The Rockies and all that.

Whoopie...the sun is finally here and hopefully, winter, snow and the rains will stay away until I leave Colorado. It is not at all insignificant that the sunniest day I have enjoyed was on May 26th, my grandson Sharach's birthday.

Such a lovely day it was that I was ready to start exploring the Rockies, starting with Pikes Peak. Luckily for me, my son in law Devin is more conscious than I am and he had the presence of mind to call the park centre to enquire about the weather. Well it was not snowing we heard, but wind speed was 80 miles per hour. Brr, can you imagine me surviving that type of wind chill factor? 

Horrors.

Clear Creek Canyon

So off we went instead to explore the casinos at Black Hawk and Central City. I had been in the area before but it was still a pleasant drive through the huge gorge called Clear Creek Canyon. It makes poor little Bog Walk gorge appear insignificant. There can be no doubt why that area is part of the Rocky Mountain range for rocks there were of ever shape and size, jutting our of the beautiful hills. It is significant how they prevent disasters in the area for the rocks look like they could come rolling down at any time and smash the insignificant vehicles below. However the practice is to use steel mesh in vulnerable areas so when the rocks roll downwards they are caught in the mesh at the bottom and do not endanger road users. Those areas are popular with hikers, white river rafters and mountain climbers. The gorge has an elevation of over 8000 feet above sea level.

The Central City/Black Hawk area is quite a historical area having been from the 1800's rich mining areas. Central City became quite a prosperous town but when  mining died out, it became a casino town. Casinos sprung up left right and centre in the exotic and interesting buildings left behind by the miners. Then the newer and larger commercial casinos and hotels moved into Black Hawk, just a mile below and that effectively killed the economy of Central city.

As we strolled through the shops at Central city I couldn't help noticing that they were mostly manned by weary looking golden agers and every one had one thing in common, there were no customers..... as was the the casinos.

At Black Hawk below there was definitely more activity. After a short tour of the area, we decided to visit the casinos and lose a few dollars. I say lose a few dollars as this is something I do quite consciously...I never go to win. What I do is put a $10 or $20 in my pocket and leave only when it is finished. I love black jack and sometimes It takes me half an hour to contribute to the casinos' wealth, at other times it takes me hours.

Oh no I have not always been this conscious about gambling and learning how to save myself from bankruptcy was an expensive lesson. This happened many decades ago as we set out to explore North, Central and South America and unfortunately ended up in Las Vegas. Seeing the bright lights and hearing the jingle of money for the first time was just too much for us so into the casinos we went and as our money evaporated, we headed to our stash at our camp and emptied our entire savings in slot machines there. It  took us about six weeks of working at menial jobs and living hand to mouth in California before we earned enough to continue touring. So now I never put money in slot machines and never take to to the black jack table more than I plan to lose.

Unfortunately in Black Hawk, their 'no children under 21 ' policy was so severe that we were not even enter the casino with my one month old granddaughter. We were  even accompanied by security to and from the restaurant as we had to walk through the casino to get there. When I enquired why such a stringent policy, seeing she was only a baby, I learnt that the problem was not the baby but bad parents. For experience had shown that parents leave their babies in elevators, bathrooms, parking garages to fulfill their lust to gamble so now Colorado has a policy whereby security must see that the babies are not separated from their parents in casino areas.

So not being able to gamble after lunch we headed for a pleasant drive through Golden Gate National Park which ascends to 15,000 feet. You could actually see snow still unmelted on the ground in some areas but that did not stop some adventurous persons who were camping, fishing, riding and hiking there quite happily. We just drove through with windows tightly shut. It is an extraordinarily beautiful area and this has attracted some obvious billionaires who have constructed fabulous country homes with hundreds of acres of billowing ranges where cattle and horses roamed and where the barns could be mistaken for beautiful suburban homes.

Oh how I hated the rain, snow and cold as spring sprung its way though Colorado. Now (I am crossing my fingers) that summer is here, I am in my element as I prepare to explore the great outdoors.

For more photographs, see; http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150258447701823.368373.763366822

DENVER'S BORING ELECTION

I couldn't believe my eyes. This morning I actually saw two exuberant women at the corner of Martin Luther King and Colorado boulevards holding up "Hancock" signs. Wow, what excitement!

Let me state up front that I have over the years, officially and unofficially observed elections from Guatemala to Trinidad, Canada and not to mention Jamaica and even in Canada, the elections had spirit. 

