Lunching With Stuart In Lakewood

I had lunch with my friend Stuart, seen in the photograph on the left, at the Old Chicago in Lakewood, just to the west of Denver, Wednesday afternoon. Lakewood is a pretty ugly place - it's main drag, Colfax Avenue, is filled with strip centers, fast food outlets, pawn shops, and gas stations, while it's neighborhoods can best be described as plain suburban ugly. But thankfully, you can't see any of that from the bar at Old Chicago. Must be why it's so popular. In any case, Stuart and I discussed a wide variety of topics, including the upcoming major league baseball season. Stuart, as regular blog readers know, grew up on the North Side of Chicago, and is a Cubs fan, while I myself grew up on the South Side of that city, and am a diehard White Sox fan. I told Stuart that the Cubs made a lot of moves during the off season and are expected to have a pretty good year, but he seemed doubtful about that. Another Cubs fan whose spirit has been broken, I guess.

Yesterday, since I had the time, I watched the Cubs home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, which the Cubs handily won by a score of 4-0. It seems to me that they might need a different catcher, since Yan Gomes had a hard time catching yesterday, and former Dodgers all-star Cody Bellinger might be over the hill, but otherwise they looked pretty good. The White Sox played last night, but since they were being televised on ESPN, I was unable to watch the game. However, I was happy to see via the internet that they beat the reigning World Series champion Houston Astros by a score of 3-2. Perhaps this will be the year for the first subway World Series between the Sox and Cubs since 1906, which the Sox won in six games. Get your bets down now. You'll get great odds.

Opening Day!

Today is Opening Day, the start of the 2023 baseball season. Every team is undefeated, and fan's hopes are at their most optimistic. Of course, in about a week or two, reality will begin to set in, especially for teams like the Colorado Rockies, who have made virtually no changes to their lineup from last year, when they lost 94 games and finished the season dead last. My South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox, were predicted to go far into the playoffs in 2022, but finished with a very mediocre .500 average. Hopes for a winning season this year are not strong, but it is Opening Day, after all, so you never know. The Chicago Cubs, their North Side rivals, really stunk up the field last year (not as bad as the Rockies, of course), but during the off season, they made a lot of free agent signings and very well might compete for a playoff spot. Who knows what will happen, but that is the beauty of this special day. Enjoy it while you can.

How To Save The "L" And Other Tidbits From the March Chicago Magazine

I read this month's issue of Chicago Magazine recently, and it had several interesting articles in it. One was about an elderly man who lived very modestly in a house in Chicago's Gage Park neighborhood. He was a former electrician who lived there with his two sisters, and after they passed away, alone. After not collecting his mail or seeing him for a number of days, the mailman and the neighbors grew concerned and broke in, finding him dead in the bathtub, fully dressed with a jacket on in an unheated house. He had no heirs, and everyone was truly surprised when they discovered his estate was worth 11 million dollars. Being frugal in the extreme was the reason for this, but for what purpose? We will never know. Sad.

Another interesting article was titled "How to Save the L," which I was surprised to learn needed saving. After reading the article, it appears that the "L," which I used frequently when I lived in Chicago, is having the same troubles as the RTD light rail here in Denver - difficulty finding workers, an increase in crime, declining ridership after the pandemic, litter everywhere, etc. I frequently use the light rail here in Denver, and to me many of those problems are not as severe as portrayed in the media, and those that are are being addressed. I assume that is the same back in Chicago. In 1977, when I was living in west suburban Forest Park, there was an accident that sent an "L" train plunging to the street from the elevated track, killing 12 people, as seen in the photograph on the right from the Chicago Tribune. If ridership on the "L" can survive something like that, I think it can survive anything.

More On The Month Of Photography

This past Sunday I visited several more art galleries on Santa Fe Drive participating in Denver's Month of Photography, which I learned after the fact was Sundays on Santa Fe, celebrated on the last Sunday of every month. My first stop was Niza Knoll Gallery, which was featuring the work of National Geographic photographer Jay Dickman, and I was very impressed with his photographs. His portraits of people from places such as the Himalayas and Africa were especially good. Dickman was there in person to discuss his work, but since there was a handwritten sign at the entrance that said "no photographs," instead of a photo of Dickman in front of his work, I was reduced to taking a photograph of the entrance of the gallery with a photo of my sorry mug photoshopped on to it. Bummer.

