The World Turned Upside Down - I Am Starting To Download Kindle Books

I went onto the Amazon web site yesterday looking for new books by my favorite authors, and was happy find that Tom Corcoran has a new Alex Rutledge Key West mystery out, titled A Step Beyond Chaos. However, I was surprised to find that it is only available in a Kindle version. What is the world coming to these days, anyway? Coup attempts by the ex-president, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, climate change, and  now this. When I calmed down a bit, I noticed a tab at the bottom of the page that said you could download an app and read the book on any computer, phone, or i-pad, without having to buy a special reader. Then I remembered that I brought my late brother-in-law George's i-pad home from my sister Susan's townhouse when I was packing the place up, getting it ready for sale. And in no time - OK, I admit it, after googling instructions and updating the i-pad to the latest version, as well as updating the google browser itself, among other problems that took me all morning, I downloaded the book. What an improvement from just buying a book and taking it home, or having it shipped to you. Progress at last!

Opening Day For Spring Training!

This past Saturday was the start of baseball spring training games in Florida and Arizona, and I was able to catch the first Chicago White Sox broadcast of the year from Camelback Ranch in Glendale Arizona, seen in the photograph on the left, on MLB.com. The White Sox were widely expected to win their division last year, but struggled to finish at exactly .500, ending up 11 games behind Cleveland. This year they lost all-star first baseman Jose Abreu to free agency, and their closer, Liam Hendricks, is out until further notice as he battles Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. And so it is up in the air what they will do this season. But it spring training, after all, and so as usual, hope springs eternal. Even for all those poor Cubs fans.

Happily, Steve Stone and Jason Benetti, seen in the photograph on the right, are back in the broadcast booth this year and are already in mid-season form. Much of their discussion on Saturday concerned the new 20-second pitch clock, which has been instituted to help speed up the game, and it actually seems to be working. Saturday's White Sox game lasted only 2 1/2 hours, and the results were similar for the other teams playing that day. My favorite team is, of course, my South Side Chicago heroes, but since I live in Denver now, when I attend a baseball game, it is to see the Colorado Rockies play at Coors Field. And in the past, if it was a night game, it always seemed to drag on forever, and I never got home before midnight. I am hoping the pitch clock will speed up the games here in Colorado, too, even if the Rockies do regularly give up dozens of runs each game. And considering they finished in last place last year, losing 94 games, and have not made any significant changes to the roster this year, I suspect that trend will continue. I hate to say "wait until next year" before the season has even begun, but there you go.

Photographing Surprise Celebrities At The DAM

I mentioned to my sister Susan the other day that I took a photograph of Toulouse-Lautrec at the Denver Art Museum (The DAM) about 11 years ago, back when they had a special exhibition of his work, and she actually didn't believe me. I had to go through my collection of external hard drives to find that photo, but I did, as seen on the left. I remember Henri being more than happy to pose for the camera, and I must say he looked pretty good for his age. To parphrase Mark Twain, the reports of his death are greatly exaggerated.

I also ran into Fidel Castro at the museum on Halloween back in 2014. I was in a group listening to one of the DAM's staff members talk about her experiences with various ghosts, including no less than Anne Boleyn, noticed Castro and his wife standing next to me, and took the photo on the right. I eavesdropped on their conversation, and evidently Fidel and his wife, Posh Castro, were looking for a house in Denver. I am not sure if they found a place here or not. I suspect this was around the time he retired and turned the running of Cuba over to his brother Raul. I know it was Halloween and all, but I think it was really him. You just never know who you might run into at the DAM.

The Farm House At Breckenridge Brewery

Yesterday afternoon my sister Susan and I stopped at the Farm House at Breckenridge Brewery, located in the Denver suburb of Littleton, to check the place out, and I must say, I was quite impressed. It is a large place, the bar of which can be seen in the photograph above, and features a sizable beer garden looking out at the Platte River, although since it is mid-winter, we decided to stay inside near the fireplace to sip our beers. I have been to their brewery up in Breckenridge, but until now never visited the one in Littleton, which is where they produce most of their beer. Breckenridge Brewery is now owned by Budweiser, but like Coor's Blue Moon Brewing Company, is left alone to produce their craft beers. We definitely will be back once the weather turns warmer and the beer garden is in full swing.