In Denver though, blah!

Of course the only election campaign I have ever been exposed to in Denver is the 2011 mayoral election, but if this is any example of how elections are run here, then I have only one word for them; boring. Of course I was not in Denver as an election observer or even present by design, but just happened to be here between April and June while the election raged (for want of a better word) and being an avid political watcher, couldn't help but pay attention.

These elections had become necessary as the previous mayor resigned in January to become governor of Colorado. The preliminary election was held on May 3, 2011 and the final election to see who is to become mayor will be held on June 7th 2011 between Senator Chris Romer and Councilor Michael B. Hancock

The May 3rd run off had 10 candidates but only 3 had a decent showing; they were Chris Romer with over 38%, Michael Hancock with over 27% and James Mejia with just over 25%. The run off on the 7th June is between Romer and Hancock (both democrats) with Mejia throwing his support behind Romer.

When I arrived in Denver and heard there was to be an election, my interest perked up but if I was waiting for exciting street meetings and parades, I was  sorely disappointed. This election has been dominated by television debates, media ads and placards placed on the lawns of their supporters only. Even on election day on the 3rd May, I saw little outside activity. I  guess this is  because mail in balloting is the order of the day here. And it might as well be so for with this  lousy weather I guess people are not too excited to go outside.

 I admit the issues during the debate are quite interesting but the zest is missing. So boring is the campaign that when Romer put out a tv ad condemning Hancock for voting a pay increase for himself while he was a member of the city council while not supporting increases for city employees, it was condemned immediately by the Hancock team for being unfair and when it was withdrawn, they claimed it was because the governor had intervened and told them to withdraw it. The governor denied this....... yawn. Now when is an ad that is so true and relevant, distasteful, I ask?  

See what I mean by boring?

 So yes, that is why I got so excited at seeing two women with placards that I even bothered to do a blog on these elections for that's the only election type thing I saw!

have seen or heard so far!

Colorado is depressing.

I am convinced. the worse thing that can happen to you is to wake up and not see any sun. That's what i have had to put up with for the last three days Rain, hail and freezing weather, no sun. In fact, suicide statistics show that it is highest in places with depressing weather and now I understand why.

You know, everyone warned me about the wicked Colorado weather. Everyone except my daughter Michele who kept insisting that Colorado has more sun than Florida. ....that's the joke of the century.

At first, I tried hard to agree with her for despite the temperature being in the forties, the sun kept the place warm and tolerable.Then the sun left, permanently I thought for while the thermometer and weather reports kept saying it was the same as those first days, it started to feel like I was in Siberia each time I went outside!
So I stopped going outside until I had to drop off or pick up my grandson at school....no cycling, no shopping, no walking. yuk

Then came my birthday and guess what, beautiful sunshine. But wait, according to some nuts in California and their adherents worldwide, the world is supposed to end tomorrow. Hmm. I will wait till then to publish this post since they will prove to be to be total liars.

 In the meantime, we are heading off to  Colorado Springs to spend the day then my grandson is taking me for dinner.

Well I deliberately refused to finish this blog until I was certain where I would be when the world ended.


Here I am back in Denver and today was tolerable up to noon . In fact, I went walking to City Park......, a good hour to and from and now it has again become overcast but tolerable I guess.At least I am not in hell which is probably where I could have ended up had that idiot known what he was talking about.

Actually, I don't believe in  heaven and hell at all or even  the devil. I strictly believe in  reincarnation, the concept that I will be returning to some other part of this over billion year old earth or even somewhere else in  the universe really excites me. After all, I have not met anyone who came back and since we  can't be exactly sure,why not adopt the nicest theory? Hopefully though, I wont reincarnate in Colorado!


Anyway my birthday yesterday was quite nice. Devin, (my new son in law) took us to visit his brother who lives in a huge movie style house with two acres of land, horses dogs etc, in Colorado Springs. Its 2000 feet higher than mile high Denver so obviously colder. Luckily we when we got there it was sunny but we still stayed inside as it had snowed the night before so we stayed where we would be kept warm by the blazing fireplace.

They are a nice couple and it was great hanging out with them. Then we picked up Shadrach at school and he treated me to my birthday dinner. Lovely to have a rich grandson!

Even better to be one day older and not see this beautiful world disappear into nothingness!












