Happy Halloween!

Today is Halloween, traditionally the scariest day on the calendar, although considering everything that has happened this year, October 31st pales in comparison. Due to the coronavirus, both trick or treating and large events are being discouraged, but Halloween is still Halloween, and always brings back happy memories. I took the above photograph of my mother Mary and sister Susan in front of a shop window in downtown Stuart, Florida many years ago, when Susan and I were there visiting. We used to head down to Stuart quite often around Halloween - the temperatures had begun to cool, the snowbirds had yet to materialize for the winter, and there was no waiting for a table by the water at the local restaurants. A perfect time to visit. I wish I was down there now, coronavirus or no coronavirus.

The October Issue of Chicago Magazine

As regular blog readers know, I grew up in Chicago, but now live in Denver. However, I still subscribe to Chicago Magazine, which helps me stay in touch with what is happening back home. I recently read (belatedly, of course, I know) "28 Fun Things To Do This Fall," this month's featured article. This is a lie, of course. Most of the things they suggest seem to be virtual, online kind of activities. This is NOT fun. It is necessary, of course, due to the coronavirus, but fun? No way. Chicago Magazine has a North Side bias, by the way, which really irritates me, since I was born and raised on the South Side of that city. When they have their best pizza in town issue each year, seldom do they mention a South Side establishment. Vito and Nicks, a South Side legend, was recently named by a national publication as the 48th best pizza parlor in the nation, but has Chicago Magazine ever mentioned it? No! They recommend places on the North Side that serve pies with toppings like kale and tripe. What is WRONG with those Northsiders?

Revisiting Auraria

I walked around downtown Denver the other day, and on the way home on the light rail decided to get off and walk around the Auraria Campus, home of the University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State University, and the Community College of Denver. This campus is adjacent to downtown Denver, and was built by leveling the Auraria neighborhood, one of Denver's first settlements. This was a really sad thing to have done, especially since just to the west of here was a vast amount of vacant land that contained only rail yards and warehouses. The old Tivoli Brewery is now the student center. Even though the campus is open and classes are being held, despite the coronavirus, the place was eerily empty, even the Tivoli Brewpub, which was crammed to the rafters the last time I was there. But the lack of people on campus only helped to make the 9th Street Historic District, seen in the photo on the left, even more evocative.

Although the Auraria neighborhood was leveled, a single street was preserved, and is now known as the 9th Street Historic District. Most of the homes here are from the 1870s and 1880s, and they give you a good idea of what the neighborhood looked like back in the 19th century. The old grocery store for the neighborhood (seen in the photograph above) is now a deli, and the photo on the right shows what the homes there were like. These former residences now function as offices for the university. Adjacent to this historic district are several other 19th century structures, including the house where Golda Meir, the first female Prime Minister of Israel, once lived. This is a very pleasant place to spend a few hours. Of course, it would have been even more pleasant if they had left the rest of the neighborhood intact.

Boo At The Zoo Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I went to the Denver Zoo this past Friday to take some photographs, even though it was a bit on the chilly side. I was happy to see that despite this, the lions were all out and about, including the twin lion cubs. During the summer, these cubs, more times than not, hid in the shade and slept, trying to avoid the sun and extreme heat. These cubs do not make eye contact very often, and so I was very lucky to photograph one of them looking right at me, as seen in the photo on the left.

I took a number of photos of the cubs cavorting about, and then made another circuit of the zoo (you need to follow a preset, one way path these days, thanks to the coronavirus). On my second pass, the lions had  been given bones to chew on, to which they gave their undivided attention, until the doors to their heated, inside compound opened and they rushed off to get dinner and enjoy a little TV (I hear the lions are big fans of PBS, especially the nature programs). Not surprising at all.

Boo At The Zoo

I went to the Denver Zoo this past Friday to take a few photos. I originally had a reservation for Sunday, but the weather forecast was for snow and a high of 16 degrees, and so I went Friday instead, even though it wasn't exactly all that warm, either. During the month of October, the zoo has an event called Boo at the Zoo, during which the grounds are decorated for Halloween, and children and their parents are invited to come in costume and go trick or treating, picking up candy at various booths throughout the zoo. Of course, this year, the trick or treating part has been canceled, but parents and their kids can still walk around in costume and enjoy the Halloween type atmosphere.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the animals were not outside. There wasn't a monkey in sight, and the tiger compound, called The Edge, was roped off with caution tape, a sign saying that tigers were susceptible to Covid-19 and were being protected from zoo visitors. Even from a distance, there was not a tiger in sight. Happily, the lions were all out and about on Predator's Ridge. Even the twin lion cubs, who during the hot summer months tended to hide in the shade and sleep, were frisking about together in the sunshine. And my good friend Tobias, the father of those cubs, was once again more than willing to pose for a portrait.

