The 2022 National Western Stock Show

I went to the National Western Stock Show yesterday afternoon to take a few photographs, and as usual, that meant lots of animal photos. The horses were especially willing to have their portraits taken, including the one in the photo on the left. No doubt they think everyone has a carrot to give them, which someone actually did, although I think she was a member of the family that owns that horse. All of whom were very down to earth and friendly. Part of a world we all thought was long gone.

Most of the action was at the petting zoo on Thursday, which had a lot of very friendly farm animals wandering around, delighting all the kids in attendance, not to mention their parents. The goat in the photograph on the right no doubt also thought I had food to share with him or her. However, just a few minutes after I arrived, a stock show employee came in with bags of hay, and every one of those petting zoo animals was off like a shot to get their share, abandoning all those adoring stock show visitors. Let's face it, it is all about food, whether it is farm animals or your own pets. Loyalty only goes so far.

I really enjoyed interacting with all those animals Thursday afternoon, and everyone at the stock show seemed to be in a great mood, especially the kids. But what I want to know is why two goats in the petting zoo, including the one in the photograph on the left, were in a separate pen, and not allowed to run free with the rest of the animals. They seemed friendly enough, but perhaps once they enter the general population, they start to act up. No doubt an evil mind is behind that innocent looking face. Beware.

Birds Of A Feather

I took the photograph above of some geese at the Colorado State University Botanical Garden up in Fort Collins last week.  As regular blog readers know, I grew up in the Brainerd neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, and can't even remember seeing a goose there. However, we did learn in school that geese - along with other birds - fly south for the winter and north in the spring. Well, here in Colorado, they don't go anywhere - they stay here year round. In that respect, they are just like all those transplants from California that have settled here recently. Perhaps we need to set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money to truck them (the geese) up to Canada this spring. Coming from Chicago, that makes perfect sense to me.

Five Weeks Until Spring Training - Maybe

Spring training is scheduled to begin on February 16th, exactly five weeks from today. However, baseball owners and players are once again arguing over a new collective bargaining agreement, and as far as I can tell, there has been no progress since the owners "locked out" the players on December 2nd. I would not hold my breath expecting they will reach an agreement anytime soon, by which I mean this decade. On the bright side, the strike will not affect minor league baseball, which is cheaper, provides much better seats, features various stunts and contests each half inning, and is just a heck of a lot more fun than major league baseball. My favorite minor league venue, by the way, is Roger Dean Stadium, which is the spring training site for the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins, but is the home of the minor league Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals during the regular season. I took the photograph above of a Palm Beach Cardinals game from my front row seat back in the summer of 2008. And so, happily, all is not lost if those millionaires can't reach an agreement. 

Reflecting On The Past While Walking Across The DU Campus

I walked across the University of Denver campus Sunday afternoon, passing the new Community Commons, as seen in the photograph above. This building replaced Driscoll North, which opened soon after I started working at the DU Bookstore back in 1984, and housed cafeterias, a pub, a ballroom, and various student offices. The bookstore is located in Driscoll South, connected by the bridge over Evans Avenue seen in the photo. The university outsourced the store to Follett Higher Education Group 10 years ago, laying off all the employees. These days, to enter any university building, you need take a Covid test, quarantine for God knows how many days, and then apply to the university's Covid coordinator to get a "badge" that gives you access to the buildings. I can't imagine what that has done to the DU Bookstore's sales. An alumni, or parent of a student, would really have to want a DU hoodie or tee shirt very badly to go through all that. Parent's weekend, homecoming, graduation, all those sales opportunities lost. And do I care? I bet you can guess the answer to that one.

The January Issue Of Chicago Magazine

The January issue of Chicago Magazine is out, and once again this month has a lot of interesting articles. The main feature is about the reasons we still love Chicago, which was pretty fun to read, and in addition to places and things I am very familiar with from back when I lived there, such as Western Avenue businesses in the Beverly neighborhood, and biking along the lakefront, it includes places I am not familiar with, and want to see the next time I visit. Most interesting to me, however, was an article about the South Side Pullman neighborhood - bounded by 103rd and 115th Streets, Cottage Grove Avenue, and the Bishop Ford Freeway -  becoming a national monument.

This neighborhood was built by George Pullman back in the late 1800s as a company town, housing workers near the site of his Pullman railcar factory. I occasionally used to visit this area to take photographs, and when passing by on the IC train heading downtown, would see the Florence Hotel, built by Pullman for salesmen and others having business with the company. I will always remember the big sign out front advertising nickel beer. God knows, those days are long gone. I took the photograph on the right of that hotel back in 1972, when it was still a hotel with a bar and restaurant on the first floor, proudly advertising Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, today a hipster favorite. And for God's sake, why is that? But I digress - the Florence, along with a number of other historic structures, are now part of that historic monument.  Be sure to visit the next time you are in Chicago. And if you can't do that, at least pick up a copy of this month's Chicago Magazine. Available at newsstands everywhere, I am sure.

Newport Beach Used To Be Affordable. Who Would Have Thought?

When my sister Susan and I visited California this past fall, we had planned to stop in Newport Beach to have a look around. I last visited that beachside community over 50 years ago, and was anxious to see it again. However, the traffic was so bad that we ran out of time, and had to drive on to San Diego without stopping. Back in 1968, my parents, Nelson and Mary, and I visited my paternal grandparents, Claire and Fleta, who lived in a trailer park in Costa Mesa. Back when they lived in Chicago, they used to spend winters at a place in Newport Beach, as seen in the photograph above. When it became too expensive for them, they decided to live year round at the Trade Winds Mobile Home Park in Costa Mesa, just up the road from Newport Beach, and had a happy retirement there. What I find amazing is that Newport Beach, home of the super rich, was once actually affordable. That just boggles the mind. I also assume that the traffic was not so bad back then, either, which is equally amazing. Talk about missing the good old days, especially if you happen to be a Californian.

The Whistler

 

I just finished reading The Whistler, the first book in John Grisham's two book series featuring Florida Bureau of Judicial Conduct investigator Lacy Stoltz. I was originally going to put in a hold request at the Denver Public Library for Grisham's latest book, The Judge's List, but after reading a review, learned that it is the second of a two book series, and decided to start with The Whistler. This story involves the investigation of a corrupt Florida judge, in league with a ruthless criminal gang, skimming millions of dollars from a casino on a small Indian reservation in the Florida Panhandle. This is an exciting and fast paced thriller, and I can whole-heartedly recommend it. I have now put in a hold request at the DPL for The Judge's List, the next Lacy Stoltz thriller, which has been on the bestseller's list for many weeks now. I am number 240 in line, and so I am sure I will get a copy of it soon, by which I mean early fall at the latest.