Another Very Weird DU Tradition Continues

Yesterday the annual University of Denver Hockey Student Season Ticket Campout took place in front of DU's Ritchie Center, as seen in the photograph above, and was well covered by the local televison news stations this year. And why do I care about this event? Because in the background of that photo is my condo building, and in past years, having hundreds of college students camping across the street often made for a pretty noisy night - loud music, shouting, cheering, as well as other assorted party sounds. Hockey is the big sport at DU, since football was eliminated at the university years ago. In fact, back when I worked as the Finance Manager at the DU Bookstore, before the store was outsourced to Follett Higher Education Group, we sold a very popular T-Shirt that said "University of Denver Football - Undefeated Since 1961." But I digress. This year, the temperature dropped to 30 degrees last night, and the university gave students the option of going home, staying warm, and not losing their place in line when those season tickets went on sale this morning at 7:30 A.M. Which meant a quiet night's sleep for the many seniors (real ones, not upperclassmen) who now live in our building. A win-win for all - at least this year, anyway. And by the way, is the word "upperclassmen" no longer politically correct? Frankly, I don't give a damn. I am a senior, too, after all.

The Leaves Are Finally Starting To Turn

While the Aspens are already past their peak up in the mountains, the leaves have just started to turn here in the Denver area. While the temperatures have been warm during the day, at night it has been getting colder and colder, and today Denver experienced its first freeze.  I took the photograph on the left of Clear Creek, in the heart of Golden, a few days ago. And not surprisingly, the tubers going down that creek appear to have decided to call it a wrap until next spring.

Clear Creek runs past both the Golden History Park, where original pioneer cabins and buildings from the 1800s have been relocated from the old Pearce Ranch in Golden Gate Canyon, as well as the 12th Street Historic District, which features homes from the 1870s through 1920, one of my favorite neighborhoods in all of Colorado. It helps that the Golden City Brewery is located in the backyard of one of those 1870 era homes, just in case you get thirsty walking past all that history. I took the photograph on the right, by the way, of one of those historic district homes, located right across the street from Clear Creek. I was tempted to knock on the door and make them an offer for the place, but since Colorado's "Make My Day" law is still in effect, I decided I better not. Besides, that tree in the front yard is probably fake. Nothing in nature can be that colorful, right?

Columbus Day Versus Indigenous Peoples' Day

This past Monday was Columbus Day, one of 11 federal holidays in the United States. Back when I attended Fort Dearborn Grammar School in Chicago's South Side Brainerd neighborhood, the holiday was celebrated on October 12th, and since I hated school, I welcomed every holiday I could get. These days, of course, Columbus Day is very controversial due to Columbus' mistreatment and enslavement of indigenous people. It is also very complicated. In Illinois, Columbus Day is still celebrated, but in the City of Chicago, it is now Indigenous Peoples' Day. Here in Colorado, it was eliminated as a state holiday and replaced by Mother Cabrini Day, celebrated on the first Monday in October. Back when I was going to school, I really don't think I would have cared if the holiday celebrated Satan, as long as I got the day off. I took the photograph above, by the way, on the walk home from Fort Dearborn one long ago afternoon. I don't remember the name of the kid on the left, but in the center is John Kloak, who lived across the alley from me, and on the right is Neil Finn, who lived down the street from our house on Aberdeen Street. And yes, students in Chicago still get Columbus/Indigenous People's Day off, but students in Colorado do not. And they don't get Mother Cabrini Day off, either. What a ripoff - I suggest that they definitely stage a walkout next year. And perhaps, for good measure, they should do so on both of those very special days.

Attendance At Coors Field Actually Went Up This Year!

Even I was surprised that attendance at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, actually increased by .4% this year. A total of 2,607,935 fans went through the turnstiles, despite the fact that the Rockies were the worst team in the National League this year. They were predicted to be the worst team in all of baseball this season, but turned out to be only the third worst, and so fans might have wanted to come out and show their appreciation for this achievement, even though it did result in 103 losses. Another possible reason for the high attendance might be that many people have moved to Denver from other cities across the country over the past decade or so, and head to Coors Field, a truly nice ballpark, to see the team they grew up supporting. Let's face it - when the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals, among many others, come to play the Rockies, most of the fans are cheering for the other side. The problem with this is that team ownership (i.e. Dick Monfort) has no incentive to improve the team. Why should they replace all their cronies with baseball people who actually know what the hell they are doing when they have the 14th highest attendance in the major leagues, averaging 32,196 per game? Life is good just the way it is. Let's play two!

The October Issue Of Chicago Magazine Has Arrived!