Next, I headed across the street to D'art Gallery, which was featuring what is called a "Conceptual Photography Exhibition," curated by Mark Sink, the co-founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and founder of The Month of Photography. Sink selected 50 photographs from 500 submitted by fine art photographers from across the country, and I must say most of them were quite impressive. I strongly recommend visiting these galleries and taking a look before the exhibitions close. Be sure to check out Niza Knoll Gallery at https://www.nizaknollgallery.com/ and D'Art Gallery at https://dartgallery.org/visitcontact.

The Month Of Photography Continues

This month is The Month of Photography here in Denver, and so this past weekend I headed to a few more art galleries to check out the photography on display. I especially enjoyed the photographs at CPAC (the Colorado Photographic Arts Center),which is celebrating it's 60th anniversary this year. This month they are featuring highlights from their permanent collection, including photographs by Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham, as well as Colorado photographers such as Hal Gould, the late owner of the Camera Obscura Gallery. I think a lot of these photos were obtained from that gallery when it closed after Gould's death. Most are black and white images and well worth a visit while they are still on display. Better hurry up. March is almost over.

Remembering A Long Ago Trip To The Flagler Museum

Back in August of 1997 my mother Mary, sister Susan, and I drove down to Palm Beach from my mother's condo in Stuart, Florida, and toured the Henry Flagler Museum. I took the photograph on the left of my mother and Susan posing in front of the grand entrance. Flagler was a founder of Standard Oil, and when he stepped back from being actively involved in that company, he turned his attention to Florida, where he founded the Florida East Coast Railway, the cities of Palm Beach and Miami, and a number of hotels, including The Breakers in Palm Beach. After his first wife died, he remarried, and after divorcing that wife, married a third time and built Whitehall, which is now the Flagler Museum, as a wedding present to his new bride.

Whitehall, a 55 room beaux arts home, is located on Lake Worth in Palm Beach, and was built in 1901, the same year The Breakers Hotel was built nearby on the ocean. Both are well worth visiting, if you happen to be in Palm Beach and find you cannot wangle an invitation to Mar-a-Lago, the dark lair of former president Donald Trump. The photograph on the right is of me in front of Flagler's private railroad car, which is located next door to the museum, and also open to the public. All these places were built during the Gilded Age, when great wealth was concentrated in just a few hands, and these industrial titans traveled in style in these private railroad cars. Amazingly enough, these days, very wealthy people are once again buying private railroad cars to travel the country, piggybacking onto Amtak passenger trains. And what does this say about the concentration of wealth today? In any case, I am once again amazed at how little I have changed since that photo was taken back in 1997. It's truly a miracle.

Golden Triangle Construction

Denver's Golden Triangle neighborhood is located just south of downtown, bordered by Colfax on the north, Speer Boulevard on the west and south, and Broadway on the east. The area is home to 8 museums, and it seems like every other block has a new high-rise apartment building going up. It is a very desirable neighborhood, and the apartments on Speer are especially expensive - one bedroom one bath units at the Parq start at $2,400 a month and go up from there. Two bedroom two bath units start at $4,300 per month, and there are actually not that many available to rent. Who are these people who can afford that? What do they do for a living? Are they looking for 70 year old trainees? I am available.  But I digress. I took the above photograph the other day as I was walking to the Denver Art Museum (The DAM). That high rise under construction is being built right next to the Evans School, which was built in 1904 and named after Governor John Evans, who is, by the way, now being canceled for his role in the Sand Creek Massacre. Because of this, Mount Evans, to the west of Denver, is expected to be renamed Mount Blue Sky. The building was a school for almost 70 years, but is now an office and retail complex. Will it be renamed Blue Sky School? Only time will tell.

