Happy Memorial Day!

Today is Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, but unfortunately, here in Denver, it has been a very rainy weekend. Saturday was overcast but dry, and a lot of people flocked to the 16th Street Mall, where the city is hosting a festival called Meet In the Street, no doubt wanting to get outside for a bit before the cold and rain predicted by the weather forecasters (and who were right, by the way) hit on Sunday and Monday. This festival was virtually the only major event taking place this weekend - the Denver Art Festival, a major Memorial Day tradition, has been postponed until September. Meet in the Street was a bit underwhelming - a number of pretty loud, pretty annoying bands, cornhole games (i.e. beanbag), and chairs set up on artificial turf (as seen in the photo above) were among the highlights. And with all this rain, Denver may lose it's reputation for having over 300 days of sunshine each year. Of course, nobody knows where this particular fact - touted in all the tourist brochures - comes from, although I am sure it is true. The Chamber of Commerce wouldn't lie, would they? Nah. Regardless, Happy Memorial Day Everybody!

A Tip For Florida Tourists

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and it reminds me that whenever my sister Susan and I would visit my mother Mary down in Stuart, Florida during the month of May, I would make good and sure we flew back home either on or close to that holiday. I really like Florida in the summertime. You get used to the heat and humidity, and there is always a fresh breeze off the ocean at Stuart Beach, where the above photograph of my sister and mother was taken back in 1999. July and August are wonderful months to visit. There is usually a mid-afternoon thunderstorm every day, but it quickly ends, and then the sun comes back out. However, during the month of June, it seems to rain 24/7, at least whenever I have been down in Stuart. If anyone out there has plans to visit Florida, I strongly suggest you avoid that particular month, unless you are from the UK or somewhere like that, and want it to feel like home.

The Pool Is Back...

I stepped out onto the balcony of my condo across the street from the University of Denver the other morning, and it looked like the building manager was preparing to open the pool. The past few years, due to leaks and Covid restrictions and all that, it has been touch and go whether the pool opened at all. The signs of activity this year are encouraging. Of course, when the pool is up and running, DU students (usually frat boys) sometimes like to jump off the balconies into the pool to show off for the co-eds. The last time that happened, a student hit the bottom, broke his collar bone, and wandered around the pool area in a daze until someone took him to the hospital. I would strongly encourage students not to do that, especially since, as seen in the photograph above, the pool is currently only half filled with water. 

The May Mutt Of The Month

I took the photograph on the left of the May Mutt of the Month as I was taking a walk through my South Central Denver neighborhood. This dog was just fine when I turned and said hello, but when I pointed my camera at him or her, it started barking non-stop. No doubt a camera shy dog. And I thought I only had that problem with people, most of whom I suspect are in the witness protection program.

Dinner With Stuart At Old Chicago

I had dinner yesterday afternoon with my friend Stuart (seen in the photograph above) on the patio of the Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom in exotic, but mind-numbingly boring Lakewood, Colorado. The upstairs patio was reserved for a private party (the hostess mentioned something about a Kardashian family get-together), and so instead we got a table on the first floor patio overlooking the parking lot. In any case, the talk turned to baseball, and both Stuart's team, the Chicago Cubs (Stuart is from the Northside of Chicago) and my Southside heros, the Chicago White Sox (I am, of course, proudly from Chicago's Southside), are doing well this year, although whenever I watch a White Sox game these days, they seem to struggle. Should I stop watching, and allow them to go all the way to the World Series, or keep on tuning in and watch them collapse? Decisions, decisions.

The Kaiser's Web

I just finished reading The Kaiser's Web, the latest Cotton Malone adventure novel by Steve Berry. Malone is a retired US spy, who runs a bookstore in Copenhagen, but is frequently called back by his old agency to help with particularly difficult situations. This time, a former president of the United States asks Malone and his girlfriend, Cassiopeia Vitt, to help the German Chancellor, in the middle of a very close reelection campaign, to get information about her opponent's possible connection to the Third Reich. They travel across three continents to find the answers to her questions, the story concluding with a dramatic confrontation at a medieval German castle and a very surprising ending. I really enjoyed this book, and strongly recommend getting it from your local library. Today if possible. 