The New Terrain Dog Park

And no - technically it is not part of the New Terrain Brewery up in Golden, Colorado, but it is right next door, and provided entertainment for my sister Susan and I when we stopped there for a beer last week. Happily, it was warm enough to sit outside, which is the best part of having a beer there. People take their dogs to that dog park, let them run free for a while, and then stop at New Terrain, which is very dog friendly, afterwards, many giving their pet a nice bowl of beer in addition to having one themselves. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon, even if we didn't have a dog.

The Joy of Whiteout Conditions

My sister Susan and I traveled from Denver up Interstate 70 to Bergen Park this past Sunday, and from there drove up Squaw Pass Road to Echo Lake, which at 10,600 feet is where the Mount Evans Road begins, leading to the summit of that fourteener. It was a sunny day and fairly warm, although the wind was pretty strong as we started out. The conditions looked pretty much like in the photograph on the left that I took while driving (although don't try this at home - if you go over the edge up there, it can have serious consequences, like death). 

However, the higher we went, the stronger the winds, and for much of the ride it was close to - but not quite - whiteout conditions. And the glare from the sun hitting the snow was blinding, making it impossible to know what was just ahead in the shadowy parts of the road. I took the photograph on the right of the conditions after stopping in the middle of the road. Fortunately, nobody else was stupid enough to be on that road besides us, and so I had the time to get off that shot. It was actually much worse than this, but I decided to skip taking photos during those times to concentrate on driving. I am, after all, not THAT stupid. Finally, we reached Echo Lake, where the Echo Lake Lodge is located, open only during the summer months. The wind was especially strong there, and Susan refused to go for a short hike on the ice. Go figure. And therefore, we headed back down the other side, where conditions started to improve almost immediately, and on the way home we stopped at Idaho Springs to check out the action there (of which there was none, since it is the middle of winter). And yes, we did indeed take Squaw Pass Road up to the turnoff for Mount Evans Road. Talk about politically incorrect. I'm surprised we didn't get a ticket for that affront.

Ash Wednesday...

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, which runs through Easter Sunday, this year falling on April 9th. Whenever I think of Mardi Gras and Lent, I think about The Moviegoer, a novel by Walker Percy, which is set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and is one of my favorite reads. It is about a young guy who works as a stockbroker, but not liking it very much, and who escapes from his dull routine by going to the movies as much as possible. And just recently, when packing up my sister Susan's townhouse, I discovered a poster hanging on the wall that I picked up at the American Bookseller Association's Convention in New Orleans back in 1996, which I evidently gave to my brother-in-law George and forgot about until now. I took it home and hung it up in my living room, where I took the photograph of it on the left. When I visited New Orleans way back then, I remember liking the French Quarter and the Garden District, as well as the streetcars connecting them, but beyond that, was not taken with the city. While attending that ABA convention, I do remember running into my old boss from Hatch's Bookstore, Tom McFadden, a quiet, reserved type, taking a group of Japanese businessmen on a tour of Bourbon Street, which I thought was pretty funny. At the time, Tom was working for John Fielder, the Colorado landscape photographer, and these businessmen were from the company that printed their books and calendars. Whether they hit all the strip clubs or not, I do not know. I myself had given them up for Lent.

Fat Tuesday!

Today is Fat Tuesday, the high point of Mardi Gras, the Carnival celebration leading up to lent. It is celebrated all over the world, but especially in New Orleans, Venice, and Rio. Here in Denver, not so much. In fact, perusing the entertainment section of the Denver Post, I could find only one celebration taking place, at the Up In Arms Brewery on Tennyson Street in the northwest side Berkley neighborhood, seen in the photograph on the left.

There was also a mention of this celebration on the local Channel 7 news, and so I decided to head up there this past Saturday afternoon to check it out. A brass band was to start playing at 3:00, and a short parade was to begin at 4:00, and so I timed my arrival to catch both. The parade was led by the brass band. It started in the alley behind the brewery, went through the crowd on the patio, and headed up the block, as seen in the photograph on the right.