Six Days Until The Start Of Regular-Season Baseball

It is a mere six days until the start of regular-season baseball games, and hopes run high for fans of every team. So far, nobody has lost a single game. I watched the final televised White Sox spring training game yesterday afternoon via MLB.com, although it took a while to figure out how to watch it on my Apple computer in the den, which I had to use due to circumstances beyond my control. Steve Stone and Jason Benetti were in mid-season form down at Camelback Ranch in Arizona, and I am looking forward to watching as many regular season games as possible this season. Last year, hopes were sky high for the Sox, but sadly, those hopes were dashed. This year, thanks to the loss of all-star first baseman Jose Abreu to free agency and closer Liam Hendricks to illness, expectations are much lower. But still, you just never know what will happen in baseball. Let the games begin!

Speaking With Light At The DAM

This past Tuesday afternoon I went to see Speaking with Light: Contemporary Indigenous Photography, a new exhibit at the Denver Art Museum (The DAM), and really enjoyed it.  It features the work of more than 30 contemporary Indigenous photographers on a variety of subjects, including landscapes, portraits, and street photography. There were also a number of portraits of Native American leaders taken back in the 1800s to compare the image portrayed of Indigenous peoples back then with the contemporary work on display.

My favorite images in the exhibit are by Zig Jackson, who has a number of photographs on display of himself while wearing a headdress, such as the one in the photograph on the right of him riding a bus in San Francisco. I usually don't like staged photographs, such as those by Cindy Sherman, but his I do. They make me smile, which to me is the best way to get your point across to people. For more information about the exhibit, check out the DAM's website at https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/speaking-with-light.

A Heart Full Of Headstones

I just finished reading A Heart Full of Headstones, Ian Rankin's lastest Inspector Rebus novel. And was surprised that Rankin has put his longtime series protagonist on trial for murder. The book starts out with Rebus in the courtroom in a short section called "Now," followed by the bulk of the novel titled "Then," and finishes as the trial begins in another section called "Now." Why authors are starting to put their heros in jail or kill them off I have no idea. John Straley, the author of the Ceil Younger mystery series, put his hero in jail in the book Baby's First Felony, and Younger was still in there in the follow-up book So Far and Good, although I have to admit that particular book was pretty good. And in Michael Connelly's latest book, Desert Star, he strongly hints that he will kill off Harry Bosch, his longtime LA detective hero, in his next book. I just don't get it, but when Rankin's next Inspector Rebus book comes out, if it does, I will have to read it and find out what happens, probably none of it good.

Spring Break At DU

The University of Denver is on spring break this week, and it's wealthy students are no doubt jetting off to exotic locales across the globe. When I was the Finance Manager for the DU Bookstore and sometimes helped out at the book buyback desk during finals, the students would tell us to have a nice break too, assuming we would also be taking the week off. In fact, the staff was frantically checking in books and stocking the shelves to have things ready in the short time before classes started up again, while I was training temporary cashiers and preparing work and lunch schedules in anticipation of the deluge of students that would be heading to the store the following Monday. The college bookstore business has changed quite a lot since then, and so I have no idea what it is like these days at the DU Bookstore, currently run by Follett Higher Education Group. I suspect it is a lot less hectic now, thanks to the effects of internet competition, which is not a good thing for college bookstores and the people who work there. I am damn glad I am finally out of it.

The First Day Of Spring!

Today is the first day of spring, which is good news indeed, although here in Denver, March is our snowiest month, and April comes in at number two. However, that sounds much worse that it really is. All that snow usually comes from just one or two snowstorms, and the rest of the time it is usually warm and sunny. Of course, back in March of 2003, Denver had the second biggest snowstorm in it's history. The city got 32 inches of snow between March 17th and 19th, and Aurora, just to the east, got 40 inches. Denver International Airport was closed for days. I myself was in Stuart, Florida at the time, visiting my mother Mary, and had to extend my vacation in that warm and sunny paradise until the airport reopened. Happily, I was able to somehow tough it out. And yes, the photograph above was indeed taken at Denver's Washington Park on a quiet weekday afternoon.

