Is It Ever Really Possible To Get Away From It All?

For the sake of argument, we're going to assume that by "get away from it all," I mean go on a vacation and leave all your cares behind.

So far, as least for me, the answer is a resounding yes. Even with my cell phone and (finally fully functional) laptop, I have found that it is possible to get away from it all.

The key it seems, at least for me, is to actually remove oneself physically very, very far away from it all.

This will not be one of my better documented get-aways. Hell, it's shaping up to be the least.

But it's also shaping up to be the most enjoyed.

See you in September.

Three Panels In Search Of A Mural

Turning It Off, Turning It On...For The Hundredth Million Time

Nothing I try seems to be able to help the situation with the laptop, and by "nothing I try" I mean turning it on and off repeatedly

To the point of fingertip exhaustion.

Stupid, stupid me.

The LapTop Is On The Fritz

It was over 100 degrees in the shade the other day, but I still foolishly believed the laptop would be fine left in the truck.

For over an hour.

I am not a very smart man.

Try To Compose A Poem About Abhorrence

Nope, can't do it. Not today at least.

A Rainy Day Visit To The Bishop Castle

For nearly 60 years Jim Bishop has been building a castle on land he bought when he was 15 years old, in the south central Colorado mountains.

Pretty much, rock by rock, by himself.

It has been 18 years since I last paid a visit. Mr Bishop has added a lot to his fantastic creation since then, including but not limited to the addition of a couple of towers topped by wrought-iron onion domes.

If you'd like to see this amazing construction, it's just off Colorado State Highway 165, near the town of Rye.

Visiting Bishop Castle is free, though donations to a charity (and the re-building of the gift shop that burned down this past March) are accepted.

My visit was saddened by the news that Phoebe Bishop, Jim's wife of nearly 50 years, passed away that very day. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mrs Bishop, but she must have been one incredible woman, supporting Jim and standing by him as he battled various government entities and friends & foes alike in his continued efforts to build and maintain the castle of his dreams. May she rest in peace.

The Proper Context Of Humility

He led a life that could be described as obscure
Or contradictory
For though he gave of himself in service to his fellow humans
He preferred to remain anonymous
For anonymity, he believed
Was the truest test
Of humility

Unlike every single politician that ever walked the Earth
Professing loudly to only be in it...
...for the service opportunity

An Afternoon Too Short

Wake up with the intent to spend the day relaxing

Best approach may be to get away

From the neighborhood

From the city

From the hustle and bustle

From the streets and the traffic

Get away from everything that makes it hard to breath

Get out, go far, far away

Spend your day 

In the country, in the forest

On the lake

Anywhere

But in the vise that squeezes you dry

..or should that be...vice?

Let's Take A Look Under The Hood

Big Al & The Golden Moai

A Tree Grows In...A Boulder

Song Written By A 15 Year Old Boy

Going to take the bus to the Greyhound station
Running away to Northern California
Going to track down my father
And live with him and his latest wife
Going to throw everything I own off the pier
Live like a bum on the road
Going to spend all summer fishing
Until I get sick of fishing all the time
Going to go down to the swap meet
Steal a nice skateboard so I can be cool 
Going to hike down to the Dam tonight
This time I'm really going to jump

The Brief Reunion

The room was as crowded as every self-congratulatory awards show party he had ever attended, and crowded with the exact same industry people - A&R people, recording people, promotions people, handlers and hangers on, groupies, wanna-be groupies, etc. 

There must have been close to 400 people milling about making small talk, schmoozing, exchanging flattering platitudes or deflecting same with self-deprecating comments.

So bumping into people one knew and hadn't seen for awhile was not uncommon, but it was quite a shock to him to literally walk right into his former schoolmate, flatmate, and of course bandmate, Terrence "Tweaks" Twynham as he turned to see where his wife had scooted off to.

"Oh sorry," they both simultaneously said immediately after the slight collision. 

"Pardon, clumsy of me, I was looking for my..." Stuart started, then realizing who he had bumped into stopped mid sentence and stared at the twenty-five years older but still unmistakable face of his former friend.

"Bollocks! - it's you isn't it Stu! By God, you haven't aged a day! How the hell have you been!"

Stuart Jeffreys recovered his composure quickly and briefly looked Tweaks up and down. "Mr Terrence Twynham. It's been over twenty years and you look the same as the day you left for the states. What on earth are you doing back in merry old England?"

"Ah, c'mon Stu, I'm still Tweaks, eh? It's been a long minute, but not so long as we have to be all formal. You do look a bit dapper though, all dressed up formal like. Are you up for an award? I hadn't heard you were back in the business?"

"Oh no, not me - my daughter, Lucy. You remember wee Lucy? She's been in a band for awhile now, up for a Brit Award tonight for their fifth album."

"Their fifth album? I had no idea Stu - That is simply fantastic. You must be one proud Dad, no?"

"I am Tweaks, very proud. Vivian and I hoped one of the brood would follow us into the family business and Lucy has done a right show of it."

"Vivian? Still with Vivian? You two have made it, eh? That's absolutely terrific man. Good for you! For both of you."

Yes, we've managed to make it work. Have four kids now - here comes Vivian now, in fact."

The former Vivian Murphy walked up to her husband holding a drink out to him. "I was able to convince the barman to mix you up something with more flavor than water and with just as much alcohol. Hope it works for you. Who is your friend dear?" 

Vivian turned toward Tweaks as she spoke and then stopped dead in her tracks. "Terrence? Is that really you? This beats all! Why, it's been over twenty years!"

Tweaks rocked back on his heels slightly and responded by taking Vivian's hands into his and saying, "Vivian, it is wonderful to see you, both of you. You two being here is a great, wonderful surprise, My first day back on British soil in decades and what are the chances I'd run into you two. This is really quite fantastic."