I have never been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or anywhere else for that matter, but I hear it can be pretty rowdy. No worries about that here, as you can see from the photograph on the left. Behind the brass band came the "floats," which were actually little red wagons with various kinds of oversized dolls in them. And after that followed a large number of brewery patrons, many walking with their kids and dogs. A pleasant day for everyone there. My only complaint was that in my haste to take photographs, I never got to sample the beer at Up In Arms. Bummer.

Watching Tottenham Beat West Ham With Mark

I visited my friend Mark (photoshopped into the photograph above in front of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) yesterday morning and we watched the Tottenham-West Ham soccer match, which Tottenham won by a score of 2-0. Tottenham is in 4th place in the Premier League standings, while West Ham is 18th, which is in the relegation zone (where the last two teams go down to the 2nd tier Championship League at the end of the season, replaced by the top two Championship League teams), and so the result was not a surprise. Mark is a big Tottenham fan, and was happy with the outcome. He is hoping to head to the UK in August and watch a Tottenham game in person, and possibly a Leeds game too. Mark has many friends in Leeds, and actually likes the place. He also likes Detroit. Go figure.

Spring Training At Roger Dean Stadium

Spring training games will be starting February 25th in Arizona and Florida, including at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, where I have often watched the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals train when visiting my mother Mary in nearby Stuart. It is a nice facility, although these days spring training parks are considered revenue generators, and resemble mini-versions of the team's home stadiums. Gone are the rickety old parks where everyone, fans and players alike, entered and exited from the same gates. I once ran into Steve Garvey when leaving Dodgertown in Vero Beach. I apologized, but he just glared at me and walked on, the jerk. And by the way, the photograph above is of my mother Mary at a Florida State League baseball game at Roger Dean Stadium that I took years ago. Happy baseball memories.

Trickster

I just finished reading Trickster, the latest Thorn novel by James W. Hall. Hall has been writing this series about a loner living in Key Largo Florida, who gets involved in dangerous situations while helping people in trouble, for many years. However, a while back, he decided to write the "last" Thorn novel, called The Big Finish. He wrote two books in a new series, but then went back to the Thorn novels. However, these days he is self-publishing these titles. A character in this latest book, a former publishing executive, explains how with just a few major publishing houses these days, few mid-list writers have a chance of getting published any more, which might explain going the self-publishing route. In any case, Trickster focuses on the discovery of an unknown adversary who has been causing trouble for Thorn over the years, and he and his private detective friend Sugarman, along with an ex-girlfriend, try to root out this enemy. I enjoyed reading this book very much, even if it is only available from Amazon at full price. Which for me is high praise indeed.

The Bar At My Brother's Bar

I took the photograph above of the bar at My Brother's Bar a few weeks ago, showing the interior of this Denver restaurant and bar that has been in continuous operation since 1873. It has had different names and owners, but has been operating at this same spot all that time. To me that is quite amazing. Of course, I have a book about English pubs, some of which have been in operation since the Middle Ages, and so I guess it is all relative. But it is still fun to have a drink there and imagine what it was like in that room 150 years ago. Now THAT is what makes a bar special - not playing the music so loud you can suffer hearing loss. And I am talking about YOU Spanky's!

A Jerry Brown Moment On The Walk Downtown

I walked from the corner of Colfax and Josephine to Union Station in Lower Downtown Denver the other day, and on the way passed by Denver Community Church (seen in the photograph above), which started out as Temple Emanuel back in 1898. When Temple Emanuel moved to a different location, the building became home to several churches, until the City of Denver acquired it due to a foreclosure. I think Denver must have rented it out for events when they owned it, because I remember going there back in 1992 with my friend Stuart to hear Jerry Brown speak when he was running for president, after two terms as governor of California. I always remember that night whenever I pass by. During that time as governor, Chicago newspaper columnist Mike Royko gave Brown the nickname of "Governor Moonbeam," due to his idealistic views, and came to regret it, since he actually admired the guy. Brown took a break from politics for a few years to travel the world, visiting with Mother Teressa as well as other spiritual leaders, and when he came back, served as Mayor of Oakland, doing a lot to help revive that city. He later became attorney general of California, and then governor once again, and has been credited during that time with fixing that state's financial mess. After two more terms, he retired to his family ranch in Northern California, where he currently resides, leaving the polarizing politics and horrors of Trump and his MAGA base behind. Exactly what I would have done in that situation. Good job Jerry!

