This was a two part day: tours of the capitol and the trip home. It began with a breakfast meeting about all those school related bills, including one from the Agriculture Committee about eliminating transfats from school cafeterias. For reference, most fast food places have gone to a 0 transfat standard. Interestingly, the breakfast fare was the highest cholesterol and saturated fat stuff of the meet: scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon!! I am sure the cupcakes and such were harboring transfats!
Everyone was warned about grumpy politicians since most of the legislature had been up until the wee hours on committee hearings. The current status of bills were reviewed with a few updates from the late night. Also the rules of visiting the legislature were reviewed with emphasis on floor lobbying which will get you evicted! It is OK to give your opinion if asked, though.
I opted out of touring knowing I would not be able to finish. Our Superintendent, John, and Donna went. Our legislator was out of his office so they had some fun posing at his desk!
While they were clowning around, a woman came into the office and thought they were part of Mr. Massey’s staff! Then she suggested they both get in the picture.
I can’t figure out the black square thing at the front of the desk; to me it looks like an aircraft attitude indicator.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch motel, I showered, packed, and sat in the lobby reading my Kindle and watching the human carnival passing through! I did get some great pictures out my 11th floor window before I settled in.
You can see the infamous “brown cloud” between the tall buildings in the distance. The warehouse looking building in the pictures is a parking garage for both the Brown Palace and the Comfort Inn, both of which are owned by the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa. It is accessed through the alley behind the Comfort Inn.
The tall brown building on the left is the CenturyLink building. That is, and has been, our phone company for years. This was a small company that took over a huge one when Qwest went broke.
That is the Brown Palace on the right in these two pictures. There is a skywalk connecting the two buildings.
This is one of the many ambulances to passed by on their way to St. Joseph Hospital a few blocks away.
The rest of this is more of a reminisce as a major chapter of my life closed.
We got under way about 11 for the trip home. Well, three of us; the Super headed for Mom’s house. Our trip began by sitting for an hour on the Interstate! And I began to feel depressed as a part of my life ended. I realized I would likely never be in Denver again. I mused and commented (like an old codger) about the many changes I has seen in my visits to Denver over the years. I have lived in Colorado since 1968, mostly in Colorado Springs.
To “help” me reminisce, our driver joined in. I eased into a mild depression as part my history seemed to roll up behind us. Particularly poignant was our passage through The Springs where I lived for decades. My boys still live there so I am sure I will visit sometimes. But it has grown beyond my comfort zone so is no longer “my town”. At least I can get around there whereas in Denver, I was perpetually lost.
I got quieter, partly from fatigue, as we drove down CO115 past Fort Carson which was how I came to be in Colorado. When we reached Penrose, we got on US50 westbound. This was now my world: Cañon City, Cotopaxi, and Salida. It is interesting that, as my life ends, so do my horizons shrink. My wanderings used to take me deep into Texas; now a “long trip” is to Pueblo or Salida. And those primarily for medical care.
I have found the last two posts here about my Trip to Denver have been difficult to write. It would have been so easy to skip this time but it would not have been honest. This is as much a memoir as a blog. Some of the struggles at this time in my life are difficult.
So thank you, my readers for joining me on this turning point in my life. It isn’t ending as much as changing in ways I foresaw but don’t like.
The tan bag on the bed is mine.
Charlie's Blog 