The Fab Four

Once upon a time, long long ago, four young men formed a band ...

and you know the rest of the story.

Today I heard "Let It Be" on the radio as I was driving from my racquetball match to my house. Two miles, four minutes, one great song.

"Let It Be" whispers words of wisdom in needful moments, reminding me, "There will be an answer. Let it be."

This might seem a lame blog entry, but I really needed that song, right then. So today's toast is to The Beatles. To commandeer Joe's quote in You've Got Mail, The Beatles' lyrics are the I Ching, the sum of all wisdom, the answer to any question. ... And the answer to my question was, "Let It Be."

A Cup of Kindness

I saw an old friend today, someone I hadn't seen in years. She's sort of a former friend. And definitely a future one. She is a gal who drifted onto the periphery of my life, or I onto hers, and then for a variety of reasons, we drifted completely apart.

But I wanted to see her, I needed to see her. And so, lacking her cell number and her email address, I did the unthinkable: I looked her up in Public Records and knocked on her door.

She answered my knock. I said, "Hi, it's Kathie." She said, "aaah, Kathie. Come in!"

Before I could say a word about my reason for visiting, she offered me a cup of tea. She set the kettle on the stove and we hugged.

And we talked.

Three hours later, we hugged again. It was a long, warming hug, the sort you know you can trust.

Here's to You ~ people who are open to the past, the present and the future; who open doors, who share goodness and kindness and peace. oh! and a cup of tea..

An Indelible Grin

Yesterday I rode with a woman much younger than myself, who’s cycling skills greatly exceed my own.  Jen is a professional athletic trainer and an amateur racer, and to be honest, I was more than a little intimidated to ride alone with her. It wasn’t just a ride, it was a friendly race up a steep hill in Douglas County. Twelve miles distance, how would I keep up?

I didn’t keep up. She rolled up that hill like I roll down.

But that’s okay, because I had the unique opportunity to learn by observation. Jen pushed me hard and though she beat me by a mile, I "PR'd", riding the course 31 seconds faster than my previous best. And from beginning to end, I had an indelible grin splattered across my face.

Riding with Jen has made me thankful in a broader sense for the super-accomplished athletic women in my life. Jen, on her bike. Mary, wielding her racquet. Teresa, the flag football queen. And Marge, who conquers every challenge with more grace and style than I’ve ever seen in one person alone. And then there are those women who inspire me intellectually & spiritually & philosophically. And my giggle-friends, girls who paint a silly smile on my face, each and every time I see them.

The weather forecast is “rain mixed with snow”. But here, in my heart, thanks to the women in my life, it’s a bright, bright sun-shiny day.
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Preserving with Passion

(credit: cid69.blogspot.com)

Last night I attended the Douglas County Open Space Advisory Committee. I'm a newer committee member, having recently transferred from the Parks Advisory Board.

At each meeting, I learn more and more about our county's current inventory of Open Space, as well as the philosophy that guides our determination of what  land should be acquired. I'm also learning a lot about the difference between land conservancy and the fee simple acquisition of land, and the reasons to pursue one type of land preservation rather than the other.

Tonight we talked about several key parcels of land in Douglas County, including the Lamb Spring Archaeological Preserve (LSAP). It's an internationally significant archaeological site; the Smithsonian Institution conducted extensive excavations in 1960-61 and 1980-81, yielding mammoth remains dating back 13,000 years as well as artifacts of the earliest people to inhabit North America. The site is now preserved through a cooperative agreement between the Archaeological Conservancy and Douglas County.

Also mentioned was a place called Lost Canyon. It is a stunning piece of land near Castlewood Canyon State Park. Contained within Lost Canyon is the Franktown Cave, another fascinating and well-documented archaeological site.

(credit: parks.state.co.us)

We are so fortunate, we, the inhabitants of this land, to live in an age where preservation is a priority. Each time I attend a COSAC meeting, I am surrounded by land use professionals and citizen-volunteers who care passionately about our land trust and the heritage we pass to future generations. And Douglas County isn't unique. Across the United States and Canada, good people spend valuable time working to preserve and protect our geological and historical treasures.

