Ordinary Ordway, Part 1

   Found myself in Ordway, Colorado the other day. On purpose. 

  See, I had been in Colorado Springs for a job and as I finished up the job early I thought it might be a good idea for me to pay a visit to Ordway being as how it was only 90 miles away over the road. 

   The reason I thought it might be a good idea is to get a look at what all the hubbub was about. Recently the small town had been featured on several news outlets due to the announcement made by Jerry Barber, the Mayor of the 'burg, that as part of an economic revitalization program a number of old, abandoned buildings in the business district were being put up for sale for as little as $3,500.00

   Of course, an offer of a entire commercial building for as little as thirty five hundred dollars catches one's attention, even if that building is 160 miles or so from home. 

  There are of course stipulations that come with an offer like that - buyers have to refurbish the building that they purchase, and have a viable business up and running within three years of the purchase date, or title reverts back to the town of Ordway.

  Those requirements don't read like too much to some people, but refurbishing an older commercial building can get pricey - anywhere from $50 to $200 a square foot, especially if there is HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or gawd forbid, roof repairs to be done.

   Even with that knowledge lurking in the back of my mind, I still decided to drive out there - heck, it would only be three hours give or take for the round trip.

               Driving along Co route 96, this  railroad siding (or is it a spur?) catches the eye

                      Addie's Cafe is the first business noticed near the town of Ordway, right off 96

                                          Addie's appears to be a nice. clean little restaurant

                     Addie's wasn't open however - only transacts business Monday through Friday

                               This little welcome sign is directly across the street from Addie's

    This truck with a sign advertising businesses and attractions was parked just past the welcome sign

   After turning off Co. route 96 onto Colorado Ave (northbound), I crossed over the railroad tracks and into Ordway proper. Ordway is physically a small town - 493 square acres, which is less than a square mile - so I decided to skirt around the entire town before entering the business district. 

   So once I was at the intersection of Colorado Ave and First street I turned left onto First and made for the far western town limits, which would be at County Lane 17, less than half a mile away.

     Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 336, named in honor of John Butler, who died in action in 1942

   Continuing past the VFW I turned onto County Lane 17, with the only structure of real interest there being a cellular communications tower - always a good sign to see one of these built right next to a town, assures one of good communication capabilities (and streaming services, too)

                                                              The Reassuring Cell Tower

   Further on down County Lane 17 as I neared 6th street there was a small grouping of fairly recently built modern homes that looked to be a new(ish) suburban development. Those homes were all built on Sunset Avenue.

                                                                The 'burbs of Ordway

   Turning onto 6th street (because the only thing ahead of me on County Lane 17 was the Crowley County fairgrounds) I caught sight of a building I was certain was a church, though it looked like it had been repurposed as a childcare center. Then again, it could've just been someone's home

                                                   Church? Home? Childcare? I Dunno 

   This is where I'll conclude the first part of my visit to Ordway. More exciting pictures and lame commentary to follow! 

    

   

The Car Made From Aircraft Parts

 

                                                    May 1952 Issue Of Mechanix Illustrated

Moments Before The Battle

 

Why is that man across the clearing pointing a gun at you?

He's barely a man, maybe not even as old as you

Why are you pointing a gun at him?

You hear the sound of bombs exploding in the distance

He must be able to hear them too

Is he as scared as you?

Did he have to go through a similar eight weeks of training as you did?

Learn how to properly wear the uniform, learn how to take orders

Learn how to salute all the men who wear shiny insignias of rank

Learn how to shoot guns and drop bombs on command?

Hunkered down behind a berm of grass and dirt

Your mind wanders to a time before you knew how to load a gun

Much less how to breathe, relax, aim, squeeze, shoot

Did the man across the clearing work on a farm before the war?

You did, and much as you wanted to leave it, now you miss it

Does he miss the farm he worked on too?

Does he he miss his friends, his family, as much as you?

He must, he absolutely must, no one could not

You were taught to think about them as "barbaric"

Was he also taught to think of you as "barbaric"?

The drone of planes flying overhead interrupt your thoughts

Momentarily

You were ordered to stand ready for the command to attack

Between the exploding bombs and low-flying planes

The noise makes it hard to hear anything

Except yourself

And your heart

Beating fast in your chest

You wonder if the man across the field 

Will be able to hear the orders yelled at him

Any better than you will be able to hear yours

Are Maverick Gas Stations Being Deliberately Duplicitous?