The First Day Of Spring Training!

Today is the day pitchers and catchers report to spring training camps in Arizona and Florida. Baseball is back at last! I took the photograph above during spring training back in 1996 at Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida. That was the spring training home of both the Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves. A few years later, that facility was torn down, replaced by Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, which now is the home of the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals during the spring. And just a few years ago, West Palm Beach finally built a new spring training facility that now hosts the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros. Let the spring games begin!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is Valentine's Day, and because I am such a romantic devil, I am featuring a photograph of my then wife Lisa and I at Maroon Bells, the most photographed spot in Colorado, located 10 miles from Aspen. This photo was taken in the 1980s when we might or might not have been on our honeymoon (I used a tripod and a timer on the camera to take the shot).  Back then you could actually drive to Maroon Bells, park, and walk around. These days, you need to either take a shuttle from Aspen (at a cost of $16 per person/$10 for people of an advanced age), or reserve a parking spot for $10 and arrive before 8:00 A.M. Do things keep getting better and better or what?

The Acme Lofts

I drove past the Acme Lofts in Lower Downtown Denver the other day, heading for the King Soopers grocery store on Speer Boulevard, and snapped the photograph above while waiting for the light to change. Years ago, when Lower Downtown first started to be gentrified, I saw a loft for sale in that buiulding (on the right in the photo) for seventy thousand dollars or so (I think). It was a one bedroom loft, and I decided to pass on it without even requesting a tour. I knew that two bedroom condos were much easier to sell, and also that a two bedroom unit would come in handy in the future, which it definitely did, after my mother Mary and later my sister Susan came to live with me. I suspect the value of that place has gone through the roof, but on the other hand, I have long since decided that living downtown is not all it's cracked up to be, especially in Lower Downtown, where lately, after the bars close at 2:00 A.M., people have, just for fun, started shooting at each other, and who knows where those stray bullets might land. A bargain is often not really a bargain.

Portrait Of A Bookseller 1984

I recently ran across the above photograph of me, taken back in 1984 at the upstairs sales desk of the Hatch's Bookstore in Denver's University Hills Mall. When I first started working as the manager of that store three years earlier, it was the smallest in the Hatch chain, occupying a corner location, next to the doors leading to the parking lot. Then the bookstore expanded into a vacant space next door, with an outside entrance. An opening was created between the two spaces, a short stairway was put in, leading to the lower level, and the Hatch's Bookstore at U-Hills became the largest in the chain. That new space had a solid wall of glass fronting the parking lot, providing spectacular views at sunset, and making it a great place to work. The year that photograph was taken, I took a job at the University of Denver Bookstore as Assistant Manager and General Book Buyer. I immediately missed Hatch's and the good times I had with the staff and general public there, and regretted my decision to leave. But in the long run, working at DU proved to be far more stable than Hatch's. The chain went out of business years ago, and the mall where that Hatch's Bookstore was located was torn down and replaced by a King Soopers grocery store. A tough business that is getting even tougher these days. A very sad reality.

February At The Zoo Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I went to the Denver Zoo Wednesday afternoon to take a few photos. And as usual, the most willing subjects were the lions. They tend to sit in one place and watch the zoo visitors pass by, making them easy to photograph, which is why I feature them so often. My one complaint is that there have not been any new lion cubs since 2020. The last cubs to be born at the Denver Zoo were twins, and arrived at the height of the pandemic, when the zoo was closed. By the time the public was allowed back in, they were no longer cute. What a rip-off. 

Our friend the baby mandrill is no longer a baby, but is still running around the compound like one. I took the photograph on the right of him in one of the rare moments when he was standing still. For the longest time, the mother would hold it by the arm wherever she went, never letting it run free. Being so overprotective can cause problems down the road. Perhaps the zoo's animal psychiatrist finally had a talk with her.