Of Gardens and Soccer...

I brought coffee and croissants over to my friend Mark's place Sunday morning to watch the final Leeds soccer game of the season. Leeds won the game over West Brom 3-1, and finished in 9th place, far higher than Leeds fans expected. Leeds moved up to the Premier League this past year, and their fans hoped only that the team would not be relegated back down to the second division. To me, those Leeds fans sound a heck of a lot like Chicago Cubs fans, those poor damned souls. Mark has lots of friends in Leeds and the nearby suburb of Morley, and so Leeds is one of his favorite teams. After the game, I took the photograph above of Mark in the backyard of the house he shares with his brother Mike, who works at the Denver Botanical Gardens. And when not at work, Mike's favorite hobby is - get ready - gardening, which explains all the flowers in the background. Mike feels about gardens what Mark feels about soccer. Which is really saying something.

Getting Together With The Old DU Bookstore Gang Again

At long last, yesterday evening, after more than a year, I got together with the now retired University of Denver Bookstore gang and their spouses to have dinner and catch up on what everybody has been doing during the pandemic. Valarie, the former Operations Manager at the store, and her husband Jake hosted a get-together in their backyard, serving very delicious ribs. Not surprisingly, everyone has stayed pretty close to home this past year. The conversation ranged from physical ailments to politics to books to television shows to future travel plans to physical ailments. And no, we are NOT all just getting old. In the photograph above, standing in the back from left to right, are Jake, Linda (wife of Darrel), Jim (husband of Chris), Chris, the former Accounts Payable Assistant at the DU Bookstore, and Darrel, the store's former Accounts Payable Supervisor. And sitting in the chair, refusing to move because she was far too comfortable, is Valarie. Great to see all you guys again!

A Long Ago Trip To Colorado

Back in the late 1930s, before they were married, my mother Mary and father Nelson (seen in the photo on the left), along with my mother's parents, William and Louise, and her girlfriend Peggy, took a road trip from the South Side of Chicago to Colorado. My grandfather did the driving, and my mother told me it seemed like the longest trip of her life. My grandfather would drive along at a reasonable speed, then start thinking about something, and unconsciously slow down for a while, before speeding up again, and then repeating the whole process. Plus, they were driving during the hot summer, long before cars had air conditioning.

On that trip, they visited Rocky Mountain National Park, where they went horseback riding; the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, and Cheyenne Mountain, just west of the Broadmoor Hotel, where the photograph of my mother (on the right) and her friend Peggy was taken. In the background of the photograph is the Will Rogers Shrine, which I myself have visited several times while driving up the mountain to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. And why is there a shrine to Will Rogers, born in Oklahoma, on Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs? Beats the hell out of me.

The photograph on the left is of my grandparents, Louise and William Spillard, who were the ones whose idea it was to make the trip. I am not sure where this photo was taken, but I suspect Rocky Mountain National Park. When you drive up Trail Ridge Road toward the top of the Continental Divide, there are viewing turnoffs along the way that look just like it. This must have been quite an adventure back then, driving through every single small town along the way, taking days rather than hours to reach your destination. I suspect it must have been faster than going by stagecoach, but not by much. My mother's most vivid memory of Colorado was how hot it was in the sun, but so cool in the shade. After living here in Denver for 40 years now, I have to say that it is still the same, despite climate change.

Getting Close To The Grand Opening!

Yesterday afternoon I walked past the Tattered Cover Bookstore's new location in McGregor Square, located just to the south of Coors Field, and saw through the window that the bookcases were in place, and the staff was beginning to put books on the shelves. This Denver area bookstore chain was forced to close their Lower Downtown (LoDo) location on the 16th Street Mall due to prohibitive rent increases, and hoped to open the new store, three blocks to the north, this weekend.  I don't think they are ready to open quite yet, but I believe they are pretty close. However, the coffee bar, seen under construction in the photograph on the left, does look like it needs a bit of work. 