 

   Take a look at the above picture of a sign for the Maverick gas station located at the intersection of Colfax Ave. & Kipling Ave in Lakewood, Colorado.

   Note that the price for a gallon of unleaded and the price of a gallon of diesel is displayed as $3.74.99 and $4.52.99 respectively.

   Now take a look a the below picture of the very same sign for the Maverick gas station at that same intersection taken mere moments after the above picture was taken.

   The price per gallon for unleaded and diesel has gone up by 15 cents per gallon. Why? Well, the generally accepted reason for the price per gallon increase is that the upcharge is attributable to the use of a credit card versus payment in cash. 

    At least that was the consensus of every single person purchasing fuel at this particular Maverick gas station (7 different people, 3 of whom, like me, opted to pay in cash in order to save a little money - hey, every penny counts these days, even if pennies are no longer being produced).

   However, after walking back to the pump the truck was parked at (one has to actually go inside the Maverick service station convenient mart to pay cash) and depressing the large green button to dispense the diesel fuel, I discovered that the price of a gallon of diesel was still showing as being $4.67.99.

   Thinking that a mistake had been made by the cashier I walked back into the Maverick convenient mart and explained to the cashier that the pump I was parked at still showed the credit price of $4.67.99 when I had in fact just paid in cash only moments earlier.

   The cashier then explained to me that the $4.67.99 price on the sign was for both credit and cash transactions, and that the lower price shown was for something called "Nitro" transactions. 

   I stared outside the large windows of the Maverick convenient mart at the big sign, watched how the word "Credit" (and only the word "Credit") lit up between the "E85" and "Unleaded" placards that were located directly below the word "Maverick" on the big sign when the prices shown were $3.89.99 and $4.67.99 for unleaded and diesel respectively, and then watched as the numbers changed seconds later to $3.74.99 and $4.52.99 for unleaded and diesel respectively - and saw that the word between the "E85" and "Unleaded" placards was now showing as "Nitro".

   When I asked what Nitro referred to, the cashier politely explained to me that the Nitro price was for customer's using the Maverick Nitro card or purchasing on the Maverick Nitro App.

    Which kinda pissed me off. I (as casually but pointedly as I could) stated that I thought that was a bit duplicitous, as there was nothing to indicate on the big sign or posted on the pumps that the lower price was not indeed a cash price but required the use of the Maverick credit card or app.

    I also stated that the last thing I needed was another credit card or another app on my phone, and that I would like a refund of the cash I had paid, as I had not yet pumped any fuel into my truck.

   As courteous as a cashier who has had to deal with tightwads such as myself could, she said she would have to get the manager for that, and she did just that. The manager actually processed my refund almost instantly, and I went back out to my truck.

   When I was back at my truck was when I asked the seven different people filling up at the pumps around me if they were aware that the lower price being advertised on the big sign was not for customer's paying cash, and received the answer from each and everyone of them that no, they were not aware of that at all, and the three people who had paid cash each kinda grumbled a little when they looked at the diesel price on the pump and realized that I wasn't kidding, that they were indeed paying the higher posted credit price for fuel.

   None of them went back into the Maverick convenient mart though - I guess some people are okay with paying 15 cents more a gallon for fuel than the initially thought they were.

   Years ago, when I was living overseas, an Englishman taught me something about responding to a business that was being duplicitous (which is the word of the day, obviously) or just guilty of poor business practices, and that was to "protest with your feet", by which he meant just leave the business and never return.

   Being as how their are fuel stations galore in Lakewood, I did just that - well, I protested with my wheels, actually. I got into my truck and drove a couple miles to the Shell station that posts and charges the same price for fuel regardless of whether one pays with cash or credit card (theirs or any other). 

   Sure, a gallon of diesel there was a penny more, but even a tightwad such as I am can eat a few pennies (even if they are no longer in production).

   At least the Shell station is honest about what they're charging.

Friends That You Didn't Even Know You Had

 

News Of The World...From The May 24th, 1891 Edition Of The Cheyenne Daily Sun

    This just in! Well, "just in" 135 years ago. Chanced across a copy of the Cheyenne, Wyoming newspaper The Cheyenne Daily Sun that was published in May of 1891 

    The eight page issue seems to have covered the days from Sunday, May 24th until Tuesday, May 26th of 1891 as the date on the front page reads May 24th while the date on the last page reads May 26th.

   Incidentally, the Cheyenne Daily Sun was published from 1876 until 1895, at which time it merged with a competitor and became the Cheyenne Daily Sun - Leader.