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TRIBUTE TO CHULLY WILLIAMS SNR.

We regret that we are unable to be with the rest of the family on this sad but special day as we say a final farewell to our dear father- in- law,  grandpa and great grandpa, Chully Williams. 

As much as we are greatly saddened by his passing, we are comforted by the words of the famous comedian Dick Van Dyke who observed "Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live. " We know, no one could say that about Grandpa Williams as he lived a very full, productive  and caring life, and one always got the impression that he was afraid of nothing and was up to every challenge that presented itself. In fact, we cannot recall an instant when we saw Grandpa when he was not very pleasant and calm. 

Grandpa was always friendly and loving with his grandchildren. We remember when we would visit him at East Queen Street. He would always stop what he was doing to find out how we were and what was going on in our lives. He listened, cared and always had a smile on his face.  Grandpa was someone who we could always talk to about any matter and he always had a wise answer and positive attitude to whatever we initially thought  was a difficult situation.

His pleasant demeanor has left so lasting an impression on us that we too want to emulate it. 

Even when all around him people were losing their heads, he always exuded a quiet calm, and it is probably that uncanny ability that he had to remain unruffled that led to him having a relatively long, healthy life.

When Grandpa started to lose his memory, we were all very worried. At some point he must have made a decision to be kind, inviting and friendly regardless of whether he remembered us or not. We say this because whenever we visited him, he treated us as if he knew exactly with whom he was speaking. We could tell that he didn't exactly know it was us because his witty banter and generic statements could have been relevant anyone. Yet he made us feel welcome and comfortable. He knew and we knew. It was a conspiracy of sorts. Grandpa was a great performer and if he was feeling any pain, there was absolutely no indication of this from him.  

We are saddened that we were unable to be with him in his final days and especially regret that he did not have the opportunity to see his new great granddaughter, Madelynn, who was born in Denver , Colorado on the 23rd April,  a week before he died, but  we are assured that he was perfectly aware of this latest addition to his large loving family. 

Around 20 Ad, the great Roman philosopher  Seneca observed that .......The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity; as much as we will miss grandpa, we are comforted by the thought  that he is at peace now in eternity.

Walk good grandpa.

And to Grandma Williams: cheer upand be strong and we will see you soon.

Much love,

 Joan, Michele and Shadrach

-

SHADRACH THOR WILLIAMS, THE WRESTLER.

Yesterday  I was so proud when I picked up my grandson Shadrach Thor Williams at Cherokee Trail High school and he told me how at wrestling, he had challenged a 195 lb guy who ranked 4th in the nation, and the guy could not pin him down because he was too slippery, fast and strong. Wanna know who that guy was? It was Keith Johnson and if you want to know about him, see ;http://www.berecruited.com/high-schools/colorado/aurora/cherokee-trail-high-school/boys-wrestling.

As Shadrach is only 135 lbs and strength and size matter so much in wrestling, that was a great achievement  in my book. What is even more amazing is the fact that he has only been exposed to wrestling since November 2010 when he came to Colorado to attend school.

According to Shadrach, on his first day in a wrestling, he got pinned by a guy six times, a guy who only weighed 106 lbs. That young man had however been wrestling from he was 5 years old and was ranked fourth in the nation in his weight class. After that he got only one month's wrestling experience as his academic performance was not up to scratch and his aunt Michele insisted that he drop wrestling to work on improving his grades.

However during that month his performance improved rapidly leading him to become the best on the Junior Varsity team. He was due to be selected for the Varsity team which represents the school nationwide and was scheduled to go to Kansas for a tournament, but his poor academic performance made this impossible.

It was not until the off season that we was allowed to start wrestling again, but in the meantime he had concentrated at home on body building and reduced his body weight to 135 lbs of solid muscles, bench pressing 210 lbs and squatting at 250 lbs. He will shortly be qualified to become a member of the 600 club.

This has enhanced his wrestling performance greatly to the point where he shocked a  Brazilian Jujitsu expert by nearly pinning him in a recent challenge. He even wrestled a kung fu fighter who had been at the sport for some11 years but whom he knocked unconscious within the first 20 seconds of their match. The poor guy remained out for a good five seconds. Shadrach boasts that although he has knocked two other persons unconscious during his short stint at the sport, he has never been knocked out by  anyone and according to him, he never will!