For some reason, all of the giraffes were inside Wednesday afternoon. Is 45 degrees too cold for them to go outside? But in any case, I walked into the giraffe house and took the photograph on the left. I am not sure what the three zoo employees were doing. One was giving a giraffe food, another was up on a ladder inspecting it's neck, and the third was holding the ladder. Still another mystery at the Denver Zoo. In any case, I am just assuming they were zoo employees. After the recent events at the Dallas Zoo, you just never know. However, so far I have not heard of any missing giraffes, which is definitely a good sign.

Finally, for the first time, I saw two elephants crossing the elephant bridge that connects two compounds. I had a zoom lens on my camera, useless at such close range, and by the time I got the other camera out, I was only able to get a clear photograph of one of them, and just the backside of the other, as seen in the photo on the right. Another great photographic opportunity lost forever. If there was a zoo employee around, I would have asked him or her  to have the elephants go back and walk over the bridge again, but sadly, no one was in sight. The zoo definitely needs to hire some interns to help facilitate such photo opportunities. Just give them a big stick and set them loose in the compound, filling requests. What could possibly be wrong with that?

February At The Zoo

I went to the Denver Zoo Wednesday afternoon to take a few photographs. The temperature was in the mid-40s, not too cold for the animals to be outside and not too hot for them to hide in the shade, and so I was able to get a few good portraits, including the one of the lioness in the photograph on the left. There are two separate prides that reside at the zoo, and rotate between the main compound called Predator Ridge and a small enclosure behind it, and Wednesday I was not sure which pride was which. I suspect that the family pride was actually occupying both compounds, and the four bachelor lions that make up the other pride were probably off on a mid-week vacation at the home of one of the zookeepers.

Sadly, one of the two tigers at the Denver Zoo passed away recently, and the remaining tiger now has access to both sides of its compound, called The Edge. It was pacing back and forth most of the time I was there, but I finally got it to look up as it passed me, and was able to take the photo on the right. The way the compound is positioned, I can almost never take a good photograph of this tiger. As it was, I spent a lot of time working in photoshop to lighten the image and make it presentable. I am sure my friend the tiger appreciates the effort. 

The clouded leopard in the photograph on the left was razor focused on the door to his cage, no doubt hoping to be let inside for dinner and a little TV. It took forever for it to turn its head in my direction so that I could snap that shot, but it finally did. There are, in fact, two snow leopards, one male and one female, but once their kids left home, all they did was fight. They were separated, and now rotate the use of the outdoor facility. I don't know if they officially got divorced or not.

The monkey in the photograph on the right is no doubt severely depressed, based on its vacant expression. It shares its compound with its mate, who was hidden from view when I was there, and so I don't know if it was also feeling down. The zoo definitely needs to have it's animal psychiatrist have a talk with them. Marriage counseling, anti-depressants, weekend visits at their animal handlers home, whatever it takes.

A Photographic Success At New Terrain

The other day I was finally able to get a photograph of my sister Susan, without sunglasses, while we were having a pint of beer at the New Terrain Brewery up in Golden. Susan, of course, hates having her photograph taken, has threatened to grab my camera and smash it on more than one occasion, and so I was lucky to get that photo on the left without her even knowing it. We had stopped at New Terrain just before happy hour, when the place fills up, and were able to snag a table with a view. Besides the view, I like the place because their pints are pretty reasonably priced compared with other brew pubs around the Denver area, which is always a big plus for a confirmed cheapskate like me.

It was a pretty nice day, and there were actually people sitting outside, admiring the view of Table Mesa, as seen in the photograph on the right. January was just a horrible weather month in Denver. Not only did it snow quite a bit, but it got cold and stayed cold for days on end. People here are used to getting a day of snow and cold, and the next day having the temperatures warm up, melt the snow, and let everyone get back to wearing shorts. But not this year. February is proving to be much more typical, thank goodness. Can a 70 degree day be far behind?