Here's to the folks that invest the best of themselves to such an important endeavor.
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Whadayathink?

As I walked down the office hallway, I saw the usual collection of colleagues: the talker, the former-engineer, the talker and the talker. Realtors, it seems, tend to be talkers.

There's a down-side to an office full of talkers. It is hard to steal away, to be completely and totally focused and alone. And it's hard to walk to the kitchen for a quick cup of coffee. Someone wants to talk. Always, someone wants to talk.

Have you ever noticed, talkers tend to be opinionated people? Well, there's the up-side to that. Today I needed help. I needed someone to critique my work. I needed an unbiased, honest opinion. So I walked to the kitchen and "got an earful" from several opinionated talkers. They gave me just what I needed.

And so ... today I'm raising a toast to the Opinionated Talkers of the World. Yes, you have faults. No, you aren't perfect. But you consistently share your wealth of knowledge and today I thank you for that gift.
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Oh. My.

I'm the sort of person that loves walking in dense urban settings. I am fascinated by commercial districts and I am energized when I absorb and admire a man-made environment.

I wonder, "Who designed that skyscraper?" "How did his - or her - mind conceive of that structure?" Some artists paint, and some sculpt. And others - architects - dream 3-D dreams with their sketchpads. And then a team of investors, engineers, contractors and skilled construction workers bring the sketch to life. That process is pretty amazing to me.

Today I saw a stunning photograph of an infinity pool. So stunning, I Googled the thing.

Where is it? And who designed it?

It's the SkyPark Infinity Pool at the Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore. At present, it is the world's largest public cantilevered platform, a stunning retreat set atop the 55-story casino and hotel. The park and pool are designed to accomodate 3,900 people - can you imagine?

According to Wikipedia, "The 20-hectare resort was designed by Moshe Safdie Architects. The local architect of record was Aedas Singapore, and engineering was provided by Arup and Parsons Brinkerhoff (MEP). The main contractor was Ssangyong Engineering and Construction."

It is currently the world's most expensive stand-alone casino property at $8 billion, and it includes a shopping mall, a museum, two theatres, seven restaurants, and an ice skating rink - in addition to the world's largest atrium casino and hotel.

I have seen quite a few casinos in Las Vegas, and I haven't been enamored by any of them. But this casino, I think, adds a fascinating beauty to the world. Congratulations to the team of visionaries who created this wonder. I hope I am able to visit Singapore ~ and swim in the SkyPark Infinity Pool ~ some year soon.

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Change Anything

Ten weeks ago I embarked on an interesting journey into my diet. I thought it would be fascinating and challenging to try to live a gluten-free, corn-free, potato-free vegetarian life.

A few months prior, I read "Change Anything," subtitled, "The New Science of Personal Success." The book asserts that most people wrongly believe we are born with either a strong willpower or a weak resolve, when, in fact, everyone can develop the same degree of tenacity, grit and commitment. According to the authors, we don't lack the will, we lack the skill; all we need is the skillset to be routinely successful in life.

With that, I climbed out on a precarious limb and tested the theory. And here's what I discovered:

I can live a gluten-free, corn-free, potato-free vegetarian life, and happily, because I live in a place and time  where food service folks care about my dietary challenge. When I ask the deli clerk or the waiter about the ingredients of a certain food, they take my concern seriously and they provide me with as much information as possible.

Last week, I ordered a cobb salad at Elway's Downtown, and before it was delivered, the waiter came to our table, very concerned, and explained, "Our chef says that we use an English blue cheese, and it might contain trace amounts of gluten. To our knowledge, only Maytag Blue Cheese is absolutely gluten-free, and we don't have any today. Would you like a different cheese on your cobb salad?" WOW. Talk about customer service! And that's just one example. It seems that day-in, day-out, I meet people who want to help me maintain my diet.

So I'm not sure if the theory of "Change Anything" is accurate or not, because ~ thanks to all the wonderful people I've met in restaurants and grocery stores these past ten weeks ~ I'm having an easy time enjoying other foods.

