soon.  Of course, I have lived in this building for over 30 years, and have not gone into the pool once, but my apartment is right over it, and I do enjoy leaning on the balcony and looking down at it.  And in honor of this day, I am once again featuring a photograph of myself holding a photo of (from left to right) myself, my mother Mary, and my Grandmother Louise Spillard  (my mother's mother), taken at the Sun Castle Hotel in Pompano Beach, Florida back in August of 1963.  And I am pretty sure this was the last time I was actually in a swimming pool.  Time flies, doesn't it?

The Chancellor Speaks!

Rebecca Chop, Chancellor of the University of Denver, gave a speech this past Wednesday morning announcing DU's redevelopment plans for the campus.  I have been anxiously awaiting this announcement for several years now, since I live across the street from DU and feared they might have designs on my condo building. Fortunately, there was no need to worry.  The "Village," as they call it, will be located just across the street, and will include a hotel, retail, housing, the bookstore (where I once worked), and even a welcome center for one and all.  And as you can see in the above drawing, my building, seen in the bottom right hand corner, is still standing, and even prominently featured.  It has been called an example of "Soviet style architecture," probably the only example in Denver, and so I assume that both DU and the City of Denver want to preserve such an historic structure.  In any case, the university will build a freshman dorm, a new student center, and a career center first, before starting to build The Village, and so it will be a while before I will be able to walk across the street and have a drink at the hotel bar.  But no problem.  That is far better than the prediction of my co-worker Peter, who said I would probably be living on the streets of the village after my building was torn down.  That was not a happy thought.