“I have to get a picture...

of this.” 

Is what Mayor Melissa Youssef giggled as she aimed her I-Phone at the Standing Room Only crowd packing  Durango’s City Council Chamber and hallway on November 19th. 

What local issue could be so important as to interrupt a Tuesday Happy Hour? 

Anti-Plastic Bag Passion that’s what. A local group named Durango Beyond Plastic was coordinating an effort to ban single use plastic bags in my new home town. This “environmental conservation organization” (from Facebook), arrived with over 1,200 petition signatures (mine included) and over 150 (my estimate) supporters. 

I slipped into the Chamber and sat below the elected officials. I felt like Jimmy Stewart in “Mister Smith Goes to Washington” minus his distinct drawl.

Here’s what this blogger noticed: 

The civic minded crowd was overwhelmingly Caucasian with a smattering of Hispanics and Native Americans. The age range ran from babies in diapers to oldsters possibly in “Depends.” 

The speakers were informative and well spoken. One High School aged coed claimed she didn’t want to bear a child in a World of Climate Change and continuing environmental degradation. I was saddened by this comment.

Other than that sobering statement, the atmosphere was festive. The pro-ban plastic bag activists waved their reusable bags whenever a positive comment was made. This was often. I noticed a few smirks on the esteemed city council members too.

The one thing that really caught my wandering-always-looking-for-a-story eye was a sign over the entryway. It simply read “Civility First! Take the Pledge!” Later that evening, I went online and did just that. 

From the Durango Government website:

“What are the traits of the Civility First Durango Pledge Program?

Respect Fairness Compassion Consideration Kindness Responsibility Sincerity Acceptance.”

A few days later I was presented with the chance to act upon these words of wisdom.

I was working my second gig at the “Friends of the Library” used bookstore. Its not a strenuous job. I get to read, people watch and occasionally sell a book. I was half way through my shift, when I observed a senior citizen going through the aisles of books. Her clothes were a bit frayed. Her white hair was mussed. She walked with a limp. Eventually she approached my desk with five books. I tallied up the total price of the books. Then things got awkward. She pulled out her purse. She bit her lower lip. She looked inside her purse and sighed. 

“I don’t have enough money for all the books.” 

I looked up, “Well, today is your lucky day. You are going home with all these good books.” I reached for my wallet and pulled out the money to make up the difference.

She sincerely thanked me. “Now I’ll have enough left over to buy a hamburger at McDonald’s.” 

A Win, Win situation for all. I like that. That’s a mighty fine pledge to make in a mighty fine town.

Next week I’ll be temporarily leaving Durango to head to the warmer climes of Snobsdale, AZ. 

I don’t want to leave Durango, just winter.

BTW: As of this posting, the fate of the plastic bag ban has been undecided by the city council. 

Do the world a favor, tote a reusable shopping bag into a store. I promise, shlepping a bag from your vehicle won’t be the biggest stressor of your day.

Cheers,

Jeff 

“Don’t look back...

Something might be gaining on you.”

Satchel Paige

Yes. We are all growing older.

Except! This past year, I experienced a decade’s worth of aging.

The feeling of maturing came in two phases. The first was watching friends and family go out on injury leave  The majority were cancer related. Most notably were Mike (AKA the best brother in the world) and 40 year buddy Kevin D. Fortunately both seem to have responded well to treatment. 

Then there were a few who didn’t make the cut for the roster of the living. The list included one of my favorite people on the planet. (AKA Joe “Trauma” S.)  That one really hurt and still does. 

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2019/06/parting-is-nothing-

The second phase was personal. 

It was just two days after I turned 64, arthritis took up permanent residence  in my left knee. If you thought I walked funny before, you ought to see me hobble now. 

The hits kept on coming. Here’s a few examples:

The semi-automatic “Rat-Tat-Tat” heartbeats that alarm clocks me into full wake up mode. A few thought provoking minutes later, my heart rate resumes its usual 58 beats/minute.

The “almost pass out” head rushes I score while tipping my noggin back to take a sip of water.

The fact that I’m shrinking (I only had 64 inches of height to begin with) but my ears and nose appear to be lengthening. I won’t mention the hairs emanating from them.