Rediscovering A Photo From A Long Ago Trip

I was going through an old external hard drive the other day and found some photographs that I took in the UK years ago. I was still taking photo classes back then, and remember the class seemed to like the photo seen above. I took it on the bus from London to an outlying airport (was it Stansted?) to catch a flight to Prague. When I first arrived in London from Denver,  I toured the city all day, then took a train to York, and stayed at a B&B. I toured York in the morning, took a train to Edinburgh, and toured that city in the afternoon. I then boarded an overnight train back to London, arrived at an ungodly early hour, and toured the city for another day before catching that bus to the airport. All without having to stay at a pricey hotel in London. I have often thought I should start a travel company called "Cheapskate Tours," but am afraid one of my tour groups might wind up killing me, recreating that dramatic scene in Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Of course, we would all be sitting up in coach all night, so there would be witnesses. But would that stop them?

White Sox Versus Cubs In Spring Training

I watched my South Side heros, the Chicago White Sox, play their North Side rivals, the Chicago Cubs, on MLB.com yesterday afternoon at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The White Sox had 8 hits versus the Cubs 4, but nevertheless, the game ended in a 4-4 tie. I am, of course, cheering for the White Sox, but I have to admit that the Cubs, who got rid of all their stars in a rebuilding move several years ago, look like they will contend in 2023. They have signed some big name free agents, and a few former all-stars, such as Cody Bellinger, who hope to revive their careers in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. The White Sox, on the other hand, were poised to win it all last year, but were a big disappointment. As for this year, despite the loss of star first baseman Jose Abreu to free agency, and all-star closer Liam Hendricks to illness (for the time being), I still have hope for the Sox. What teams look like on paper during spring training is often quite different from what they wind up doing during the regular season. It is once again time to head up to the gambling mecca of Black Hawk, Colorado and put it all on the White Sox. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is March 17th - St. Patrick's Day - and like other cities, here in Denver the annual St. Patrick's Day parade was held this past Saturday, attracting huge crowds, who lingered the rest of the afternoon at the bars in the LoDo and Ballpark neighborhoods. Which was when I took the photograph on the left of the crowd at Scruffy Murphy's, although it was a hard thing to do since so many people were walking in and out of the place. And I am still not sure how people were able to move around in there once they got inside.

And will there be crowds celebrating St. Patrick's Day today? Since it is a Friday, I suspect things will start hopping around happy hour and continue into the wee hours. There is nothing more popular for the younger crowd here in Denver than celebrating holidays such as St. Patrick's Day, Opening Day of the baseball season, Halloween, Oktoberfest, and even the 4th of July. And will everybody be dressed in kilts, carrying their bagpipes and fiddles to the bars, giving impromptu concerts? Better head to Dublin for that, I'm afraid.

Downtown Denver Has A Covid Hangover

There are a lot fewer people out and about on the streets of downtown Denver these days. Experts blame people working from home for this, saying these workers are not going into the office nearly as much since the start of the pandemic. I myself think that such factors as the remodeling of the 16th Street Mall, which now has blocks of fenced-in segments, and the forcing out of what looks like a majority of shops and restaurants in Larimer Square, due to building renovations, play a major part in the lack of crowds. And thanks to the huge increase in rents and the cost of homes in Denver, people are not moving here like they used to. However, that has not stopped the construction of new, luxury apartment projects all over the city. I predict they will sit empty until the rents start to drop, and once they approach affordability, the cycle will start all over again. In the meantime, my advise is to stay calm and hang on to your 8 roommates.

The Ides Of March - A Flashback To Campo de' Fiori

Today is the Ides of March, the day Julius Caesar was assasinated on the steps of the Theatre of Pompey. The Theatre of Pompey was located at the edge of the Campo de' Fiori in Rome, near where my sister Susan and I stayed when we visited Rome in May of 2019. We arrived in Rome after a long bus ride from Siena, and then had to take a cross-city bus ride to our hotel. Susan was all about having dinner and a glass of wine after that trip, while I was all about a nighttime walk across Rome. Susan won, and I took the above photograph of the restaurant on Campo de' Fiori that we dined at. And even after the sun set, we did not see the ghost of Julius Caesar. Go figure.

