Still More Nostalgia

It has been pretty cold here in Denver the past few days, and so I wound up staying inside and watching Chicago White Sox spring training games.  And of course, when I watch Chicago White Sox games, I start thinking about growing up back in the south side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. The photograph on the left is of my mother Mary sitting on the railing on the front porch of our house, proud as can be of the place.  She didn't even want to leave it to go on vacation. Probably the result of our family having to live with her parents for two years before they could afford to buy their own place.

And as long as I am posting that photograph of my mother Mary on the front porch of our house, I think it only fair I should post the photo on the right of my Grandmother Louise Spillard (my mother's mother), posing on that same front porch.  My Grandmother Spillard had a hard childhood.  Her family was poor, and lived on a farm in Saint-Eustache, Quebec.  During the summer months my Great Grandfather Charles St. Pierre (her father) would travel to Chicago with his family to work as a carpenter.  Once, when in Quebec, my grandmother's aunt Maggie (who was English) offered to let my grandmother live with her family, to help out the struggling family. Aunt Maggie turned my grandmother, who was French, into a servant, taking her out of school and forcing her to get up early and light the fire in the mornings, cook, clean, and care for her aunt's children.  My grandmother eventually was able to escape and run home, never to live with Aunt Maggie again.  I vividly remember how anti-English my grandmother always was.  I wonder why?

A Brush With Kaos

Before I met my friend Stuart for burgers and beers this past Sunday, I took a walk over to Old South Pearl Street, and from there through Denver's Washington Park.  For about the 200th time this year, we had a snowstorm on Friday, followed by extreme (for me) cold on Saturday, and so it wasn't until Sunday that I ventured outside.  That day was fairly warm, and only a little slushy, and so a good day for a walk.  On my way, I passed Kaos, a pizza parlor and beer garden, and one of my favorite places, as seen in the photograph on the left.  It was voted Denver's best patio, and so I am not the only one with such a high opinion of the place. The patio is snow-covered these days, and so I think it will be a month or two until the patio starts filling with people, although I did see two brave souls sitting outside in the back.  What people won't do for $3.00 happy hour beers.

From Old South Peal Street I walked east into Washington Park, which was filled with people taking advantage of the sun and the warmer temperatures. And we do have to enjoy these days when we can, since another snowstorm is once again predicted for this Friday (the 201st Friday snowstorm if you are keeping score at home).  One of the things I have noticed about Colorado is that almost everyone here has a dog, and most seem to walk them in Washington Park.  Virtually every apartment and condo is dog friendly, whereas in Florida - specifically Stuart, Florida - you are hard pressed to find a place that will allow dogs.  Just why is that?

The geese were out in Washington Park in large numbers, too, pecking away at the spots where the grass was showing through.  And once again I was thinking that a true entrepreneur would go around the park with a net, collect as many geese as possible, and send them off for a hefty profit to somewhere where a goose dinner is considered a delicacy - perhaps New Jersey.  But not me.  Those geese bite.

Sox Win! Sox Win! Sox Win!

As regular blog readers know, I grew up in the south side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago, and therefore am a dedicated Chicago White Sox fan.  And I decided that instead of paying $120 for the worst seat in the house to attend Opening Day at Denver's Coors Field, I would subscribe once again to MLB.com, which allows me to watch every single Chicago White Sox baseball game this season, not to mention the occasional Cubs game (Chicago's effete north side team) in desperate circumstances. And yesterday, I was able to witness the White Sox win their first victory of the year, a 9 to 7 spring training victory over the Kansas City Royals.  Am I worried because the White Sox lost three games and tied one before achieving this first victory? Certainly not.  Spring training games mean nothing.  It is all about finding the best of the best to start the regular season.  I think this year will see the first subway series (the White Sox versus the Cubs in the World Series) since 1908.  And yes - I will indeed pay $120 for that particular ticket.

Dark Sacred Night

I just finished reading Dark Sacred Night, the latest Michael Connelly novel featuring police detective Harry Bosch and Connelly's latest character, LAPD detective Renee Ballard.  Ballard was the main character in one of  Connelly's previous novels, The Late Show, and in Dark Sacred Night the two get together to solve a cold case involving the murder of a 15 year old runaway.  Once again Connelly delivers a fast paced and exciting story. It was so fast paced that I was surprised the other night when I realized I was a mere 20 pages from the end. If you want to read a truly excellent police thriller, pick up a copy today at your local bookstore, or else put your name on the library's waiting list.  That is what I did - it took almost 4 months to get, but it was worth it. And much cheaper, too.

Celebrating The Start Of Spring Training At Old Chicago

My friend Stuart (seen in the above photograph) and I celebrated the start of baseball spring training at the Old Chicago Restaurant in beautiful, exotic Lakewood, Colorado yesterday evening.  And speaking of Lakewood, the latest rumor is that the Lakewood City Council is considering changing the time they roll up the sidewalks there from 8:00 to 9:00 P.M., but only during the summer.  And it would have to be approved by voters, so good luck with that.  In any case, Stuart is doing well and living the good life, and after dinner we headed over to the Barnes and Noble for a cup of coffee and to check out the books.  I know, being a retired Tattered Cover Bookstore employee, that I should not be entering Barnes and Noble, but I promise I did not buy anything other than coffee.  I swear.

Rockies Win! Cubs Win! And The White Sox?

Yesterday was the first spring training game for all three of these teams, and let's get one thing straight right now - spring training games mean nothing.  You put in different pitchers and players each inning and see how they perform, no matter the score or the situation, which is exactly what the Chicago White Sox did in their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  I watched the contest on MLB.com, and the starting pitcher did not get out of the first inning, having given up 4 runs.  Pretty soon they were behind 7 to nothing, but came back strong, and lost the game by only one run.  Plus, it was a split squad, meaning that half the team was playing a game somewhere else.  It won't be until the last few spring training games that the team will actually concentrate on winning, and so I am definitely not worried - yet.  And as for the above photograph of Denver's Coors Field, it is a reminder that Opening Day there is a mere 5 weeks away.  Spring is here at last!

Getting Together With Some Of The DU Guys

Several of us current and former University of Denver friends and colleagues got together last night at Spanky's Urban Roadhouse for burgers and beers and to find out what is currently happening at DU these days, where I was the Finance Manager at the DU Bookstore for almost 30 years, until the university outsourced us to Follett Higher Education Group. It was a very pleasant evening, and right after we went out the door I snapped a photograph of everyone standing out in a major snowstorm, which began as we entered the place.  From left to right is Mark, who works at DU's Anderson Academic Commons (once known as Penrose Library); Wally, who was the Operations Manager at the DU Bookstore before it was outsourced, and is now retired; Joe, who is an artist, an instructor at the Art Student's League of Denver, and who still works at the DU Bookstore once a week; and Owen, who worked in the computer department at the DU Bookstore, and who now works for the University of Denver's University Technology Services. Great to see all you guys again!  It was fun.