Sunshine Ant Man

I should know better than to stop by the Mayor's house. Chris always has a Margarita ready and waiting. Most of the time the top is already off a cold beer. Chris enjoys telling a good story and I love hearing them.

Several years ago there was a Sunshine neighbor known as "The Ant Man". I don't know if anybody knew his real name, he was just "The Ant Man". Chris has been around here for a long time, therefor he either knows everyone in the neighbor hood or knows of them. Most of the nick-names have started in Chris' living room or back deck. I'm sure the "Ant Man" name had to start with Chris.

Where did the name come from? Now I might be a little fuzzy with this legend because, after all, Chris likes to tell his stories after we have consumed a fair amount of alcohol. It seems that our old neighbor was often seen hauling "stuff" up to his house in his small pick-up truck. Often it was overloaded to the point that "stuff" would fall off the truck and be left on the side of the road. Chris said he resembled a worker ant, always carrying more than it seemed possible. He thought he was trying to build his house with scrap lumber and anything he could find for free, just as long as he could tie it down.

No one was brave enough to approach "The Ant Man", for he was a recluse and did not even acknowledge anybody. He was often known to fire his rifle at passing wildlife. We know he did a lot of shooting. We found a tree full of bullets when we cut up some firewood taken from his property.

One day the man just left, leaving a pile of "stuff" for the next owner to clean up. Evidently the neighbor hood was getting a little too crowded for him.

We have been experiencing one of the driest springs on record. Usually the grass has turned green and the spring bulbs are starting to show their colors. This year the grass is still brown. The only color has been the crocus, iris and the daffodils.

The Spaghetti dinner went well. We filled station #2 with happy neighbors, drank a little wine and told stories. I don't think we made any money but at least we got everybody out of the house and had some fun.

I need to take care of some unfinished business. Last fall my neighbor accused me of stealing a lot of money from his house (it was a joke and was published a few posts back). Well, to get even, Janice and I told him we were planning a trip around the world. Thanks to some friends, we had post cards mailed from various parts of the world. I would like to thank Jan, who sent four cards from England, Chris, who mailed one from Austria and Spain and my brother-in law, who mailed two cards from Hawaii.Back to spring. Those of us who have chosen to live in the high country know that is is common to move from winter into summer in a matter of weeks. Today our prayers were answered. It is snowing. Not just a little snow but a blizzard. I expect the grass will start to turn green and we will finally have enough water to do the laundry. I wish I was still skiing. It's a powder day!

Janice, my oldest son Nate, Dennis and Suzie all attended the March Denver Pow-Wow last Sunday. It was quite a show of the Western Plains Indians.

Milo says "woof, woof" to all
.

Remember "Don't never interfer with nothin' what don't bother yuh none."

Keep smiling,
David

Third Annual

Spaghetti Feed

SUNDAY, MARCH 1ST

5:00 to 7:30 pm

Sunshine Fire Station #2

$7.00 per Adult

$4.00 per Child

$20 maximum per family

Proceeds go to the Sunshine Fire Protection District

Please bring your own bottle of wine and maybe one to share

Spaghetti - Salad - Garlic Bread

Soft Drinks Provided

Gift Basket Door Prizes!!!!!!!

Milo and I took our evening walk to the school house and lowered the American flag. I folded the flag and put it away. I sure wish he would learn to hold one end for me. The air was calm and it was snowing. I took his leash off so he could run freely for a while. With him off and away I noticed that it was quiet, really quiet. The clouds, fog and snow muffled any sounds. The only thing I could hear was the snow crunching under my feet. It's been a day of reflection. I was thinking of my other dogs. Sandy, Skipper, Bruce and Malcom. I stayed out all night looking for Skipper when he left. They are all gone now. I suspect they are playing with each other in Mom and Dad's back yard. Mom is reading a book and Dad is reading a newspaper. Days like today I feel them looking down on me, protecting me, giving me strength. It's a good day to remember the ones that gave me unconditional love. It's time now to give love to Milo.

A trip to Wyoming

First, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Working at the map store (retail) has left me little time for blogging. I have missed reading and promise to get back as soon as things get back to normal, whatever that is.

My older brother John came down from Cheyenne, Wyoming to spend Christmas with us. As usual, the trip was very pleasant and all too short. I took him back to Cheyenne this afternoon. Cheyenne is a two hour drive north of Boulder. It is two different worlds. Boulder is nestled along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Cheyenne is high on the wind swept planes. On our trip north we saw the largest Prong Horn Antelope herd I have ever seen. There must have been at least 100 animals. They were just beautiful. A few miles north of the antelope were a large heard of buffalo. They are just stunning...a reminder of the old west, before the white man arrived.

The wind was gusting to over 60 MPH and the warning signs were posted. We saw the remains of 5 tractor trailers on the side of the road. They had all been blown over by the strong winds and were laying on their side. As I returned home I witnessed one almost topple over. It went over on two wheels but the driver was able to control the vehicle and avert a serious accident.

As I approached Boulder on the Boulder-Longmont diagonal highway, a rather large bird caught my eye. It was soring close to the ground. We do have a lot of hawks out here and they are always sitting on telephone poles or circling, looking for mice. This bird was different. It floated as if it owned the sky. I thought I saw white on it's tail. As I got closer, I could tell that it was white. Knowing only one large bird with white on it's tail, I watched to see if it was, as I suspected, a bald eagle. It turned skyward and confirmed my suspicions. A rare sighting of another beautiful animal.

Janice and I are off to Fort Collins for a night of frivolity with old friends.

New Year's eve we are hosting the 1st part of the Sunshine Progressive New Year's Eve Party. Cocktails are at our house at 6PM. Steve and Dee are hosting Dinner at 8PM. At 10PM we all move up to Steve and Lisa's for dessert and the welcoming of the new year.

Best wishes to all.

Smiles,

David

PS...Thank you Santa for the new chain saw!!!!!

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