Attending A Closing In Loveland

My sister Susan and I drove up to Loveland, Colorado to close on the sale of her Fort Collins townhouse yesterday morning. To me, that closing seemed kind of weird. We appeared at the title office, were led into the conference room, and the escrow officer began having Susan sign the documents. I kept waiting for the three buyers to appear, but they never did. Our realtor suggested that we have breakfast, recommended Doug's Day Diner - which was very good, by the way - and told us to come back later, after the buyers arrived and had signed everything. When we came back an hour later, we expected to be taken to the conference room to meet the buyers, but instead were asked to have a seat in the lobby. Then, one of the staff handed us the signed documents, and told us to have a good day. Did the buyers not want to be seen? Are they in the witness protection program? I just don't get it. Is this the way the real estate business is handled these days? In any case, we had a bit of time that morning before our appointment, and drove around downtown Loveland, which is really a very quaint and historic place. It was founded back in 1877, once the railroad between Cheyenne and Denver was completed, and, as you can see from the above photograph, hasn't changed a bit since that time. Who woulda thunk it?

Mark Is Back From Maui

I visited my friend Mark, seen in the photograph above, yesterday morning at his home in Denver to watch the soccer match between Newcastle and Wolverhampton, which Newcastle won by the score of 2 to 1. Mark, who is a big Newcastle fan, has just returned from a vacation in Maui, which he enjoyed very much. He even got to visit with a friend and former University of Denver co-worker in Honolulu. From what Mark tells me, Hawaii is a great place to live, but only if you can afford it. Otherwise, living there can be a struggle. His friend is thinking of moving to, of all places, my old hometown of Chicago. No doubt a future White Sox fan.

My Father's Birthday

Today would have been my father Nelson's 114th birthday if he were still alive. He passed away at the age of 74 back in 1983. The photograph above is the last one I ever took of him, the day before my ex-wife Lisa and I returned home to Denver after visiting my father and mother Mary down in Stuart, Florida. They retired there from Chicago back in 1976, and just loved it. My father referred to Stuart as Camelot. He was a dentist, and absolutely hated it, and was thrilled to be able to finally play golf every day and live the good life. He had only 7 years of retirement, but enjoyed those years very much, for which I am glad. Happy Birthday Dad!

Daylight Savings Time Begins Tomorrow - And Thank God For That!

Daylight Savings Time is here at last! Starting tomorrow, we will be getting one extra hour of daylight in the evenings, the only cost being one less hour of sleep. Many people are calling for eliminating the changing of the clocks twice a year, half wanting year-round Daylight Savings Time and half wanting year-round Standard Time, claiming that the loss of one hour's sleep in the spring is driving people mad, which certainly explains a lot during these stressful times. However, since everyone is so evenly divided, as it is with today's political environment, I am sure nothing will change. As usual. Enjoy that extra hour of daylight, and try to avoid going mad when the clocks change back in the fall.

One Big Joke

I just finished reading One Big Joke, the 13th book in Laurence Shames' Key West Capers series of comic novels. Shames has now written 17 of these stories. He lived in Key West when he started writing them, and they were published by Simon & Schuster. The books were very popular, getting great reviews, but eventually, Shames decided to stop writing the series and moved to LA. He then wrote a few other novels, which did not catch on, but when he decided to restart tbe Key West series, it appears to me like he could not find a major publisher. The same thing happened to James W. Hall with his Thorn novels. Now that the publishing industry has consolidated into just a few large corporations, it is hard for what Hall calls "mid-list" authors to get published. And so like Hall and Tom Corcoran, still another Key West author, he is now self-publishing these books and selling them on Amazon. Which means no used copies. Having to buy them at full price,  I am purchasing them just once in a while, which is why I am only on book 13. In any case, One Big Joke once again features Bert the Shirt, a 90-something ex-Mafia guy with a spoiled chihuahua, who helps both a comedy club owner fighting off New York mobsters, who want to take over her place, and her friend, an unemployed comedy writer, who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis. I get a chuckle out of these books, and am glad Shames has started writing them again, even if he does have to self-publish.