The baby camels were also out in their compound, despite the cold. This is the first time I have seen them. They were born in April, but as far as I can tell, stayed mostly inside until now. And I must say, even though they are only 6 months old, they do not look like babies. I read on the sign in front of their compound that they were not born at the Denver Zoo. I am not sure where they came from - perhaps the stork brought them. Hopefully, when they get a little older, the zoo will start to offer camel rides around the grounds.

Fair Warning

I just finished reading Fair Warning, the latest mystery by Michael Connelly. Connelly is one of my favorite authors, and although this is not a Harry Bosch detective novel, I still enjoyed it. In this book, Connelly has reprised one of his previous characters, Jake McEvoy, a once famous newspaper reporter known for tracking down serial killers, who has fallen on hard times. He is now working for a consumer protection website in L.A. called Fairwarning, barely earning a living wage. After he is questioned by police about the murder of a woman he had a brief encounter with, he decides to investigate the killing himself, and soon realizes that it is the work of a previously unknown serial killer. This is a very well written and exciting story, and I definitely think it is worth reading.

A Long Ago Visit To Galesburg

I ran across a couple of photographs taken many years ago in Galesburg, Illinois. The one on the left is of me. And no, I was NOT there for the Lincoln - Douglas debate. As can plainly be seen, there is an automobile in the background, which disproves that theory. If I had to guess, the photo was taken in 1959, when my mother Mary, father Nelson, and myself drove to Galesburg to take my sister Susan to Knox College, where she was about to start classes.

Susan did not graduate from Knox, although she really loved the school. She wound up finishing her degree at Loyola University, on Chicago's north side. The photograph on the right was taken of her in May of 1960 in the kitchen of her sorority. Susan is on the far left in the photograph, and I have to state here and now that I have NEVER seen her look that happy drying dishes before or since.  After leaving Knox, Susan took a brief break and lived with about 10 roommates in a house on Sedgewick Street, near Chicago's Lincoln Park, before attending Loyola. I remember telling her that when I visited Chicago back in 2010 and walked down Sedgewick, I did not see that house there anymore. She told me she was not surprised, and that it was probably consumed by roaches years ago.

The Fires Continue...

The wildfires in Colorado are still raging. The East Troublesome fire has joined up with the Cameron Peak fire, west of Fort Collins, and has forced the evacuation of both the town of Grand Lake, at the western entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park, and the resort town of Estes Park, at the east entrance. Meanwhile, the Calwood fire is still burning in Boulder County. I took the above photograph this past Thursday of the deep red skies over Fort Collins. Ash was raining down, and the city was in perpetual dusk the entire day. One of the major problems in fighting these fires - besides the extremely dry conditions and the large amount of beetle killed forest - is the wind, which can quickly spread these fires. All hopes are on an expected snowfall in the mountains starting this Sunday and continuing through Monday. Kudos to the over 1300 firefighters who are on the front lines fighting these fires. Stay safe.

Things Are Golden In Golden These Days

I went for a walk along the Clear Creek Trail in Golden, Colorado the other afternoon, and the fall colors were at their peak, making for great photographs. It was a very pleasant day, warm and sunny, and many others were out and about, too, enjoying the afternoon and trying to forget the coronavirus, the election, and the zombie apocalypse, among other things. Happily, there were no zombies in sight while I was there.

Clear Creek, by the way, runs right through the town, and is the water source for the Coors Brewery, located further downriver. As I have mentioned before, Golden was the first state capital of Colorado. The legislature met on the 2nd floor of a corner saloon, and that building - now housing the Capitol Grill - is actually still there. Golden is separated from the rest of the Denver area by a mesa, seen in the background of the photo on the right, which has allowed the place to keep it's small town atmosphere. A wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

The Wynkoop

I passed the Wynkoop Brewing Company the other day while walking around Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo), and took the above photograph. I just loved to have a beer or two on that patio, especially after an afternoon baseball game at nearby Coors Field. This was the first brewpub in Denver, started by John Hickenlooper and 3 partners back in 1988, after he was laid off from his job as a geologist. This was before Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, was built, and long before LoDo became a hipster hangout. Hickenlooper, by the way, later became mayor of Denver, then governor, and is now running for the senate. Once Hickenlooper became mayor, he sold his interest in the Wynkoop and a number of other bars that the company later acquired. If Hickenlooper doesn't win the senate race, will he wind up back here as a waiter? Hopefully his old partners will at least make him the maitre d.