Do we see  a great wrestler developing here? Maybe, if his brain development keeps pace with his brawn development!

I HATE THIS UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER!

I am really annoyed for yesterday the weather was so wonderful that we went to the Denver Botanical Gardens, me in shorts and all.

Then came today and guess what snow! So off I went at 6 am to drive my grandson Shadrach to Cherokee Trail High school, 22 miles away.

 That's actually why I am in Denver , Colorado for he usually commutes to school with my daughter Michele who teaches at the nearby Coyote Hill Elementary school, but from she went on maternity leave, the task has been mine and it will be until the end of the semester in early June.

The road was slippery and wet, visibility was terrible and I had to drive, always cogniscant of the fact that the roads are full of neophytes who would not know how to correct a skid if it hit them in the face.

In the beginning I had a "sideman," Shadrach, to keep the frost off my windshield but by midway he had fallen asleep and I had to stick a pack of chewing gum into his mouth to wake him up when we got to our destination!

On the return trip I decided not to travel on the freeway  since I had  my radio on the traffic report and they were reporting lots of spills. So I took the leisurely route back via Chambers Blvd, Colbeck Street and Monacco Avenue. I had never driven a VW Jetta before coming here, but it handles quite well. As I suspected , the traffic was light once  avoided the freeway, and as I have now mastered the technique of catching all the green lights, it was not at all difficult or stressful.

As I drove along occasionally admiring the fresh snow on the trees and lawns, I thanked my lucky stars that I was not like so many  of the unfortunate persons I saw on the way, huddled up in the bus stops. It made me  recall that horrible period of my life when shortly after getting married, we moved to Toronto, drawn  by the images of how much greener the grass was there than in Jamaica. However, after about two years of leaving out in the cold dark mornings and returning in the cold dark afternoons after school and work, we decided that a third winter would not catch us there, as the grass was no greener than in hurricane prone Jamaica.

 So as the third winter approached, we packed our MG Midget with a tent, stove etc etc and headed south. After about three months we got to Panama and after shipping our car home, still headed south, ending up in Venezuela. When our money ran out, we headed home to Jamaica, the home of predictable weather, never to return to the doldrums of northern living until now, May 2011.

 Well, now that I am home, I will not be leaving the house again until it is time to pick up Shadrach  later.

Yes I will have to give up my daily bicycle ride to and around City Park, but I will live!

PETTY, MEAN SPIRITED BAPTISTS

While the Denver City council is doing a good job trying to rehabilitate the roads in the neighbourhoods between Martin Luther King and Bruce Randolph Blvds, the baptists from Mt. Sinai church at the corner of Clayton street and Bruce Randolph are busy showing the world how unchristian they can be!

During the period of rehabilitation, residents in the area are not allowed to park in front of their homes between 7 am and 5 pm daily. Nothing unreasonable about this. So some of the residents who live near the baptist church have been parking in the unused parking lot. So guess what the Baptists did? Put signs on the vehicles  saying that they would be towed!  Now  how does that square with the biblical teachings about loving your neighbour and treating others as you would like to be treated?

I guess this church has removed such offending sections from their bible!

It is behavior like this that is causing the Christianity to be brought into disrepute all over the world. For as people realise that most who call themselves Christian only go to the church to get involved in networking , philandering and making money, they try to get as far as possible, away  from them.

I suppose those in authority at Mt. Sinai Baptist church are upset that most of those who use their parking space when no service is in process, do not attend their church and give them collection. But who would want to go to a church run by such petty mean spirited people?

CINCO DE MAYO IN DENVER

Cinco de Mayo is a celebration held on May 5th each year.This is not the date of the Mexican independence which incidentally falls in September. This is a special day celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla. It is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride, and to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War.

In Denver, they started to celebrate this event 24 years ago. This year's celebration it is scheduled to run from May 8th to 9th and the weather has really been excellent. Yesterday, I went with my daughter Michele, Shadrach my grandson and my two week old granddaughter Madelynn to the Civic centre downtown to see the parade. If they had one, it must have happened before we got there or maybe it will be today. I was gravely disappointed as I love parades with the full colour of the costumes and floats.

There were lots of stalls with some Mexicans in their colourful national dress selling everything from souvenirs to food. I saw corn dog on sale and remembering how delicious it was the last time I had it probably about 30 year ago, decided to try it. It  was not at all as delicious as I remembered it being but maybe, as we get older, tastes change. For example, when I was young I would walk a mile for stinking toe but now if you gave me one I would probably retch! So I wont blame the corn dog, just my aging idea of what is nice and what isn't  anymore.