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Gandhi: Jesus

Today is Good Friday.

"A man who was completely innocent

offered himself as a sacrifice 
for the good of others, 
including his enemies, 

and became the ransom of the world. 

It was a perfect act."

~ Mohandas Gandhi

"Jesus on the Cross," Rembrandt, 1631.

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The Liberal Media

Today I opened my New York Times. That is, I opened my internet browser, I selected NYT among my bookmarks, and I clicked on OPINION. Just like that.

God knows I love living in the Twenty-First Century. Back in the olden days, in the 1980's and 90's, I had to drive to the library to read the New York Times. And if someone beat me to it, I had to wait my turn. Imagine that!

I love the New York Times Op-Ed writers. Each has their own unique soapbox, their own voice and pitch. The one commonality is their ability to communicate, and in my humble opinion, they are experts in the science and art of communication.

Today Gail Collins wrote, "Send in the Clowns, and Cheese," a piece dedicated to poking fun at the G.S.A.'s 2010 Western Regions Conference, held in Las Vegas at the cost of $2,742.50 per bureaucrat-attendee. She makes me chuckle, the way Erma Bombeck makes me chuckle. Even as I'm cringing I'm chuckling ~ and that's a rare talent.

And Nicholas Kristof, whom I've mentioned here before, published "Arsenic in Our Chicken?" Kristof doesn't make me laugh. He doesn't even make me smile. But I love him for what he does, and that is, think. His column today addressed the routine fact that our chickens contain banned antibiotics, antihistamine, acetaminophen and arsenic. Lovely, huh? But it is nothing like last week's column which everyone should read.

Thank you, Ms. Collins and Mr. Kristof, elite members of the liberal media, for entertaining and educating me again today. Both of you are a welcome part of my daily routine, bringing smiles and smirks, fear and frustration, thus making me a better and stronger citizen.
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August and Martin

Today I stumbled upon the story of August Landmesser, a German who is seen in a crowd of saluting Nazis, his arms crossed in defiance. The photo was taken in June 1936 at the launch of a German naval vessel in Hamburg. It turns out, Mr. Landmesser was a member of the Nazi Party from 1931 to 1935, but when his application for marriage was rejected - his sweetheart was a Jew - "Rassenschande" turned him against the party.

It's a sad story of love, not unrequited but unrecognized, and neither the Mr. or Mrs. survived the war. The story has been preserved by the younger of their two daughters, Irene, who published "The Toll of “Rassenschande” on a Family" in 1998.

Today is also the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

And so today I reflect on the lives of two great men. One led a very private life, his one defiant act was "discovered" and distributed by the media almost 50 years after his death. The other led a very public life. He was hailed by friends and hunted by enemies for years and years; I presume his fame affected his inward character as well as his outward behavior and today, we judge him both for what he was and what he was not.

Both men are enigmas, one for the little we know and one for the much that we know. Yet both continue to impact our world by forcing us to look at character and culture. They both cause us to think, to pause, to reflect, to consider. And for that reason, I salute both men. May we continue to learn from them.

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Saving Highgrade

Last Wednesday, Denver held it's breath as the Lower North Fork Fire ignited from old "controlled burn" embers in 85mph winds. Authorities estimate the fire burned at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and scorched four square miles in two hours that afternoon. Three people perished and Denver was immediately covered in a thick orange-brown cloud.

The Lower North Fork is a hair's breath south of  Deer Creek & Highgrade roads, the favorite ride of Denver cyclists. It's the beautiful land that lies between Chatfield State Park and the town of Conifer. Today, less than a week later, the fire is 97% contained at 4,140 acres, thanks to a dedicated fire crew. There are still over 500 firefighters battling the blaze today, even as rain turns to snow. 

The early spring blaze has brought to mind how fortunate we are to have firefighters ready, in season and out, to battle blazes in difficult conditions and challenging terrain. I think we take firefighters for granted, until they are suddenly with us, rescuing the life and landscape we love. So Here's to Firefighters ~ thanks for stopping the "Lower North Fork" and for saving Deer Creek & Highgrade.