   The Daily Sun was apparently known for advocating civic improvements, as well as very short synopsis of local and national events, and some unusual reprints of stories from other Newspapers printed in such far-flung cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia.

    On the front page there are short paragraphs that briefly describe current events from all over the world.

   Here are a few, transcribed word-for-word (yeah, the copyrights expired on these gems decades ago).

Yale and Princeton Ball Game

New Haven, May 23. - The Yale-

Princeton championship ball game

here to-day was one of the hardest 

fought that the two teams have ever

played. When defeat seemed inevit-

able for Yale, the Princeton men be-

came rattled and as a result the score

at the end stood: Yale 4, Princeton 1.

Sentenced to Death

Nancy, May 23. - Meunier, ex-officer

of customs, arrested May 14 at Lan-

dres charged with a number of crimes.

Was to-day sentenced to death.

Faith Curists Routed

Winchester, Ind., May 23. A band

of faith curists were driven out of Los

Antville to-day. The people of the 

place became enraged over the fact 

that they allowed a little child to die

of scarlet fever, refusing to get a 

physician.

Economy Needed

Rome, May 23. - The pope is taking

steps to secure greater economy of ex-

penditures at the vatican. He has

appointed a commission of cardinals

charged to do their utmost to effect a 

reduction in expenses.

Dalton Brothers Captured

Oklahoma City, O.T., May 23. - 

The Dalton brothers gang that rob-

bed the Santa Fe passenger train at

Wharton station, were captured last

Friday evening in the Sac and Fox

reservation, after a nineteen hour fight

by United States deputy marshals,

aided by a detachment of Fifth cav- 

alry. One of the Daltons was killed 

and one soldier wounded.

A Fraud Exposed

Chicago, May 23. - A dispatch from 

Des Moines says the Federal grand

jury has returned indictments against

J.J. Kellogg, S.J. Kellogg and E

R. Hodges of Washington, Ia., for

using the mails for fraudulent pur-

poses. For a year or more they have 

been advertising all over the country

for bright young men to act as pri-

vate detectives and many gullible

youths have paid $10 for a certificate

of membership of the agency and a 

nickel-plated star worth 50 cents.

Corbett Challenged

San Francisco, May 23. - Jim Cor-

bett to-day received a telegram from

the New Orleans Olympic club, offer-

ing a $12,000 purse for a fight between

him and Slavin. Corbett replied that

he would be in New York in two

weeks and would talk fight. He

states that he will probably not en-

gage in another contest for a year, 

when he will be larger and stronger.

The Murderers Lynched

Shreveport, La., May 23. - Wm.

and John Anderson, colored, who 

held the girl Jane Ware on a railroad

track until the train killed her, were

pursued by a posse of negroes, cap-

tured and hanged.

Shooting Affray

Omaha, May 23. - News comes from

Keya Paha county of  a bloody shoot-

ing affray in which Schuyler Dayton

was killed and John Rivers fatally

wounded by George Covill. The 

trouble grew out of a quarrel over

some stock and jealousy over alleged

intimacy of Dayton with Rivers' wife.

And finally, this gem:

May Have Been Scared To Death

New York, May 23. - Nicholas

Gaulrapp, a German, 27 years old,

died early this morning in frightful

agony, and Deputy Coroner Jenkins

says his death was caused either

by hydrophobia or pseudo-hydropho-

bia. Gaulrapp went out walking the 

evening of April 26 and received a 

bite on the thumb from a small dog.

A few days ago he complained of a 

headache and faceache. His friends

told him that the ache came from the 

dog bite and the young man began to 

get nervous. Wednesday morning he

said that he could not take a swallow

of water. The man died in great 

agony. Dr. Jenkins, who made an

autopsy to-day, was unable to say

if hydrophobia existed, and is in-

clined to think that the man was

frightened into a fatal imitation of

hydrophobia.

Nothing new under the sun, eh?

Loosen Up, Lighten Up, If You Want Her To Stay

Surely you're familiar with the classic proverb

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Don't get me wrong I don't mean to carp

I just don't want to see your attentions make her wander

Dude you have to give her room to breathe

She likes you man she's not going to run away

But cousin you have to give her room to breathe

Put down that phone you just called her an hour ago

Give her time to miss you at least a little

Why are you in such a rush c'mon man take it slow

I'm not saying to stop completely just suggesting a small remittal

Dude you have to give her room to breathe

She likes you man she's not going to run away

But cousin you have to give her room to breathe