The Goldilocks Theory Of Cities

I took the above photograph while walking through Denver's Washington Park a while back, and seeing the downtown skyline from where I was standing, it made me think about the differences between Denver and Chicago, where I spent the first half of my life. Chicago is, of course, a big city - still the third largest metropolitan area in the country. Denver is a mid-sized city, a much more laid back kind of place. I miss downtown Chicago's vibrancy, the near North Side, Lincoln and Grant Parks, and of course the lakefront. Not to mention the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago, where I grew up. On the other hand, here in Denver, I can walk or bike all over the city, and am only 20 minutes from downtown via the Light Rail, which makes going to Colorado Rockies games at Coors Field a breeze. Of course, the Rockies stink, while both the White Sox and Cubs actually try to win, but you can't have everything, right? I have to admit, life is indeed good here.

Elvis Is Alive And Well And Batting Leadoff!

It was a cold, damp, and drizzly day here in Denver yesterday, but bright and sunny in Glendale, Arizona, where the Chicago White Sox were playing a spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Camelback Ranch. I was able to catch the game on MLB.com, and it really made me feel like spring is almost here. The White Sox won the game 5 to 2 and had 12 hits. I know you can't judge how good a team will be just by how they play during the spring, but it was good to see the White Sox with some pop in their bats. Hopefully, it will carry through to the regular season.

One of the stars of the game was second baseman Elvis Andres, seen being interviewed in the photo on the right, who went 2 for 3 and is batting a very respectable .545. He was signed by the Sox after being released by the Oakland A's last August. Of course, as I mentioned before, this is only spring, and so I don't think he will be the first baseball player since Ted Williams to bat over .400, but this is the time of year to dream big, except for Colorado Rockies fans, of course. All the experts feel they will finish at the bottom of their division. Their only hope this year for a record season is if they lose 100 games, which is in fact very likely.

And as usual, Steve Stone, on left in the photo on the left, and Jason Benetti, on the right, were in the broadcast booth, and as entertaining as ever. They are broadcasting a spring training game once a week, the next one against those damn Northsiders, the Chicago Cubs. A few days ago, I was grumbling about the annual cost of MLB.com going up to $156 with tax, and was wondering if the subscription was still worth it. But after watching the game, which brightened up a truly depressing late winter Denver day, I have decided that $26 a month is not too much to spend to watch my Southside heroes.

The March Mutts Of The Month

I spotted this month's mutts of the month on the patio of New Terrain Brewery up in Golden, Colorado during a recent happy hour visit. It was a bit too cold for my sister Susan and I to sit outside, and so we were sitting inside by the window when I took the photograph on the left. As you can see, the chilly temps did not deter others, including their dogs, from braving the elements, especially if beer was involved. Coloradans are a hearty bunch. Why else would so many people be walking around in shorts in the middle of winter, besides being just plain crazy?

Denver's Month Of Photography

This March is the Month of Photography here in Denver, a biennial event that features photography exhibitions all across the city. I was hoping to attend the First Friday event in the Art District on Santa Fe, but couldn't squeeze it in, and so decided to visit various galleries sporadically throughout the month. Since virtually all the venues are closed on Sunday, I decided to start with a small gallery located right across the street from City Park, open only Saturdays and Sundays, and seen in the photograph on the left.

When I walked in, I thought I had the wrong address, since it appeared to be a restaurant, not an art gallery. I then walked out, saw the name of the gallery on the window, and went back in again, where I saw that a birthday party was taking place. I took the photograph on the right, and walked out again, noticing a sign that said they were closed, no doubt due to that event. They are open only two days a week and are closed one of those days for a party? Seriously? Welcome to the wonderful, weird world of "artistes." An inauspicious start to the Month of Photography, but I will persevere over the next 4 weeks and try to see some photography, somewhere, sometime. In any case, be sure to check out all the photo exhibitions taking place this month at https://denvermop.org/event-calendar/.