And actually, at this point, besides the Rally Hotel, only a single restaurant is currently open for business at the complex. On game days, the Colorado Rockies set up tables and chairs in the center of the square, beneath a huge television screen, and sell cans of Coors and Budweiser beer (no doubt at stadium prices), which attracts a modest crowd. However, to generate foot traffic on non-game days, all the other restaurants and shops need to open, too. Until that happens, let's hope the Tattered Cover's loyal customers will make the extra three block trek to the store, anyway.

More Farm Animal Photos From The Littleton Museum

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, this past Wednesday afternoon  I visited the Littleton Museum, which not surprisingly is located in Littleton, Colorado, an historic town from the 1860s just to the south of Denver. The best part of this museum are the two farms - one from the 1860s and one from the 1890s - which feature a variety of farm animals, such as the goat in the photograph on the left.

I took photographs of horses, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, and a steer, seen in the photograph on the right.  Since the National Western Stock Show has been canceled two years in a row because of the coronavirus, the Littleton Museum is the best opportunity to take photographs of farm animals. Of course, during the stock show, the National Western Grand Champion Steer is invited to the Brown Palace Hotel for high tea. I have always wanted to take photographs of that event, but will now have to wait until January. Hopefully, I will be able to get a seat at the same table as that steer. And to do that, I will probably have to show up early - very early.

The Littleton Museum

Yesterday afternoon I drove from my condo across the street from the University of Denver to the Littleton Museum, one of my favorite spots in Colorado. It consists of a modern building with exhibits showing the history of the region, two historic farms, complete with farmhouses (one from the 1860s and one from the 1890s), and best of all, lots of farm animals, such as the sheep seen in the photograph on the left.

All of these animals are very friendly, and walk right up to you when you appear at the fences. And all are perfectly willing to pose for photographs, such as billy goat in the photograph on the right. The last time I was here, everyone was required to make an advance reservation, and could only stay for a limited time, but now all restrictions have been lifted. Plus, unlike the Four Mile House in Denver, which also features farm animals, the Littleton Museum is free. How great is that?

Back To Normal?

Yesterday afternoon we saw a very strange sight here in Denver - the sun. It has been raining here a lot lately. In fact, to date we have received more moisture than all of last year. Of course, last year almost half the state burned down, and so therefore I have to admit that rain is a good thing. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't make hay while the sun shines, which is exactly what I did, taking the light rail train downtown and walking the Lower Highlands neighborhood, as well downtown's 16th Street Mall. And I must say, things are beginning to look quite normal again, after over a year of dealing with the coronavirus, including at Larimer Square, seen in the photograph on the left. 

Things are especially lively on days when the Colorado Rockies play baseball at Coors Field. Sidewalks are crowded with people, and bar and restaurant patios are full, including at Machete Tequila and Tacos, seen in the photograph on the right. And does this mean the pandemic is finally over? It seems like it now, but never say never. A very large number of people refuse to get the Covid-19 vaccine, and that is indeed the wildcard factor. It might all come down to Darwin's "survival of the fittest," where people who believe in science and vaccines will go back to normal, and the anti-vaxxers and a sizable number of Republicans will take their chances. But I still recommend enjoying the good weather while you can.

One Happy Goose

I went for a walk around the neighborhood yesterday afternoon, including through Denver's Washington Park, which thanks to a very overcast day and the threat of rain, was pretty deserted. The weather didn't seem to bother the geese, who lounged on the grass, searched for food, and just enjoyed the ambience, seemingly without a care in the world. When I pointed my camera at the happy looking goose in the photograph on the left, he or she started walking toward me, no doubt thinking I was going to feed it. Or else, it knew about my blog, and wanted to be featured on it. If so, geese are a lot smarter than I thought. I wonder if Wi-Fi is provided free of charge at the park?

