Visiting Denver

I think Andy has been enjoying the nice weather here in Denver. If you've been living in Tucson for the last year, it's pretty nice to run barefoot in the cool 70 degree lawn. Oh, what we take for granted!

Sunday at the Beal's

Andy and I enjoyed the sports today. The Rockies took two out of three from the Cards in a 4 to 3 win today. We also enjoyed the Bronco win over the Raiders at the same time by switching back and forth with the remote. It's a guy thing I'm teaching him.

Then, Andy went outside to enjoy the fall sunshine with his mother and Daisy and I bonded. We basked in dual Bronco/Rocky wins. How good can it get.

They finally arrive!

Noelle and the kids arrived yesterday. Here she is on the back porch with Daisy enjoying some nice weather, finally. Being in the hundreds in Tucson was just a little much I think.

They decided to give Daisy a bath in the kitchen sink. It's a family thing. Tyler got a bath in Uncle Rusty's sink, so this time Daisy was selected. She'll hate us when her boyfriend sees it.

My little buddy and I rose above it all. We played with cars and dreamed of more Bronco wins.

Telluride inspires fraud

A man from Telluride has been tied to defrauding banks of hundreds of millions of dollars! Federal Prosecutors claim that Shahin Kashanchi of Telluride, CO gave fraudulent documents permitting his brother-in-law Hassan Nemazee to defraud three banks out of nearly $300 million.

His brother-in-law Namazee was the national finance chairman for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. He later raised money for Obama. He's charged with bank fraud.

I have a couple of comments on this. 1) Thank you AP and the Denver Post for reporting this, even though it's a minor story in your editorial "wisdom" 2) Did anyone really think that a political candidate from Chicago would run a clean campaign? 3) Kashanchi will be tried in Grand Junction, CO which is good because he'll be drawn and quartered and 3) Where are these guys from?

Colorado Rockies

Nancy and I went to the ball game last night and watched the Rocks win a very ugly game. It rained pretty hard in the first four innings and the last two. Maybe playing the Padres had something to do with it. They've been in the cellar so long it's damp!

The Rockies took an 11 to 6 lead into the 9th inning, only to see it slip away for their 11 to 10 lead. Nothing quite like drama! Maybe all the rain had something to do with it. I know for a fact the purest water at Coors Field is - a ballpark coke! Nancy didn't like her hot dog either because it was cold. So I took it back to Aramark for another one and they fired the guy! They found him heating the franks!

Hiking

Nancy and I went hiking Sunday afternoon in the foothills. And it's a good thing we went yesterday. It's cold, raining, and hailing today! Going up the trail we saw a small king snake slithering along the path. King snakes are nice. They don't bite, aren't poisonous, and eat mice and other noxious things outside.

A politician vs. a statesman

The press tried to turn Ted Kennedy into a statesman before he was even buried. However, most people, even the Denver Post, still remembered the things he did. I like Truman's definition of a statesman, "A statesman is a politician who's been dead for ten or fifteen years." It will be interesting to see what kind of person history paints of this person.

Hamas refugees

It looks like president Obama is spending $20 million of your hard earned tax dollars to immigrate Hamas refugees to the USA.

I don't think many on Capitol Hill noticed that the order provides for a free ticket replete with housing and food allowances to individuals who have displayed their overwhelming support of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the parliamentary election of January 2006.

Daisy

Here is a nice photo of my granddaughter, Daisy. In a few weeks she will be here in Denver and I will be her baby sitter! Scary thoughts for her!

Politics

Over the years at work I have seen politics used for personal gain. One person in particular found it to be especially valuable. While I tried to rise above it and refused to play the game, it remained a staple of corporate life. Shakespeare writes about politics in The First Part of King Henry the Fourth. He penned these profound words uttered by the King himself.

Had I so lavish of my presence been,

So common-hackneyed in the eyes of men,

So stale and cheap to vulgar company,

Opinion, that did help me to the crown,

Had still kept loyal to possession

And left me in reputeless banishment,

A fellow of no mark nor likelihood.

By being seldom seen, I could not stir

But, like a comet, I was wond'red at.

Rockies

The Rockies win their 8th straight game with the help of Torrealba's 9th inning hit. Below is a photo of the newest Rocky, Jason Giambi scoring a run in the 9th. He was meekly walked with 2 outs remaining. Torrealba's bases loaded hit pushed the Rockies to within 2 games of the Dodgers.

Health Care

I was in my cycling class this morning and Dennis was talking with some of us about his concerns over the health care changes. Our class instructor interrupted him and said, "No negative thoughts, I will not permit it!" He continued the conversation and she yelled, "NO MORE NEGATIVE TALK about this." So Dennis stopped talking and the rest of us didn't dialogue with him either. It was clear, she wants nationalized health care and didn't want to listen to us.

This is how I think most Americans feel right now. Our representatives in Washington don't want to listen to us, they don't want to dialogue, and sure haven't listened to anything said in the town hall meetings. They don't want to talk to you, or me, or make adjustments to a plan no one likes, and they won't think through some excellent "starter solutions." Instead, they just want to throw it all out. And there sure hasn't been any partisanship on this matter in Washington. Read this for more on the promise to make it public.

Bless election years! We get to go after the scoundrels and scalawags. And, when we're all waiting in line to see the Doc, we'll be accustomed to waiting in line and we'll be ready to vote. And how dare anyone call the President a cheap politician? He's cost the country a fortune! And now my hard earned tax dollars are paying for someone's clunker! What a waste!

Fancy Lake

I've always wanted to hike in the Holy Cross Wilderness area. So Nancy and I got up at 5:00a this morning and drove up to the Fancy Pass Trail head. We hiked about three and a half miles up the trail and 1,500 higher to about 11,300 feet in elevation.

Our destination was Fancy Lake. It was not disappointing. In fact, it was spectacular! Nestled in a cirque of high mountains, this deep lake was calm and beautiful.

There were excellent campsites everywhere but we were just up for the day. Hopefully, we will return with a tent and stove another day.

We did have lunch by the lake until a few raindrops began to splash the perfectly still surface of the lake. We decided it was time to return to the car. An hour and a half later, just as we arrived at the car, it cut loose. It's a good thing we left when we did.

Elk near our house

On the way back from our boating trip last week, just about a mile from our house we saw this cow elk. It's not the best photo so you may have to double click it to enlarge it. I think it's the same one that's been hanging around Two Brands Trail up on the hogback.

Joe Biden

Someone asked me the other day what I thought of Joe Biden. I said something which reflected the view of Lyndon Johnson and his VP Hubert Humphrey. "All Hubert needs over there," said former President Johnson about his VP, "is a gal to answer the phone and a pencil with an eraser on it." What more does Joe need?

More Chatfield Boating

Here is more entertainment for you from the boating at Chatfield, a video...