"It has been a long, long time Tweaks. Are you here for awhile? Here, give me your number...okay, hold on, let me call you, this way we'll have each other's numbers. That's me ringing you now. I'm just going to save your number...give us a minute...alright, done."

Stuart Jeffreys looked up at Tweaks and said, "Time for us to get to our seats, but now that we have our numbers, no need to be strangers. Give us a call when you can, eh? We have lots to catch up on."

"Yes, yes we do. Get out there and stand proud for Lucy, I'll be in touch in the next few days."

Terrence "Tweaks" Twynham watched as Stuart and Vivian walked toward the large auditorium. He wiped a slight bit of moisture from his eyes as the memory of the day Vivian told him their relationship was over and she was now going to be seeing Stuart flooded his mind. 

He recalled silently the day he moved out of the flat they had shared, and the day the band was formally dissolved over "creative differences." 

He looked down at his phone and tapped the screen until "Add Contacts" popped up and he entered Stuart's name. He was going to be in London for two weeks, and while there was still a sore spot lingering, it was all water under a burnt-down bridge now. 

It would be good to catch up.

Leftapalooza In Longmont 2018

Leftapalooza is a day long outdoor music festival presented by Left Hand Brewing Foundation of Longmont as a means of raising money (and awareness of & support for) the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Held in Longmont's Roosevelt Park from 11:00am until 10:00pm, this praise-worthy event is a music festival of a slightly different stripe, in that all of the bands featured are tribute (meaning cover) bands, and they are participating in the Mile High Tribute Band Competition.

There were 8 bands featured in this years festival, but we only caught two of the acts, because A) work, and B), Longmont is a bit of a drive north. 

However, the two bands we did catch, Vanwholen and Loving the Alien, (Van Halen/The Who & David Bowie tribute bands respectively, were well worth the effort to get there.

The Ticking Amplified

She had found "the one" for what she ventured was 

The 106th time

She had been keeping count

Since she was thirteen

And was fairly certain of that number, 106

He was very similar to many of the other "ones"

Similar build, similar hair, similar personality

And obviously, similar taste in women

As he had responded quite positively to her flirtations

She was certain that he was "the one" this time

As certain as she had been 

With numbers 1 through 11, 18 through 27, 33 through 38, 42 through 49, 53 though 57, 66 through 72, 77 through 84, 86 & 88, 90 through 95, 98 though 102 

And 105

You get the picture

She was overwhelmed at the moment by a force

That she had come to know as, "I can't live without him"

For the moment

This was the phase of her relationships that most irritated

Her family, her friends, co-workers, etc.

He, on the other hand, was far from irritated by this phase

This was her giving phase, when she lavished praise

And pleasantries

Morning, noon, and night

Soon however, that phase would end

And phase three would begin

Not to say her behavior had become predictable

But it's hard not to recognize the obvious

Those close to her said it was as regular as clockwork

On a timebomb

Mabel Landrum Torrey's Marble Sculpture Of Wynken, Blynken, & Nod

Near the northeastern corner of Denver's Washington Park there is a marble sculpture of the Wynken, Blynken, & Nod characters from the children's poem Dutch Lullaby written by Eugene Field.

The sculptor was Mabel Landrum Torrey (1886-1974) who was born and raised in Sterling, Colorado. After high school she went to college in Northern Colorado where she studied to become a schoolteacher. 

However, art was her passion, and after saving up enough money (while working as a schoolteacher in her hometown of Sterling), she packed up her bags and headed to Chicago to study sculpture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

After graduating from SAIC she and her husband (a fellow art student) moved into an art colony opened by an a faculty member of SAIC, the sculptor Lorado Taft.

She was commissioned by Denver Mayor Robert Speer in 1918 to create the Wynken, Blynken, & Nod sculpture, originally as a water fountain in Washington Park, but long-since moved out of the fountain and on to a pad where it sits next to the Eugene Field house, which had also been relocated from it's original location to the northeast corner of Washington Park.

Mabel Landrum Torrey enjoyed a long career as a working artist, and in the 1950's (after moving to Des Moines, Iowa), gained a bit of renown after many of her statues were reproduced in art porcelain as small collectible statuettes.

Her style is classical, with an evident strength and grace. I may have to just start tracking down a few of those art porcelain statuettes. 

Japanese Beetle Infestation At The Littleton War Memorial Rose Garden

It  appears that a Japanese Beetle infestation has hit the Littleton War Memorial Rose Garden. 

This invasive species of beetle has been spreading throughout the U.S. east-to-west for over a hundred years.

When I was a kid, Japanese Beetle traps were commonly seen in San Diego's Balboa Park, as well as in other regional parks where decorative flowers were grown.

The Japanese Beetle has no natural predator in North America, and it decimates not only flowering plants, but also vegetables & fruits such as asparagus, spinach, peaches, corn, etc., as well as numerous trees.

There have been great strides made in the development of repellents - hell, just planting chives or garlic helps keep the Japanese Beetle away.

For full-scale infestations such as seen at the War Memorial Rose Garden, it's probably necessary to get hands on with control measures, shaking or picking the beetles off the roses and disposing of them. However, even a simple soap & water solution sprayed on the plants will help get rid of them.

From what I saw yesterday there is nothing being done about the infestation in Littleton, which is damn shame. Because while there is a species of wasp that has been introduced that preys on the beetles, a rose garden full of wasps makes for the least enjoyment of a rose garden possible.

Everything Is The Same As It Ever Was

Crushing Defeat By His Own Hands

Oh, how he loved the euphoria of falling in love
Almost as much 
                        As he loathed
The frustration he would experience 

When 
       The euphoria faded away

And
     The reality of his limits 
     Slapped him in the face

He just wasn't man enough for these things