A Trip To Winter Park Colorado

I drove to Winter Park, Colorado last week just to get out of the house. Winter Park is a well known ski resort, and is extremely popular during the winter months. There is also a famous cross country ski center nearby. During the summer, it is also a popular destination for mountain biking. The scenery around the ski resort, where I took the photo on the left, is very pretty. However, I have to say that the town of Winter Park itself is damn ugly. All the restaurants and businesses are on a very tacky strip of US Highway 40, and behind them are charmless neighborhoods. I guess I am spoiled by Colorado ski towns like Breckenridge, Vail, and Beaver Creek, which are a joy to visit. And why did I wind up visiting this hellhole? Good question.

After driving around for a short time, I decided to get out of there as fast as I could. When I got to the top of Berthoud Pass - which was once a ski resort and even today is used by renegade skiers - I pulled into the parking lot and took the photograph on the right. Granted, it is a bucolic sight, but that is because you can't see the City of Winter Park from there. And by the way, a single day ski pass at Winter Park costs something like $170. If you ski at Berthoud these days, the cost is 0, although you might have to be rescued by the ski patrol, who most likely will be pissed when they finally find you. The moral of the story: everything has it's cost. You heard it here first.

Speaking Of Mutts...

Twice a week when I go up to Fort Collins, I take my sister Susan's dog Blackberry on an afternoon walk.  This dog is always on the alert for rabbits and squirrels, and gives chase whenever she sees one.  Happily - for her, anyway - there have been a huge number of squirrels around the area this fall. The photograph on the left shows Blackberry focused on one that had escaped onto a rooftop. My sister Susan is not quite as enthusiastic about all these squirrels, since they get into her bird feeders - she has roughly 200 of them spread around the outside of her townhouse - and must continuously buy more bird seed to replace what the squirrels have eaten. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has warned that bears can be attracted to these bird feeders, too, but I don't believe it. I have lived in Colorado for almost 40 years now, and have yet to see a bear, or for that matter, a moose. Might as well hope to see a unicorn.

The only other thing Blackberry is so enthusiastic about is food, and I made the mistake long ago of starting to give her a dog biscuit after her walk, which she now assumes is her given right, perhaps as a reward for allowing me to walk her. She can be seen in the photo on the right after one such walk, expecting that yummy treat. Susan's other dog, Tutu, is a Yorkie and does not seem to like to go outside as much. Walking both her and Blackberry at the same time can be a real challenge, since Blackberry walks - more like runs - very fast, while Tutu moves at a snail's pace. Ah, the joy of owning two dogs. Not my problem - I'm just the crazy uncle.

The October Mutt Of The Month

This month's Mutt of the Month is a working dog, a collie seen riding shotgun in the photograph above, no doubt heading to still another repair job. I took this photo in Breckenridge, Colorado, on a mellow Wednesday afternoon in the fall, at a time when condo owners are getting their places ready to rent for the ski season. No doubt handymen, and their trusty canine assistants - the true service dogs - are in high demand. Good luck guys! See you both at the local watering hole after the job is done.

Time For The Snowbirds To Return

I got a newsletter the other day from the Monterey Yacht and Country Club, which is located in Stuart, Florida, where my mother Mary lived for almost 30 years. My sister Susan and I inherited her condo, and now rent it out to pay the expenses. The newsletter is issued monthly during "the season," when most owners stay down there, and so it must mean that the "snowbirds" are on their way. My mother, seen in the above photo on the right, and her friend Marion, on the left, lived there year round, and I think they both preferred the summers, hot as they were, since the place was far less crowded. Summer was also the time I preferred to visit. Not only could you play golf on the par 3, nine hole course (where my mother and Marion are posing in the photo) without signing up in advance, but you could also have dinner along the water while it was still light outside, and actually enjoy the view. I miss those days very much. Once this damn coronavirus is over, it will definitely be time to head back down there for a long visit. I just hope our tenants won't mind us crashing there for a few months, and that they like dogs.

