It really struck me hard. Margo visited her Boulder
hairdresser the other week and as I usually do, I took up station at a coffee
shop across an ally from her stylist. However, as I looked across Broadway, the
main street that crosses the Pearl Street Mall, I noticed numerous folks
stopping at a shop to drop off flowers. Turns out this was the premises of
Tralona Bartkowiak (better known as Lonna), who together with her sister, owned
Umba on the Pearl Street Mall. It was Lonna who was among the victims of the
senseless shooting at the nearby Kings Soopers grocery store.
It struck me that only the day before, having been to
the Flatirons Crossing Mall, I considered driving by for a Starbucks at this
very King Soopers, but then I changed my mind and went to Boulder’s famous
Moe’s Bagels instead. Different times and different days; all the same, a
wake-up call that life can be fleeting at times. So sad. “It's already written that today will be one to remember,” wrote
Steve Winwood for the impromptu group, Blind Faith. “Had to cry today / Well, I saw your sign and I missed you there.”
After I picked up Margo from the stylist I gave her a big hug.
Seated by the window with the smell of coffee lingering
in the air, it was also telling that my mask was lying by the almost empty cup.
COVID-19 may be faltering with the availability of vaccines but looking across
at that almost empty street that on any other occasion would be flooded with
folks enjoying the early signs of spring, the sense that it was all a little
surreal hit me hard. Then again, as I write this post, emotions have died down
as they so often do, but for many families of Boulder, I suspect, that there
will be many more tears being shed long after the media has departed the area.
As for this photo it was snapped while passing
but the symbolism of lady Liberty reaching for the Flag
didn't escape our attention.
There could be no starker contrast than to drive
through Loveland with “bluebird” skies above. I have to admit that it was only
recently that I heard the expression, a “bluebird day”, but as “the
cotton-wool-like cloud that covered the sun passed, and the sun's rays warmed us,
how else could you describe such a day. We took our convertible for a run up
through the local canyons and simply enjoyed our time back out on Colorado’s
byways.
This lake around which many of Loveland’s better homes can be found has always stood out from the dry, dusty flora that has as yet not recognized springs warmth. This lake is a reservoir that during the interval will fill up and docks that are now far removed from the water’s edge will once again, afford opportunities to step aboard the many craft lying in the foreshore mud. Hard to imagine that in just a few short weeks, the locals will once again enjoy boating on its waters.
The highway that passes by the southern perimeter is
well known to Margo and me as it can take us up to Estes Park or to the turn
off for another reservoir, Carter Lake. Living as close in to the mountains
that we do there is always something new to see and on our latest trips we have
encountered very large herds of elk as they gathered for their annual hike up
the mountains to their favorite alpine meadows.
As it so often happens, our most recent trip into the
front ranges brought us to Lyons where we took advantage of a break in our
schedules to enjoy good old-fashioned Texas-style BBQ. Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ &
Brew offers a good selection of smoked meats and a quick look at Margo’s plate
will reveal that she had chosen both pork and bison ribs. What doesn’t show up
all that well is that we left our original table to find shelter under an
overhang as the temperature on this early spring afternoon climbed past 80F.
As for timing, this was only a couple of days before
Margo visited her hair stylist so it was OK to drive with the convertible’s top
down. Not sure we will see her too keen to go on a repeat drive just yet as she
is still enjoying her latest styling way too much. However, eating out wasn’t
our only option this spring as we have dusted off our grill, cleaned the tables
and chairs, brought out the cushions and rugs and begun enjoying eating al fresco.
No doubt about it, Margo and I are not snow-ies and
winter’s lengthy spells of overcast skies with frequent snow showers just doesn’t
do it for us. There are still an abundance of clear blue skies but oh, those
sub-zero temperatures, we can do without. Being able to enjoy the fresh air,
dining outside, enjoying the evening warmth is pure delight! And the aroma
coming from a couple of filets as they grill, well, as some like to say, “priceless!”
I wish I could add that there were plenty of tears –
tears of joy, that is – when we unveiled the grill for the first time in almost
six months. In case you miss reading the label on the bottle, it’s an inexpensive wine
carrying the label, Troublemaker.
Margo and I started out the season grilling a pair of prime filets and whereas
we normally share one between the two of us, we went for one each. Never grill
on an empty stomach as it rarely ends well.
We know there is more snow forecast and even as I write
this post, we have experienced yet another sprinkling of powdered sugar.
Nothing to write home about, but it does qualify as the start of our fourteenth
snowfall for the season. A season, mind you, which started before the onset of
autumn turning up as it did during the last week of summer. That’s the beauty
of living in Colorado as there is almost no time of the year when snow doesn’t
fall.