A Major League Baseball Update

As of this morning, my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, have the best record in major league baseball. I watched three of their games this past weekend, and began to think I might be a jinx to the team. After a long winning streak, they lost the first game of a doubleheader on Friday against the Kansas City Royals, and just barely held on to win the second game. On Saturday night, they managed only 3 hits and lost 5-1. I was sure they would lose yesterday's game, too, but they came from behind in the bottom of the 9th inning to win in exciting fashion. Kansas City's closer, Wade Davis, threw a wild pitch, and Jose Abreu ran home from third base to win the game on an extremely close play. I guess I am not a jinx after all. And by the way, seeing Wade Davis in action reminded me that last year he was the closer for the Colorado Rockies, who released him after he finished with a 20.77 ERA, which is bad bad bad. He seems to be a much better pitcher for the Royals this year, while the Rockies are the worst team in the National League. They occasionally play good baseball, such as the day I sat in McGregor Square and watched them on the big screen, as seen above, but only occasionally. I still think it will be a long season for both them and Colorado Rockies fans. To paraphrase (by which I mean steal from) the late Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko - who was actually referring to the Chicago Cubs - you win some, you lose some, but with the Rockies, you mostly lose some.

More Stuart Florida Nostalgia

I took the photograph on the left of my sister Susan and mother Mary back in 1995, when Susan and I were visiting our mother down in Stuart, Florida. It was taken at Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty, as the sign in the background says, no doubt in an effort to get a little free publicity. Stuart, by the way, can be seen just across the St. Lucie River in the far background. Sadly, Jack Baker's Lobster Shanty was hit by two Category 3 hurricanes back in 2004 and never reopened. The last time I was in Stuart, I checked out the site, and it was just a vacant lot - no building, no marina, no more early bird specials. And do they even have early bird specials in Florida anymore, or is the early bird special generation almost all gone?

On that same trip, we also had a passerby take the photograph on the right of the three of us at Stuart Beach, where we used to go for a few hours each day before heading back home for dinner. And once again, I am wearing one of my favorite shirts, which I actually still have in my closet. This coming August, it will be at least 26 years old, and probably a lot older. I would have to go through all my Florida snapshots to pinpoint it's exact age. Waste not, want not, I always say. 

The Heartbreak Of Separation Anxiety

My sister Susan's dog Blackberry suffers from a severe case of separation anxiety. I first noticed this when we took a trip with Blackberry and Susan's other dog, Tutu, to Santa Fe, New Mexico a few years back. Whenever Susan went into a shop and I stayed outside with the dogs, Blackberry would emit barks, whine, and stare intently into that shop until Susan came outside. And when we took Blackberry along with us on Susan's errands this past Thursday, she did the same thing. Susan went into the local King Soopers Grocery Store to drop off a prescription, and I stayed outside with Blackberry, who once again barked, whined, and stood up on her hind legs and stared into the store entrance until Susan returned. When we went back to pick up the prescription, I decided to stay in the car with Blackberry, to avoid all that emotional stress. Blackberry still spent the entire time staring at the store's entrance, as seen in the photograph above, waiting for Susan's return. I have suggested many times to Susan that she hire a doggie psychiatrist, to help Blackberry deal with these issues, but Susan steadfastly refuses. I can't imagine why.

A Return To Sloan's Lake

This past Saturday I biked from my condo across the street from the University of Denver to Sloan's Lake and back. I really like that area. In recent years, it has gone quite upscale, with pricey condos and apartments on the south end, and expensive new McMansions replacing humble bungalows everywhere else. The first of these condo developments was Lake House, seen in the photograph on the left. Although not nearly as iconic, it reminds me a bit of those upscale high rises bordering Lincoln Park in Chicago, facing a small patch of parkland in front of the Lincoln Park Lagoon. Considering what you have to pay for a 2 bedroom condo at Lake House, it boggles the mind thinking what those condos lining Lincoln Park must now cost.