The Order

I just finished reading The Order, Daniel Silva's latest Gabriel Allon spy thriller. This series features Gabriel Allon, an Israeli spy who becomes head of the Mossad - Israel's intelligence service - but who still takes part in "office" operations. This time, Allon, his wife, and children are on vacation in Venice when he is called by an old friend at the Vatican, asking him to look into the sudden death of the pope, who he suspects was murdered. This leads to an investigation of The Order, a right wing organization that intends to make sure it's candidate becomes the new pope. This is one of my favorite series, and I really enjoyed this latest thriller. Put your name on the waiting list for it at your local library today!

How Best To Celebrate An Anniversary? A Dental Procedure!

Today would have been our 38th wedding anniversary if my ex-wife Lisa and I were still married. We can be seen in the photograph above on that momentous occasion about to cut the cake and launch our happy life together. Some people have told me they could see early warning signs after looking at this photo, but I myself just don't see it. To celebrate this anniversary, I am having a dental procedure to replace my front tooth, which I lost in a biking accident several months ago. Could there be something symbolic in that? Nah.

Hanging Out With Stuart At Denver West Village

I spent yesterday afternoon with my friend Stuart at the Denver West Village Shopping Center in beautiful, exotic, and just plain strange Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb just to the west of Denver. We dined at Qdoba, sitting at an outside table, until a cold front moved in and forced us inside. This is the shopping center where Hops Restaurant Bar and Brewery was once located, where you could order a steak and craft beer for a very reasonable price. Stuart and I dined there many times. There was a location both there and in Denver's Cherry Creek neighborhood, but both closed many years ago. As a matter of fact, there used to be a location in Stuart, Florida, where my mother Mary lived for almost 30 years, and where we often dined, but it closed after it was damaged by back to back hurricanes in 2005. The chain still exists, but nowhere handy to me. Plus, I bet those steaks are not so reasonable anymore. In any case, Stuart is doing well, and spent this past weekend up in Fairplay, Colorado, which is NOT one of my favorite towns, either. They roll up the sidewalks even earlier than Lakewood up there. Hard to believe, but true.

A Mellow Afternoon In Breckenridge

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I drove up to Boreas Pass, just above Breckenridge, Colorado last week to view the fall colors, only to find out that most of the leaves were gone from the trees by then. Boreas Pass is located at an elevation of 11,493 feet, and so it did not take long for me to realize I had missed the boat and head back down to Breckenridge (seen in the photo on the left), which at an altitude of 9,600 feet was still alive with color, not to mention tourists. Breckenridge is a beautiful former 19th century mining town, now filled with shops, restaurants, bars, and very unaffordable condos.

Many if not most of the shops and restaurants are located in renovated 19th century homes and commercial structures, such as the one seen in the photo on the right.  My ex-wife Lisa's father once owned a condo in this town, which the family enjoyed for a number of years. Then, when there was no snow for two or three years in a row, he sold the place. Bad idea - these days the cost of real estate here is off the charts. The moral of the story: never sell anything, ever.

As you can see from the photo on the left, this town is located in a beautiful setting, and is in fact a world class ski resort. Of course, it costs a fortune to ski here these days. And if you drive up here from Denver in the wintertime, you better have snow tires or chains. If you don't and get stuck, the Colorado State Patrol can legally shoot you and push your car off the edge of the cliff. They take obstructing traffic very seriously up here these days, as well they should.

Visiting Boreas Pass, Three Weeks Late

I drove up into the mountains to Boreas Pass, located just above Breckenridge, Colorado last week to take photographs of the fall colors. It wasn't until I got there that I realized that I was weeks late, and most of the aspens had lost all their leaves. I usually make this trip in mid-September, but for some reason didn't get around to it until now. The photograph on the left is of the one spot along the entire route that still had a bit of color. I guess it is no surprise, since Boreas Pass is at an elevation of 11,493 feet, and snow is just around the corner.

Most of the road up the pass looked like the photo on the right, the trees looking very barren. During the winter, this road is closed to car traffic, and is a very popular cross country ski trail. Years ago my then wife Lisa and I would drive up here, park at the trailhead, and cross country ski up to the water tower, which served trains on the railroad line which once occupied this road. I must say, I have not done any cross country skiing since we got divorced, and am not sure why. I am positive, however, that it has nothing to do with age. After all, I am still fit as a fiddle, as we hipsters like to say.