The February Mutt Of The Month

I photographed this month's Mutt of the Month in Denver's Washington Park the other day, sitting under a bench while its owner and a friend sat talking. You can just tell from this dog's expression that it wanted to get up and start walking, running, or do anything but just sit there. It should count itself lucky. Many is the time I have seen a dog or two or even three tied up in front of Reiver's, a bar on nearby Gaylord Street, where they probably sit for hours waiting for their respective owners to finish their pints. After all, how long can these women possibly talk, right? Right?

Desert Star

For my birthday last month, my sister Susan gave me a copy of Desert Star, the latest Renee Ballard/Harry Bosch detective novel by Michael Connelly. This story finds Ballard appointed to head the cold case unit of the Los Angeles Police Department, and she recruits Bosch to work as a volunteer to help solve some of these crimes, included the murder of a family that remained unsolved at the time of Bosch's retirement and which he has obsessed about ever since. Another case with top priorty is solving the murder of the sister of an LA councilman, who was instrumental in putting the cold case unit back in operation after being disbanded several years previously. I really enjoyed reading this book. Connelly always writes a great story, although I was kind of shocked to find that at the end of the book it is revealed that Harry has cancer and is only expected to live a few more months. Connelly has been writing Harry Bosch novels for 30 years, but insists on ageing him in real time, which now makes Harry 72 years old. But kill him off? I have to admit that I am very much afraid to read Connelly's next installment in the series. Say it ain't so Mike!

Watching Newcastle Play West Ham With Mark

I watched Newcastle play a soccer match against West Ham with my friend Mark - seen in the photograph above photoshopped into Newcastle's St. James Park - this past Saturday morning. Mark is a Newcastle fan, and is, of course, wearing the team's jersey to show his support for the team. Newcastle is in 4th place in English Premier League standings, while West Ham (out of London) is in 16th, and so Newcastle was favored to win. Sadly, the game ended in a tie, to the disappointment of the soccer fans at St. James Park. Over there they actually seem to care about what is happening down on the field, unlike here in Denver, where baseball fans at Coors Field tend to put ambiance over results. Of course, with the Colorado Rockies, you have to.

Remembering Good Times At Coors Field

I ran across the above photograph the other day of my sister Susan and late brother-in-law George, taken years ago at Denver's Coors Field, and since the start of spring training is just 10 days away, decided to feature it today. I know this photograph was taken in left field, but other than that, I have no idea of the year, who was playing, or anything else about it, except that it looked like we were all having a good time. And it makes me look forward to the coming baseball season and going to the ball park, no matter how bad the Rockies play this year. And personally, I expect REALLY bad. But I am, after all, a natural pessimist, as anyone who has followed the Rockies throughout the years tends to be.

Victorian Denver

The City of Denver grew by leaps and bounds back in the late 19th Century, and as a result is filled with countless Victorian homes. Years ago, you could have picked one of these places up for a song, but now they sell at a premium. I suspect that when California began to become unaffordable, large numbers of people vacationing here from that state discovered just what bargains these places were, and snapped them up, in the process gentrifying many neighborhoods that in the past were considered kind of iffy. The mansion on the left was built in 1886 in the City Park West neighborhood, designed by well-known Denver architect William Lang. Later on it became a processing center for parolees, before being renovated and turned in the Castle Marne Bed and Breakfast. Not too long ago it was sold, and now seems to be a health club.

The Lumber Baron Inn, seen in the photograph on the right, was built for Scottish immigrant John Mouat back in 1890. Mouat was - great ready for it - a lumber baron. It too is a bed and breakfast, and located in the Potter Highlands neighborhood, which is a very desirable place to live these days, but back in 1970, not so much. In fact, the house was considered a tenement, and was the site of a double murder of two young women. One of them is rumored to haunt the place. The mansion was eventually restored and turned into a B&B. I have toured this place during the annual Open Doors Denver weekend, and must say both the house and the garden in the back are quite impressive.