There was also a lovely display of immaculately restored muscle cars and trucks. Driving a muscle car slowly down the street with speakers blazing is the Latino teenagers dream, I understand. Of course the odd drunk sleeping it off in the park where hundreds of families converged to picnic, was a common sight.

There was continuous activity on stage with cultural offerings such as  music, dancing and miming.We didn't stay too long  though for once you saw a bit  it was basically repeats and Madelynn isn't particularly happy to stay in any one place for too long.

Is Murder OK?

Osama Bin Ladin has been the USA's public enemy number one since 9/11 and with good reason. For he did take credit for the destruction of the twin towers and the elimination of over three thousand precious lives during that terrorist assault on the USA. So for over the past ten years, the USA has spent billions of dollars and sacrificed the lives of a number of young people in a vain attempt to capture him.

Then  their luck changed and on 1st May 2011 the joyous report was made by no less a person than president Obama himself that  Osama had been killed in a firefight in Pakistan after navy seals raided his luxurious hideout in that capital.


Now Washington, via White House spokesman Jim Carney is admitting that Bin Ladin was not carrying a weapon when he was killed (so obviously he was not involved in a firefight!). Oh no, he was obviously in no way apologetic in making this admission or even indicating that he understood the natural implications, for according to the New York Times,  '..........Mr. Carney said that Bin Laden’s lack of a weapon did not mean he was ready to surrender, and he and other officials reiterated that this was a violent scene, that there was heavy fire from others in the house, and that the commandos did not know whether the occupants were wearing suicide belts or other explosives."

Further, he admitted that the previous report which had claimed that Bin Ladin had used his wife as a :"human shield" was erroneous.Wow. So doesn't Mr. Carney realise that this report puts a totally different spin on the entire affair?

I don't suppose too many persons  except maybe his fanatical supporters, are mourning the death of OsamaLadin, Bin a man determined to wipe out as many non Muslims as he could. But how are those who commit murder in the name of Christianity any better than he is? For if he had no weapons and personally posed no threat to those who invaded his compound, it makes his death nothing but cold blooded murder!

It seems to me that those who claim to be walking the high road, merely pay lip service to the concept, for one gets the impression that from day one, there was never ever any intent to bring this alleged terrorist to trial, but to execute him whenever the opportunity presented itself .......and that is exactly what they did and no spin is going to change that raw fact.

Racism in America Not Dead At All!

Since the election of Obama as the first black president of the USA,  the racists have been secretly seething  while day dreamers have been claiming that it is proof of the end the of racism in the USA. This is of course as far from the truth as one could get, for whereas legislation over the years has made overt racism  punishable, it continues to simmer underneath and has now reached boiling point in some quarters.

As we know, the price of freedom is eternal vigilance and that must start now, for with the help of the Donald Trumps of the world however, if freedom loving people are not careful,  the bloody activities of skin heads and klu klux club types will again soon start to resurface.

For what do you really think is behind the constant accusations by Trump et al that Obama was not born in the USA, despite the irrefutable proof that has been presented over the years? These baseless claims are grounded in nothing but blatant racism, for would you believe that  even after the White House produced the long form certificate on the 27th April, a television poll found that 45% of the Republicans were saying they still did not believe he was born in the USA!!!! (This coming from a bunch of idiots who put up McCain, a man born in Panama, to run as President in the 2008 election.)

I suspect that the next thing racist Republicans will probably try to do is to start a campaign to take away statehood from Hawaii !

But  the super racist Trump is not waiting on the mentally challenged activists in his party to launch so stupid a movement, so in the meantime he has started a campaign to create doubt about Obama's academic credentials!

Obama and the White House need to ignore this latest nonsense for nothing will appease unrepentant racists.

I think it is time for decent Americans to confront the blatant racism of the Trumps of the world and vote with  their pockets by boycotting the businesses run by these people and their supporters. For these guys worship nothing but  the almighty dollar and only when they start to bleed financially will they realise that people are tired of their insanity and petty ways.

As to Trump, what does he really have to offer to the most powerful nation in the world but a lump of false hair worn to deflect attention from the fact that there is nothing underneath!