After driving for a few miles, I turned around and drove back to Breckenridge (seen in the photo on the left), which was actually alive with fall colors, not to mention fall tourists. This is a beautiful former mining town from the 1800s, and has been gentrified to an extent that no miner from that era would ever recognize it. Breckenridge is filled with upscale boutiques, restaurants, and bars that now occupy those 19th century structures. I have visited other mining towns in Colorado, such as Leadville, that still look like 19th century mining towns, and visiting them depresses the hell out of me, as if remembering a past life as a miner. My friend Stuart tells me that Leadville has been gentrified, too, and is now on a par with Breckenridge. I don't believe it for a minute. I will stick with Breckenridge, even if I can't afford to stay there. I am just happy to be able to visit for the day.

Columbus Day!

Today is Columbus Day, which used to be a school holiday in the City of Chicago. October 12th is still a school holiday there, but starting this year, it is now known as Indigenous People's Day. Politics aside, I just hated school, and welcomed every school holiday, including Columbus Day. I attended Fort Dearborn Grammar School, as did my sister Susan and mother Mary, which was located in the Southside Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. The photograph above is my official 7th grade class portrait. I can be seen in the middle row on the far left, looking a bit disconcerted. Along the bottom, it says the photo was taken in February of 1965. I was probably thinking it was going to be a long long time until June and summer vacation. If only I could have run away and joined the circus. I might have wound up as an elected official, or even president, by now.

Remembering A Long Ago Trip To Vizcaya

I took the photograph on the left of my sister Susan and mother Mary many years ago, when we drove from my mother's condo in Stuart, Florida to Coconut Grove, an upscale Miami neighborhood, to tour the Vizcaya House and Gardens. Located along Biscayne Bay, this was the winter home of John Deering, of International Harvester fame, and is quite spectacular. Afterwards, we headed to Miami Beach and got coffee at The News Cafe, which was (and possibly still is) on Ocean Drive in the heart of the Art Deco District. We were well on our way back to Stuart before sunset, when the hipsters come out to play and the sidewalks become crowded with revelers, winter or summer. No wonder they have a Covid problem down there.

Getting Together With Wally At Spanky's

I got together with Wally, my friend and former University of Denver Bookstore co-worker, at Spanky's Urban Roadhouse yesterday afternoon for happy hour. Sadly, happy hour prices have gone up there in recent days - no doubt due to the pandemic - but you can still get a good IPA for $4.00, thank God. Wally just got back from a 5,000 mile road trip, going from Denver to Red Lodge, Montana, then to Holland, Michigan for the funeral of his brother - who passed away suddenly - and after that to St. Ignace in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (where his sister lives). He then went back to Red Lodge, and after that home to Denver. And, I might add, Wally has always said he does not like to travel. Go figure. In any case, we still seem to have major differences in our political views, but hopefully all that will simmer down in the next month or so. And, by the way, I took the above photograph of Wally in front of Spanky's as we were leaving. As can clearly be seen, Wally is adhering to local regulations and wearing a mask, all the better to stay alive and find out the election results. After all, why come this far and not know?

A Private Cathedral

I recently finished reading A Private Cathedral, the latest Dave Robicheaux novel by James Lee Burke.  I really like this series. Burke is a very gifted writer, and so I was surprised to find that Sandra Dallas, a local novelist and fellow University of Denver alum, gave the book a less than enthusiastic review in the Denver Post. This was because in this latest story, Dave and his friend Clete are investigating some questionable dealings between a Mafia family and a wealthy, New Iberia, Louisiana landowner, who might not only be evil, but supernaturally so.  I personally enjoyed the book, and did not find the plot outlandish at all. In previous stories, the protagonist, New Iberia police detective Dave Robicheaux, has seen confederate soldiers walking through the mist, and has also seen a riverboat with his mother and father and deceased friends steaming toward him when he has been seriously wounded. This series is about the existence of evil in this world, and the need to take action against it however and whenever you can. Dealing with satanic forces is just part of the job. I strongly recommend reading this book, and thanks to the bad reviews, it should not take too long on the waiting list to get it from your local library.