I recently received the October issue of Chicago Magazine. Living here in Denver after growing up on the South Side of Chicago, a subscription to Chicago, along with watching the WGN television newscast every evening, helps me to keep up with what is happening in my old home town. And the ads in Chicago are often as enlightening as the articles. Compass Real Estate has a two page spread this month featuring residences mostly in the 3 to 5 million dollar range, one page of which are either under contract or recently sold. This just amazes me. There are so many people who will never be able to afford to buy their own home, let alone pay millions of dollars for it. And in a section called The 312, a Gilded Age mansion located in Wicker Park is featured in one of the articles. It was once divided up into separate apartments, but later restored to a single family residence, and is now for sale at the bargain price of 6.95 million. Just in time for the new Gilded Age! It has 5 bedrooms and 5 1/2 baths, which immediately makes me lose interest - I have trouble enough just cleaning a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo. And happily, for those of us who want to see how the other half lives, the Chicago Architecture Foundation is hosting Open House Chicago this coming weekend, featuring 170 sites spread across 20 different neighborhoods. All for free. Denver has had a similar weekend in the past called Open Doors Denver, but it has been on hold, at least for in person visits, since the pandemic. And even before then, a lot of the sites were not free to tour. In any case, this month's issue has many other interesting articles, including a story about 40 things to do this fall in Chicago, how the city is handling the migrant crisis, and a review of a new book about how the Chicago Fire of 1871 changed Chicago. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand today, especially if you are interested in making an offer for that Wicker Park bargain.

Lunch With Stuart At Spanky's

I had a late lunch this past Saturday afternoon with my friend Stuart, seen in the photograph above, at Spanky's, an "urban roadhouse" just to the west of the University of Denver, where I worked as the Finance Manager of the DU Bookstore for almost 30 years, and where Stuart graduated with a Masters in International Studies back in the distant past. And I have to say, Spanky's is much more lively now that classes are back in session. Stuart and I discussed the uptick in Covid-19 cases, the war in Israel, and, of course, the Chicago Cubs. Stuart is originally from the North Side of Chicago, and a Cubs fan, and tells me he was not surprised that within a few weeks they went from a 3 1/2 game lead in the wildcard race to not making the playoffs. They are the Cubs, after all. As for my South Side heroes, the Chicago White Sox (I grew up in Chicago's South Side Brainerd neighborhood), I could see the writing on the wall after the first week of the season, which culminated in the Pale Hose losing over 100 games for the 5th time in their history. Our current home town team, the Colorado Rockies, were expected to be the worst in baseball this year, and although they were indeed the worst in the National League, they surprised everyone by being only the third worst team in all of baseball this season. Which is considered a great success here in Denver. When I was limping out of Spanky's as we were leaving (I recently pulled a muscle that seems to be a lingering issue), Stuart remarked that I now remind him of Grandpappy Amos, the Walter Brennan character in the old Real McCoys television series. Nobody can possibly take offense at that, although I do have to say that only someone very old - very, very old - can possibly remember that classic television show. Am I right or am I right?

Stuart Beach - Just Not The Same

This past May, my sister Susan and I visited Stuart, Florida, where we own a condo we inherited from our mother Mary. It has been 6 1/2 years since I was last there, and while much of the town seemed the same, there were several major changes, including a large condo building being constructed along the St. Lucie River in Old Town Stuart, and a major change to Stuart Beach. Back when we used to visit our mother, we would head to Stuart Beach each day. Susan would take her boogie board down to the beach and head out on it towards Africa, while my mother - alternating between reading the Stuart News and watching and worrying about Susan's safety - and I would sit in one of the shelters. The photograph on the left shows Susan with her beloved boogie board (which I callously threw away when we started renting out the condo) sitting next to my mother in one of those shelters back in 1996, along with a few locals enjoying the day. It was a very pleasant way to spend a few hours.

However, this past May I discovered that all but one of those shelters have been removed to put in a cafe, with only a few Adirondack chairs available to sit in, as seen in the photograph of Susan on the right that I took on that most recent trip. Which makes it hard to enjoy the view without sitting in the sun on the beach. Even the one remaining shelter has been set up as a table for that damn cafe. You just can't see the ocean if you are sitting in one of those Adirondack chairs, unless you stand up. Do I sound like some old geezer complaining about how nothing is like the "good old days" anymore? That's exactly what I thought.

On the bright side, the beach is still there, and the boardwalk leading to it seems to be the same, as seen in the photograph on the left of me posing next to it. And I suppose that it would not be all that horrible to buy a copy of the Stuart News (and God knows how much a paper copy of it costs these days), order a coffee from that cafe, and if it is early enough, grab that remaining shelter and hang there for a while, before heading for a walk along the ocean to the House of Refuge, an historic structure from 1876. When we finally take back the condo next August, that is exactly what I plan to do, and perhaps just accept all the changes that come along and deal with it. Or not - complaining about change can be fun, after all.