Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all. It's a very cool day in Sunshine. The sky's are overcast and snow is in the forecast for this afternoon and tonight. Janice, Nate and I were joined by a group of our neighbors for our Thanksgiving morning walk. As we passed the Forest Jones house we found Zach and Natalie outside with their puppy dog. Zach was working on his wood pile and splitting wood. We paused in front of our mayors house (Chris) and snapped this picture. We walked up the hill to the Sunshine Saddle and then turned around. On the way down we passed others walking. Michelle and her two dogs came outside to pass on holiday greetings. As we passed Steve and Dee's house, Steve came outside and announced that he had made far too much coffee and would like to share. We shared.

I need to say farewell to my chainsaw. I wanted to finish cutting 6 logs this afternoon. I only completed 3 before my chainsaw started smoking and quit working. I will admit that I gave it a work-out this year. So farewell my friend, the chainsaw. We'll see what Santa can do this Christmas, for a chainsaw is on my list.

Here's wishing you all a very pleasant day.....gobble, gobble.

Smiles,

David

Characters

Have you ever noticed that every town has its "characters"? You know the ones. That familiar face you have seen around town for years. He's the one that is a little different. He has something that stands out....his walk, his old car, the old clothes he wears. You don't see him with friends but he is often chatting with someone. He seems friendly but no one is really close to him. He sort of defines the town. Not that he is like anybody else, but if you saw him in any other community, he would be out of place.

I first noticed our friend sitting on the steps of Boulder's downtown post office. The old post office, built in the 1950's; the white building with the simulated Roman columns. You have to walk up 6 or 7 steps to front door. He was sitting there wearing a Indiana Jones style hat with 3 or 4 feathers pointing backwards out of the turquoise hat band. Pinned to the front was an eagle, the insignia for a full bird colonel in the army. His face was covered with a white beard, accented with a few black streaks and his tinted glasses covered his eyes. Through his 6 or 7 layers of coats you could see his army camo pants and his black military boots.

The first time I saw him, I passed him without acknowledging his presence. He seemed to be sitting on the steps almost every time I went past the post office. I started to wonder if he was a homeless veteran. One morning in June, just after I opened the store, he entered. At first glance, I was sure he was going to ask for a handout. He politely asked if he could see a magnifying glass. I agreed and handed him the one we use in the store. He pulled a small white stone out of one of his may pockets and looked at it through the glass. I asked him what he was studying. He handed me the white rock and asked me what I thought it was. I didn't need a magnifying glass. I was looking at a very smooth piece of white quartz with a piece of gold in a small notch. It wasn't very big and probably not worth much, but it was gold. I asked him where he found it and he told me it was in the sand down by Boulder Creek. We had a good laugh, he thanked me for the use of the magnifying glass and went on his way.

Since then I have seen him around town. When we pass, we smile and sometimes say "Hello". He came in the store last evening, about a half hour before I closed. He wanted to look at a clock we have mounted on the wall. It is a map of the world with a light projected from the rear, indicating the parts of the earth that are illuminated by the sun. I asked him about the white rock. He smiled and pulled it out of one of his many pockets. I had the munchies so I shared what was left over from my lunch, some nuts and an orange. He showed me a copy of a picture someone had painted of him. He wants to make some post cards and possibly sell them. I asked him about his military service. He looked me in the eye and could tell I was a brother. He said he was in the Air Force, 1969 to 1971. He didn't have to say any more. Those of us that served during that time frame have a bond, even though it was in different branches. We chatted quietly for a while and then he returned to his home, the street.

Well, they all look like cowboys but they sure didn't play country western music! The Halloween gig was fun. We played for 4 hours. Pretty good for a bunch of old geezers.

Milo and I said good-bye to Jan's dad this morning. He loaded up his car and headed to Arizona for the winter. Another snow-bird has headed south. We will see him again just in time for the last big snow in the spring. It always happens.

Saturday was a work project day. One of our Scouts had his Eagle Scout Project on Saturday. He will have his award soon. Now there are only two boys in the troop without their Eagle. The Scout troop will be closing down in February and we have vowed to make sure each boys earns their Eagle.

There was another bear shot and killed in Sunshine. This time it was 10 feet in front of one of our neighbors house. The State game warden has the animal and is obtaining evidence.

If you go back to my October 4th entry you will find the banter going back and forth between our neighbor, Doug and our family. Doug has been receiving post cards from various places around the world and sent me this note:

Dear Janice, David and Harry…

We have loved hearing via post cards about your extraordinary world tour. I estimate that this splendid adventure cost you in the vicinity of $100,000. While you never have been specific about the windfall that allowed you to make this incredible journey, I am very happy for you.

Of course, it’s none of my business how you financed the trip. And I certainly would never pry.

On A completely another topic, we finally have finished an inventory of items stolen from our home. The chief investigative officer for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office says the thefts have all the earmarks of being done by some person or persons whom we might have let into the house willingly. His suspicion is it probably was perpetrated by folks who live somewhere on County Road 83 because, he says, “we have always had a lot of trouble with the perverts, trouble makers and felons who make up most of that population.”

Unlikely, he says, that is was anyone with a Sunshine Canyon address because “those people are all kind, loving, upright citizens who spent their day focused on honestly and their nights focused on integrity.” I don’t know for sure that’s true but all I can do is repeat what I’ve been told.

Anyway, the investigator says if the items stolen from us were sold on Ebay, their value would be $999,994.26. Having nothing to do with your trip, of course, but it is a quirk of numbers, isn’t it, that the cost of your trip and the value of the theft at our house are almost identical?

Have to run. Mary Ann and I are taking our annual vacation. We leave about 11 a.m. today to go have lunch at Wendy’s in Longmont. We’ll return form our vacation around 1 p.m.

Regards,
Doug

Some day I'll share how he received post cards from around the world.

Keep Smiling,

David