The Coelacanth

As I have mentioned many times on this blog, I sometimes like to take the bus from my condo near the University of Denver up to Colfax, and from there walk down 17th Avenue to Union Station in Lower Downtown Denver, and the light rail train home. The street has become a hipster hangout, and I always enjoy watching hipsters in their native habitat. On one such walk, I noticed the mural in the photograph above titled "The Coelacanth." This is evidently a large fish (over 6 feet long) that has been around for 400 million years, lives on the bottom of the ocean, and according to the mural, is "still truckin'." Is it me, or does this seem like a weird subject for a mural? Especially in a city a thousand miles from the sea. I will never understand hipsters.

Great Sunsets, But At A High Cost

I took the above photograph of sunset over the University of Denver's Ritchie Center from the balcony of my condo a couple of nights ago. Granted, the sky is a very dramatic color, but that is because there are several forest fires in the state that have been burning for weeks now, and it is the smoke from those fires that make the sky so dramatic. Back on Labor Day, when I was up in Fort Collins, which is pretty close to the Cameron Peak fire, the intense smoke caused the town to be in perpetual dusk the entire day. I'm afraid this is the new reality here in the west. I think those horrendous forest fires in Australia last year should have been a warning. Climate change is definitely having it's effect on the world, and it's about time politicians took it seriously, no matter how upset their campaign donors might become. After all, we are used to public tantrums by this time, thanks to our glorious leader. Who says he hasn't had a positive effect?

A Chicago Baseball Update

Major League Baseball's Division Series begins this week, but alas, my Southside heros, the Chicago White Sox, are not participating. They were eliminated in the three game Wildcard Series by the Oakland A's. Those Northside Chicago Cubs did not fare any better - they were eliminated by the Miami Marlins - Yes! The Marlins! - in just two games. As we are always fond of saying back in Chicago, "wait until next year." I will say, however, that the White Sox did look good this season. And I still maintain that if the White Sox or Cubs did win it all this October, their achievement would have had an asterisk attached to it, noting that it was only a 60 game season due to the coronavirus, and not a real baseball season at all. So, in the end, both teams dodged a bullet, marking time until next season. Convoluted thinking, I know, but when you are a Chicago baseball fan, that is to be expected.

The Patio Crowd Is Back, But For How Long?

I did both some biking and walking around Denver this past weekend, and I must say, the patios of the bars and restaurants in Denver's hipster neighborhoods are going great guns. I took the photograph on the left of the Tacos Tequila Whisky Bar on a walk downtown. It is located at the corner of Colfax Avenue and York Street, which is in the gentrified part of East Colfax, which runs about a mile from York Street to Colorado Boulevard, and includes lots of upscale restaurants, bars, the Tattered Cover Bookstore, Twist and Shout Records, and even a Whole Foods for those who feel they can't pay enough for their groceries.  To the west Colfax becomes a haven for the homeless, and to the east are run down motels from the 1950s that cater to people who cannot afford to rent an apartment. And by the way, the upper floors of the building in this photograph used to house Denver Free University, where I once took a photography class. And no, Denver Free University is not, and never has been, free.

I took the photograph on the right of the Vine Street Pub as I was biking downtown this past Friday afternoon. This is the sister brew pub to the Mountain Sun Brewery on Pearl Street up in Boulder, and is located on 17th Avenue, which used to be called - and perhaps still is - restaurant row. Both the food and the beer are good here, but neither of these pubs take credit cards - only cash and checks. I remember one time my friend Stuart and I came here for dinner. After we each ordered a beer, we discovered their no credit card policy, and somehow managed to scrounge up the cash for the drinks, thus avoiding an evening of dishwashing. And while all these hipster hotspots are doing well now while we are having perfect fall weather, what happens in another month or so when the weather turns bad? Will people still be willing to dine inside with Covid-19 still active? I think the only hope is if winter never comes this year. Don't count on it.

The Joy Of Old Family Photos

And I do mean old. When my mother came to live with me here in Denver, we brought along all of the family photo albums - not to mention a van filled with a heck of a lot more stuff - and I periodically go through them and relive old memories. Of course, a lot of these photos are a lot older than me, such as the one on the left, which due to my extraordinary psychic abilities, I believe was taken on July 7th, 1937. The photograph is of my parents, Mary and Nelson, taken three years before they got married, back when they were dating. This was during the depression, when nobody had any money, and so they had to find things to do that they could afford, such as dining at the White Castle, or spending a day at the Indiana dunes on Lake Michigan, where this picture was taken. The dunes, now a national park, are just a short drive from the South Side of Chicago. My mother used to tell me that even though they had no money, they always had a great time. In fact, it was the happiest days of their lives.