Another impressive mansion is the Bosler House, located in the nearby Highlands neighborhood. It was built in 1875 and is one of the oldest houses in Denver. This house was also open for tours during Open Doors Denver, although I never got around to touring the place. As I understand it, the current owners bought it at a bargain price, and then spent several million dollars to restore it to its former glory. Hopefully this coming November, it will once again be open for tours, and I can finally get to see the inside of this mansion. This time I will not balk at the $10 admission fee.

The neighborhood that once had some of the best examples of Victorian homes was Auraria, which was founded in October of 1858, a month before the founding of Denver. It, along with the Highlands, was annexed by Denver the following year. Sadly, the entire neighborhood was leveled by the Denver Urban Renewal Authority to build the Auraria Campus, which now houses the University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State University, and the Community College of Denver. A single block was preserved, and is now the 9th Street Historic District, part of which can be seen in the photograph on the right. This block is made up of many houses from the 1870s and 1880s, and are now used as university offices. A few months ago, former residents were invited to a ceremony honoring the neighborhood and its cultural heritage, but to me that is more or less an empty gesture. The damage has been done. These days the city would never have gotten away with tearing the place down, but that is little comfort to its former residents.

The Ghost Of Eugene Field

I took a short walk in Denver's Washington Park the other day, and snapped still another photograph of the Eugene Field House, built in 1875 and occupied by Field between 1881 and 1883, when he was the managing editor of the Denver Tribune. The house was moved to Wash Park from West Colfax back in 1927, with the help of "the unsinkable Molly Brown" of Titanic fame. However, unlike every other photo that I have taken of that place, when I downloaded the photograph into my computer, none other than the ghost of Eugene Field was in the frame. Strangely enough, that ghost looks vaguely familiar, but no matter - it is good to know that Field liked Denver so much that he decided to stay here and haunt the place.

Taking A Walk Past Grant-Frontier Park

I went for a walk along the Platte River, seen in the photograph on the left, yesterday afternoon, starting at Grant-Frontier Park, which marks the location of Montana City, the first pioneer settlement in the Denver area. Hopes of finding gold in the area quickly faded, and the settlers moved downriver to the confluence of the Platte and Cherry Creek, an area which soon became the City of Denver. I strolled along a bike and walking path that parallels the river, which was pleasant enough, but the area is mostly industrial, which tends to detract from the ambiance. All these factories wind up polluting the river, which flows down to Confluence Park in Lower Downtown Denver, a very popular spot for swimming and tubing during the summer, despite extremely high levels of e-coli in the water.

As I was walking along the river, I spotted what I think were two dogs, seen in the photograph on the right. They were running free, and I began to wonder if they might be coyotes. I have never seen a coyote before, and have no idea if they were or not. I am originally from the South Side of Chicago, where coyotes are in short supply. They could have just been wild dogs, or pets allowed to run free by their owner. The best way to find out would have been to simply walk up and pat them on the head, give them a scratch behind the ears, and see how they responded. Unfortunately, I was on the other side of the river and didn't have a chance to do that. Perhaps next time.

Two Weeks Until The Start Of Spring Training!

The gates of Denver's Coors Field, seen in the photograph on the left, are closed this time of year, but happily, spring training is starting just two weeks from today. Of course, the home team, the Colorado Rockies, did not make any big moves over the winter, and so expectations are low. Even Dick Monfort, the owner of the Rockies, who usually predicts the team will make the playoffs and possibly go all the way to the World Series, says only that he thinks they will at least play .500 ball this year, which translates to mediocre. 

However, here in Denver, most people go to Rockies games to enjoy the ambiance - sitting in the upper deck, admiring the mountain views, simply enjoying being at that beautiful ballpark, filling their faces with overpriced beer and food, and not too concerned about wins and losses. In fact, the Rockies draw almost three million fans a year, despite their losing ways, and so there is little incentive for the team to spend big bucks to acquire pricey free agents. And on the bright side, my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, have made a lot of off-season moves, and are hoping to be a contender this year after a very disappointing 2022 season, finishing at exactly .500. Even their North Side nemesis, the Chicago Cubs, have made a lot of off-season moves, also hoping to compete. It will be an exciting 2023 baseball season back in my old hometown, and both Chicago teams will be coming to Denver this year to cheer on. What could be better than that? Let the games begin!