Saturday was a pretty strange weather day. Halfway through my ride, it looked like it was going to start pouring, and I seriously considered turning back for home. But to the west, I saw a bit of blue sky and thought that even if it did rain, the odds were good that I would not melt. As it happened, for the rest of the ride, it was mostly sunny, although to the east and south it looked pretty ominous. Sloan's Lake Park still seems to attract a pretty diverse crowd, rich and poor all enjoying time outdoors together. And by the way, the lake itself was created when a farmer named Sloan - surprise! - decided to dig a well on his farm. He wound up hitting a natural spring, and the next day found he now had a lake instead of a farm. The City of Denver eventually bought that farm, as well as some land surrounding it, and created today's park. The rest, as they say, is history. 

A Jean Shepherd Flashback

I took the bus up to Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore, where I once worked as the bookkeeper, yesterday afternoon, and from there walked down East 17th Avenue toward downtown. Right after I passed Stoney's Uptown Joint, a local hipster hangout, I noticed a new bar going in called The Dew Drop Inn. It is a name right out of the 40s and 50s, and reminded me of the stories of humorist Jean Shepherd, who wrote a number of very funny books about growing up in Northwest Indiana, including In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters. If you haven't read them, you are in for a real treat when you do. In any case, Shepherd made a number of movies for both PBS and for the big screen, too. My favorite, which he wrote and narrated, was The Great American 4th of July and Other Disasters. This was a really excellent PBS production, funny and poignant at the same time. In one scene, Shepherd waxes poetically about the proud tradition of the local neighborhood tavern, and mentions the names of some, including the Dew Drop Inn, a corny name if there ever was one. I wonder if the place here in Denver (seen above with a photo of Shepherd superimposed on it) is going to be a Jean Shepherd themed bar, with his movies showing continuously on a screen and copies of his books for sale? I certainly hope so. It will give that hipster joint next door a run for it's money.

Watching Leeds Play Tottenham

I visited my friend Mark yesterday afternoon to watch a rebroadcast of last Saturday's soccer game between Leeds and Tottenham. Mark - seen in the photograph above scarfing down pizza - is a fan of both Tottenham and Leeds, but since he has many friends who live in Leeds and the surrounding area, always cheers for Leeds no matter who they are playing. Last year, the team advanced from the Championship League, England's second tier soccer league, to the Premier League, where all the top soccer teams play. Leeds fans only hoped that the team finished no worse than 17 out of 20, so that they would not be relegated back down to the Championship League. Such little faith. It looks like the team will finish this year in 10th place, right in the middle of the pack. Great news for Leeds fans, who closely follow the team to take their minds off the fact that they actually live in Leeds. Just kidding, guys! Really! I mean really! And by the way, Leeds won the game 3-1.

Winter - Not Quite Done Yet...

It's "Springtime in the Rockies," a phrase used here in Denver and the rest of Colorado to remind people that during the spring we can have temperatures in the 80s one day, and a snowstorm the next. And so it is no surprise that this past Saturday I was biking around Denver in a tee shirt, and yesterday was driving around Fort Collins in the snow. The storm was not all that bad during the daytime, but driving back to Denver last night across what is essentially the edge of the Great Plains was not fun. But fun is where you find it. There was no shortage of drivers going well over the speed limit, confident that their vehicles were able to defy the laws of physics. No doubt the same people who believe the coronavirus does not exist and the 2020 election was stolen. I'm just sayin'.