White Sox Moments From 1980

I attended a lot of Chicago White Sox games back in 1980 before moving to Denver the following year, and took a lot of photographs. The team still played at old Comiskey Park, built in 1910, back then, and was owned by baseball legend Bill Veeck. Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall were the broadcast team on the television, and Harry would lead the crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch, as seen in the photograph on the left. It was Bill Veeck's idea for him to do that, and although he at first refused, Harry later decided to do it, and continued the tradition when he left the White Sox to broadcast the Chicago Cubs games. 

Jimmy Piersall was best known for his struggles with mental illness when he was a baseball player, and wrote the book Fear Strikes Out about his experience. It was also made into a movie. Whenever he and Harry had an argument about something in the broadcast booth, he would end the discussion by saying "I have papers in my pocket that say I'm sane, Harry. Do you?" Piersall passed away back in 2017 at an assisted living center in Chicago. He is seen in the photograph on the right talking with fans before the game.

Several times during the season, Veeck would have Max Patkin, the "Clown Prince of Baseball," perform his antics on the field, as seen in the photograph on the left. He would annoy the hell out of the players and umpires, and get paid for it, too. I remember that he made a cameo appearance in the movie Bull Durham, and that is the last I ever heard of him. I googled his name, and learned that he retired in 1995, and passed away in 1999. In fact, everyone I've mentioned in this blog today is gone - Patkin, Harry Caray, Bill Veeck, Jimmy Piersall, and just recently, Mary Frances Veeck, Bill Veeck's wife and host of The Mary Frances Veeck and Friend radio program from years ago. Even Comiskey Park is gone, torn down back in 1991. The end of an era, I'm sad to say.

Wintertime At The Garden Of The Gods

On our way to Manitou Springs this past Sunday afternoon, my sister Susan and I drove through the Garden of the Gods, one of the highlights of Colorado Springs. It is filled with unique looking red rocks which can be viewed from either the road that circles the park or by taking the many hiking trails throughout the area. Since it was sunny and in the low 60s, there were a lot of people out on those trails, as well as driving around that road taking in the views.

When you first enter the park, you are greeted by the rock formations seen in the photograph on the left. A trail goes right through the middle, which I have sometimes taken when I have visited here in the past. This park, nearby Manitou Springs, the Broadmoor Hotel, and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are the top attractions in the Springs, although the town also has some very nice Victorian era neighborhoods, especially around Colorado College. NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) is located underneath Cheyenne Mountain, but I would not try to visit there if I were you.  Of course, these days, the only time you hear from them is on Christmas Eve, when they release bulletins on the progress of Santa Claus as he travels across the globe. Could that be their only function these days?

As I have mentrioned before on this blog, my parents Nelson and Mary took a road trip from Chicago to Colorado back in the 1930s, along with my mother's parents William and Louise and her friend Peggy. My grandfather did the driving, heading across the plains, slowing down to a crawl as he started thinking about one thing or another, and then speeding up when his attention returned to the road. My mother said it was the longest car trip of her life. One of the photos they took at the Garden of the Gods is on the right. I do not recall ever seeing that particular rock, although it very well might still be there. I would not be surprised, however, if over the years it fell from that precarious perch.

The photograph on the left is of my mother and father sitting on one of the brick barriers lining one of the scenic overlooks that dot the area. I suspect the photograph was taken on Cheyenne Mountain Road, which leads to the Will Rodgers Shrine of the Sun, located at the summit of that peak. It used to be you could drive up there directly, and check out that monument and the views from there. However, sometime in the distant past it was incorporated into the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and only zoo visitors can now drive up there. Plus, as I recall, you have to drive through part of the zoo to get to the continuation of the road. That segment is usually filled with people crossing from one side to the other, and you have to be very careful. If you run down one of those zoo visitors, you might very well get a ticket. And even worse, points off your license.