Another photograph I like, seen on the right, is of my parents and my sister Susan, back when my mother and Susan took the train from Chicago down to Abilene, Texas, to visit my father, who was in training after being drafted, much to his surprise - at the age of 35 - into the army. Susan fondly remembers that train trip, but is not sure what year this photo was taken, and my psychic abilities have deserted me on this one. I suspect it was 1944, but that is only a guess. That would have made Susan 2 years old. Not too long after, my father was sent to Okinawa, working as a dentist in what today is known as a MASH unit. My father hated being a dentist, but actually liked being in the army. For four years he didn't have to go into the office every day. Happily, he was able to retire in 1976, when he and my mother moved to Stuart, Florida, and was able to play golf  and enjoy life for the next 7 years. We all wished he had lived longer, but at least he had those years of happiness. I am very glad for that.

The Last Odyssey

I just finished reading The Last Odyssey, James Rollin's latest Sigma Force thriller. This time that top U.S. spy agency heads to Greenland to investigate an ancient shipwreck that is filled with very scary robotic weapons of mass destruction. To make matters worse, a well organized terrorist group attacks the team while it is investigating the wreck and steals an ancient, interactive map that leads to where the main stockpile of these weapons are hidden. This is an exciting, fast-paced novel that combines both history and fiction to create an exciting story about the Sigma team trying to prevent what could lead to the end of the world. Suspend your sense of disbelief and pick up a copy today.

Still Another European Flashback

During these times of pandemic and self quarantine, it is nice to think about past trips taken, and dream of once again heading back to places such as Paris, where my sister Susan and I spent five days a year ago this past May. Susan's favorite part of the trip was just hanging out in cafes, drinking wine, and watching the crowds go by. This also seems to be the favorite activity of the Parisians, such as couple in the photograph on the left. Susan wants to return to Paris for her 80th birthday, which will be a year from this January. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be a bit on the cool side hanging out in cafes that time of year, but on the other hand, I'll bet the museums are are a lot less crowded. As always, you have to take both the good and the bad when you travel.

My favorite part of Paris is the Rue Cler neighborhood. Rue Cler itself is a market street close to the Eiffel Tower, and is very popular with Americans. Another favorite neighborhood of mine is the Marais District, where Place des Vosges, seen in the photograph on the right, is located. The Marais used to be a swamp, but was turned into a neighborhood for the aristocracy by Henry IV. Place des Vosges was built in 1612, and features residences for both the king and the queen on opposite sides of the park. Although the king and queen never wound up living here, the aristocracy did, and this square was where nobles would meet to discuss the events of the day. Alexander Dumas lived here, too, and his apartment is now a museum. This is one of the most pleasant spots in Paris, and it is a pleasure just to sit here, relax, and watch the locals go about their daily lives. I wonder if it will be just as pleasant in January? Of course, as the British say, there is no inappropriate weather, just inappropriate clothing. Words to live by.

Echo Lake Lodge

I drove up to Echo Lake, located at the foot of Mount Evans here in Colorado, last week to check out the fall colors. While there, I stopped in at the Echo Lake Lodge (seen on the left), which has been around since 1926. I first visited this place back in 1981, not too long after I moved to Denver from Chicago. My parents, Mary and Nelson, and my sister Susan and her husband George had come to visit, and one afternoon I decided drive them to the top of Mount Evans. The Echo Lake Lodge is located at the start of the Mount Evans Road, which leads to the 14,000 foot summit. My father was having trouble breathing by the time we got to the lodge, and decided to stay at the bar there while we went the rest of the way up. Which makes sense, since my father was of the belief that if you have seen one mountain, you have seen them all.

This time around, due to the coronavirus, the road to the top of Mount Evans was closed. And even if it had opened as scheduled, it always closes by Labor Day, since the snow starts to fall pretty early up there. Back in 1981, when my mother and sister and I continued on to the top, it turned out to be quite an experience for them.  Most of the road was above treeline, and there were many, many sharp curves. And, as I recall, no guard rails. Susan enjoyed the drive, but I think my mother was petrified. She didn't stop talking about those "whore pin" turns for weeks. As I have said before, my mother was not the outdoor type. That's what growing up in Chicago does to you.