We are still very much in love with our house and find
it hard to believe that in a few months’ time we will have made it our home for
four years. Yes, there are times when we are clearly saddened from no longer
residing in our Niwot home, but with the passage of time we have come to
appreciate that we had simply outgrown our former abode. Not in terms of tiring
of its beauty but rather, tiring of the ever-growing maintenance.
Living in Windsor (and having a new home definitely
helps), everything from mowing service to housecleaning is on an entirely
different scale. No tears shed in this regard, but living on a golf course had
never been a priority. Yet, watching the seasons change is amplified when
living on a golf course as the scale is such you can watch the ebb and flow of
the seasons at a macro level. On the
other hand, we miss the view of the mountains where our former Niwot home gave
us views of the fourteener, Longs Peak, from every window.
Almost as famous as the illuminated red heart alongside
the reservoir in Longmont is the wine of Max Lake. It was on the occasion of my
birthday shortly after our marriage that while visiting their winery, Margo
bought a double magnum of Lakes Folly. The vintage was a good one, 1998. We
were told to either drink the wine when we returned to America or wait for
twenty to twenty five years. This past week we split the difference and at
roughly twenty two and a half years, we decentered this wonderful deep red
wine.
It is always a tough choice opening a rare vintage especially a bottle holding this much wine. A double magnum represents a volume equivalent to four ordinary bottles of wine. Of late, we have not had a lot of success with decanting old wines – our last magnum of Silver Oak had turned as had our 2003 magnum of Chateau Lafite. Not this time, however, as it turned out to be quite glorious. We had invited a few friends, old and new, round to the house to celebrate its opening and none were disappointed.
The story doesn’t end quite yet. As gatherings begin to grow in size and the dark days of the worst of COVID-19 are becoming little more than memories of the past, here in Northern Colorado it’s hard to see what has changed. We all put on our masks before entering commercial establishments, but where there are bars and restaurants off they come in a heartbeat. It’s hard, too, to comprehend the reports we read from news agencies outside the country – being ravished by COVID-19, really?
Picture
taken by our dear neighbor, Debbie.
There are some flash points but having driven to the
west coast and then in a few weeks’ time, to the east coast, it continues to
surprise us that there is still so much we don’t understand about this “latest”
global pandemic. For many of us who have always trusted the science it’s become
a case of well, which science are we talking about? There continues to be
stories of sadness still emerging and there can be no discounting the sorrow
that comes with loss.
Margo and I are still wondering about what to expect
for the rest of 2021, let alone, 2022. Perhaps it’s an act of defiance that we
made reservations for a short cruise planned for the summer of 2023. Perhaps
too it’s a further act of defiance that we have paid a deposit on a convertible
that looks like it will arrive sometime during that same summer.
When we look at retirement plans that were peppered
with travel to all four corners of the globe, do we feel cheated that we cannot
plan on doing so any time soon? When we consider that, simply walking into a
supermarket for a coffee might see either one of us never come out, then it shines
a different light on our long anticipated life transitions. And yet, there is a
much bigger picture to consider and simply having our health and our time
together more than makes up for any setbacks created by this global pandemic.
Winter’s chill has returned as I end this post. Colorado
continues to experience it all, weather included. It is not entirely unexpected
but nevertheless, those sunny days of just a short time ago and dinners planned
for the patio have been put on hold. A time to enjoy fresh fruits and cream
will still happen although enjoyed while sitting close to the fire. Walking
past a newscast on television, news just broke of another tragedy unfolding at
a FedEx center in Indiana. The chill outside will soon be forgotten. That fruit
plate put to one side will be eventually eaten. And yet, that line from the
song above, It's already written that
today will be one to remember, continues to haunt me even now.
There really is no substitute for the here and now and
irrespective of your own personal philosophies, what Margo and I have come to
enjoy is the routines we have embraced. That early morning coffee and that
simple breakfast! A short trip to the store! Putting gas in the car! Watching
the evening news together with reruns of Golden Girls and Waiting for God!
Those little parts of our lives we take for granted, most of the time – even
today.
As I watched more flowers being left outside Umba,
alongside the Pearl Street Mall, the sense of loss was palpable. Watching Margo
cross the lane after leaving the stylist, as wonderful as the first time I
truly came to appreciate her very presence. There may not be a plate of fresh
fruit with cream nearby. You may not even have a bottle of Lakes Folly on hand.
But let me encourage you all, there is no time like now to celebrate life; raise
that glass and just say cheers! We will remember today.
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