A Wintertime Visit To Manitou Springs

My sister Susan and I made a wintertime visit to Manitou Springs, located beneath Pike's Peak, this past Sunday. The weather was in the lower 60s and sunny, and so there were quite a few visitors on the streets, although nothing like during the summer, when the round-about in the center of town always has a traffic backup. Manitou Springs, like nearby Colorado Springs, was founded back in 1872 as a tourist destination, and features healthful mineral springs that the Ute Indians once drank from. What happened to those original inhabitants I don't know, but I have an idea.

Those springs are located around the town square, seen in the photograph on the left. It is free to take the water home and drink. If it tastes really bad, that probably means it is indeed healthful. More popular with the tourists is Patsy's, a candy and ice cream stand that has been in business since 1903 and which also can be seen in the photo.

Manitou Springs has lots of old Victorian commercial buildings and homes, including Miramont Castle, which was built for a wealthy French-American Catholic priest who was once a secretary to Bishop Lamy of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mansion, seen in the background of the photo on the right, has 30 rooms and is owned by the Manitou Springs Historical Society. Why a priest needed a 30 room mansion I have no idea, and it is said he was not especially liked in either Santa Fe or Manitou. He and his mother, who also lived in the mansion, left Manitou Springs in 1900, and the house became a tuberculosis sanitarium. After touring Manitou Springs, we headed to the Golden Bee, a British pub moved to the grounds of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, to check it out, but not only was there no parking in the lot, but no parking anywhere near it, and so we headed back to Denver. Their loss. 

C.J. Box Appears At The Lone Tree Arts Center!

C.J. Box appeared at the Lone Tree Arts Center yesterday evening to promote Storm Watch, his latest Joe Pickett novel. The event was sponsored by the Douglas County Library, with books provided by my old employer, the Tattered Cover Bookstore. Tickets were $40, which included a copy of the book. Unlike last year, however, a companion ticket was offered for $25, so that two people from the same household did not have to purchase two copies of the same book, which convinced Susan and I to attend. I myself still prefer the old fashioned book signing event, where you just walk into the bookstore, sit down, listen to the author speak, and if you want to buy the book and have it autographed, do so, and if not, just leave. That, of course, is no longer done with bestselling authors. Another example of progress in today's world, even if it doesn't seem like it.

The last time I went to a C.J. Box book signing, it was at the Tattered Cover Bookstore on Colfax Avenue here in Denver. He spoke for a bit, discussing his new book, read a few passages from it, took questions from the audience, and then signed copies for those who wished to purchase a copy. Last night, however, there was a talk radio host from KOA radio who sat next to Box and more or less interviewed him, asking questions of his own and others submitted in advance from the audience. I did not like this format nearly as much, but sadly, they did not clear it with me in advance. In any case, even though all the books were pre-signed, Box still personalized the book and chatted with anyone who wanted to stand in line, which is of course the best part of a book signing. I am glad I went, but still long for the good old days. Spoken like a true old curmudgeon, right?

Lunching With Stuart At Spanky's

I had a late lunch with my friend Stuart at Spanky's Roadhouse - just to the west of the University of Denver campus - yesterday afternoon, where we discussed the predictions being made about the upcoming baseball season. As regular blog readers know, Stuart is originally from the North Side of Chicago, which of course means he is a Cubs fan, while I myself grew up in the Brainerd neighborhood on the South Side, and am a lifelong White Sox fan. Last year the Sox were predicted to win their division, but wound up barely playing .500 baseball. And the Cubs were as horrible as predicted. This year, the Sox have lost all-star first baseman Jose Abreu to free agency, and Liam Hendricks, their ace closer, to a serious illness. The experts predict they will struggle to even get to .500 this year. The Cubs, on the other hand, who began a rebuilding program last year, wound up signing three top free agents during the off-season, including Cody Bellinger from the Dodgers. I asked Stuart, seen in the photograph on the left, if he was excited about the Cubs' prospects this year, and he replied that Cub fans have been excited about the team's prospects since 1962. Sounds like a big no to me.