The Upside Of Wearing Helmets And Masks

I went for a long bike ride from my condo across the street from the University of Denver to Sloan's Lake this past Saturday afternoon. I took the above photograph along the way, on top of the Millennium Bridge, which crosses assorted train tracks and leads to Denver's Lower Highlands neighborhood. After looking at this photo, I began to think of the positive aspects of wearing both bicycle helmets and face masks. Since I am only a few months away from the anniversary of a pretty serious bicycle crash, where I landed, without a helmet, teeth first on a metal grate, cracking my front tooth and requiring over $3,000 in dental work, the benefits of wearing a helmet are obvious. As for wearing a face mask, besides helping to protect everyone from the Covid-19 virus, it also hides the fact that my mustache is now completely white, marring my otherwise youthful appearance. When those white hairs first started appearing years ago, I decided to shave off that mustache. Afterwards, everyone commented on how weird my face looked. After 6 months or so had passed, and people were still remarking on how weird I looked, I realized that for better or worse, I had to grow that mustache back. Better to look old than weird. It makes for a lot fewer stops by the cops.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day, and in honor of this, I am featuring the above photograph of my mother Mary and sister Susan, taken in front of The Admiral's Table in Jensen Beach, Florida, one of our favorite restaurants in the Stuart area, back in 1996. The restaurant was seriously damaged when two Category 3 hurricanes made a direct hit on Stuart back in September of 2004, and never reopened. Happily, a new restaurant and brew pub will be opening in that building this year. And by the way, if my mother was still alive, she would be 105 years old. Which is definitely not a kid. Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

Happy Hour 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. Spanky's has cheap beer and cheap appetizers during happy hour, but I myself like it for it's chic ambiance, right on beautiful East Evans Avenue, just to the west of the DU campus. Wally and his wife Linda recently took the Amtrak train from Denver to San Francisco to visit their son Peter and fiancee Holly, and daughter Lydia and son-in-law Nathan, who all live out there. They enjoyed both the rail journey and their visit to the Bay Area immensely. Wally also drove up to Montana to visit a friend who owns a ranch just outside of Red Lodge for a week or so. For someone who doesn't like to travel, Wally (seen in the above photograph in front of fashionable but dirt cheap Spanky's) sure does travel a lot. Great catching up with you, Wally!

The Eyes Have It

A few years ago, an entire city block in Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo) was redeveloped into a mixed use project called The Dairy Block. It includes a hotel, offices, and on the ground floor, restaurants, bars, and retail shops. Historic structures were preserved and incorporated into the new construction, and the alley between the two halfs of the project has become a major hipster hangout, with lots of outdoor restaurant seating, live music, and pop up retail booths. I really enjoy walking down this alley to people-watch and see what's new. It is kitty corner from McGregor Square, and just south of Coors Field. Hopefully, all this street traffic will carry over to the Tattered Cover Bookstore, where I used to work as the bookkeeper, when it opens in a couple of weeks at McGregor Square. And by the way, the photograph above is one of the many funky murals and objects that decorate that alley. Much different from the alleys back home in Chicago, but that is a good thing.

Spring Has Sprung In Denver

Although snow is always a possibility during the month of May, it appears that spring has finally arrived here in Denver. The grass has turned green, flowers are springing up, and trees are blooming all over town, including on downtown Denver's 16th Street Mall, as seen in the photograph above. On the right side of this photo is the D & F Tower, which today is an office condo, but many years ago was attached to the Daniels and Fisher Department Store. Eventually, the store was bought by the May Company, moved to the other end of 16th Street, and became May D & F. When I first moved to Denver back in 1981, there were four department stores on what was soon to become the 16th Street Mall: May D & F, The Denver, Joslins, and Neusteters. Within just a few years, all had closed. I suspect those stores had 100 year leases, and since most of them had branches at the nearby Cherry Creek Shopping Center, they decided against renewing. These days, of course, department stores are struggling to survive, and most likely won't. Which of course does not detract from another pleasant spring day in Denver.

Cinco De Mayo - Canceled

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a minor holiday in Mexico, but a big deal here in Denver. There is usually a large festival in Civic Center Park, attended by thousands of people. However, this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it has once again been canceled. On the other hand, another tradition - cruising down Federal Boulevard, past traditionally Hispanic neighborhoods - will go on as usual, carefully monitored by the police. And by the way, the photograph on the left, as well as the photo below, were taken on Mexican Independence Day, which takes place in September, and is a big holiday in Mexico, too.