My bum makes contact with Mother Earth more often than before. In other words, I fall a lot while hiking. 

The lame injury I sustained from the simple act of flipping a blanket over me. (tweaked back). Better yet. Spraining my wrist while turning a book’s page.  Strenuous stuff.

The numerous episodes of epistaxis without the trauma of being punched in the nose. 

My skin is thinning. A brush up against a twig will cause major hemorrhaging. Lately a hike is not complete without a blood letting

The higher than average times I lose my train of thought while speaking to others.  Occasionally my listeners will tell me, “That’s OK Jeff,  the cars were probably empty any how.” 

So maybe a few of you are thinking. Jeffy! What are you doing about all these Owwies and afflictions? 

My answer? Absolutely nothing. I don’t want to know the “Why?” I chalk it up to attempting to be an endurance athlete with the DNA of a merchant. I wasn’t bred for an active/outdoor life. 

However, I reckon as long as I possess the physical and mental Mojo to lace up my trail runners, slip on a pair of my signature baggy black shorts and get “Out There!” I can’t be too hurt or impaired. 

So that’s what I do. 

Who says ignorance isn’t bliss? 

I’m 65 and I still go over the speed limit occasionally.

Stay in motion. The other option sucks.

Cheers,

Drinking IPAs won’t hurt you either.

Jeff

Just like Bronco Football at...

Mile High only different.

Since I moved to Durango in August 2019, I’ve done my best to dip both feet into the concept of  “Local Community.” 

Surprisingly, I found there’s a BIGLY amount of events occurring in this small town of 19,000 inhabitants. 

In order not to miss a beat, I decided to use a hands on approach to finding out what’s going on. To do this, I’m religious when it comes to reading the Telegraph weekly newspaper, scanning the colorful posters found in brewpubs and grocery stores and checking the”Durango Events” website. With these informative sources I’ll choose one from Column A, two from Column B etc.

I’ll  pass on events that scream out “Jeffy! This is NOT for you! Stay Away!” IE: The Labor Day Weekend Four Corners Motorcycle Rally. (I hid that long weekend.) 

In late August, I noticed a poster announcing the Fort Lewis College Football Schedule. Well, I like watching football. So I went online to get a ticket. Hmm. No online ticket sales. From the website “all tickets are sold at the gate.” I thought, that’s odd..

On game day, I made my way up to the breezy Mesa where Fort Lewis College resides. I looked about for a STADIUM. You know, multi-level stands, banks of flood lights and lots of crowd noise. The usual stuff. Nothing was tackling me. 

I turned right when I spotted a Fort Lewis Police Officer driving his rounds.

“Excuse me! Where’s the football stadium?” 

He gave me a 180 degree wave. 

“It’s over there. If you go past Talon Lane you went too far.”

No wonder I couldn’t find it. The Skyhawk’s playing field sits below a sixteen foot berm. There’s plenty of free parking available in nearby lots. The ticket office consists of a fold-up table under an EZ Up canopy.  The cost of a senior ticket is a paltry $5. There’s no bands or scantily clad cheerleaders. The football players run by a gauntlet of appreciative fans. There’s elk poop on the upside of the grassy berm. The Steamworks Brewery beer garden sits practically in the end zone.

I started to grin and take photos.

Skyhawk Football is emblematic of Durango, CO. It’s approachable. It’s laid back. It’s  uncrowded. It’s small town community fun.

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2019/10/i-wasnt-born-in-small-town.html

For the record, the Skyhawks lost yesterday to Colorado State University-Pueblo 21-13. The Local Heroes had more penalties than completed passes. Oh well. Can’t win them all. Which brings up this point. The Skyhawks have won more games this season than that other team in Denver. (Minus the $101 cost of a ticket and the $15-$20 offsite parking fee too.)

I know which team I’d rather see. 

So far, I’ve attended two games. The season finale is on November 16th. I’ll be there. Come join me. I’ll spring for a half time brew.

Who knows? If enough fans attend maybe we can do the Wave?

Go Skyhawks!

Jeff

Last photo: No long lines to use the facilities either.