The Mexican Independence Day celebration here in Denver used to take place on Santa Fe Drive, and is where I took these photos back in 2004. It was a really fun festival to attend, since it took place in a Hispanic neighborhood, and everyone who lived in the area showed up, dressed in their Sunday best. Everyone was always in a great mood, and all the local merchants participated. Eventually, so many people started attending that it, too, was forced to move to Civic Center Park in downtown Denver. It really took away a lot of the local color that made the festival so much fun. And these days, that area where the festival took place is now the Santa Fe Arts District, and it seems like very few of those Hispanic owned businesses are still around. Swift's, seen in the photograph on the right, is still there, but no longer a steakhouse. It is currently called Swift's Breakfast House, serving both breakfast and lunch. But at least it still exists. Happy Cinco de Mayo Everyone!

The Tattered Cover Opens This Month At McGregor Square!

I walked through McGregor Square this past Saturday afternoon and saw a sign in one of the windows announcing that Denver's Tattered Cover Bookstore will soon be opening at that location, most likely in just two weeks time. The Tattered Cover's LoDo location on the 16th Street Mall closed on March 17th, in anticipation of the move to McGregor Square, about three blocks away and just across the street from Coors Field. I worked as the bookkeeper at the Tattered Cover before retiring in 2018, and can testify that the rent charged for that 16th Street Mall location was astronomical, thus necessitating the move. Foot traffic at the new location will probably not be as high as on the 16th Street Mall, but hopefully with lower rent expense, the store will do well. Good luck guys!

A Colorado Rockies Update

The Colorado Rockies, as of this morning, have a win-loss record of 10-18. This is the worst record in the National League. However, there is a team in the American League, the Detroit Tigers, that is even worse, although not by much. I suspect it will be a fight to the finish to see which one finishes the season as the most horrible team in baseball this year.  The Rockies' general manager, Jeff Bridich, resigned last week, and it is generally agreed that whoever replaces him will have quite a task on their hands rebuilding the team. In any case, I took the photograph above of my sister Susan and late brother-in-law George at Coors Field back in September of 1996, the year after the Rockies reached the playoffs after only their third year of existence. Much different expectations back then than today. As Chicago Cubs fans always like to say, wait until next year...

Derby Day!

Yesterday was the first Saturday in May, and this year, returning to tradition, the 147th running of the Kentucky Derby took place. I always have a fondness for the derby - it was a tradition in our family to always have a little get-together and a derby pool. Everyone would put a few bucks in the kitty, draw a couple of names of horses cut from that day's newspaper out of a hat, and then watch the race, with eyes on the prize. It seems like a lot of people celebrate the Kentucky Derby out here, too. Lower Downtown Denver was filled with people all dressed up, the ladies with fancy hats, no doubt heading to various bars and restaurants to watch the race, including on the patio of Viewhouse Ballpark, as seen in the photograph on the left.

After walking around downtown for a while, I headed home and watched the race on television. Medina Spirit, at 12-1 not a top favorite, won the race, giving trainer Bob Baffert a record 7 derby wins. If I had realized that the racing world's top trainer had a horse in the Kentucky Derby at 12-1 odds, I would have rushed up to Central City and bet the farm on it. Of course, if I had done that, the horse would have lost, and ruined Baffert's day, and so I guess it was all for the best.

Guava Moon Revenge

I just finished reading Guava Moon Revenge, an Alex Rutledge Key West mystery by Tom Corcoran. This is the seventh of eight books in the series. I used to be able to get these books from the Denver Public Library, but several years ago they stopped carrying his new novels. Coincidence or not, Corcoran started self-publishing his books, and they are now only available on Amazon, with the possible exception of bookstores in Key West. Since they are only available at full retail, I have put off reading his latest two books until now, flush with cash from stimulus checks. This time, Rutledge, a professional photographer, and his police officer girlfriend Beth, are on vacation in the Caymans when they are called back to Key West. Beth's friend Elaine, who was staying at her home while they were away, has been murdered, and it appears that Beth was the intended victim. This story started slowly, but has an exciting finish. But what I like best is the Key West vibe in each of these stories. I heartily recommend reading the entire series, even if you do have to pay full retail.