Revelation Week

First I have a revelation for my sister Theda. She wonders where I took Peggy on our anniversary. (Theda asks that question because she shares our anniversary with her birthday.)


Well I've been fascinated with the great variety of ways we are tightening our belts in this economy. But that doesn't mean romance must suffer. You'll note above that I went out my way to prepare a special anniversary breakfast for my beloved.


(In case you don't recognize it, that is a poached egg crammed into a heart shaped cutout in a piece of whole grain toast.)


And, hey, that was just the beginning. The nice thing about living in Colorado in the Fall is that it is loaded with romantic destinations for anniversaries. AND, this is a beautiful time of year in the Rockies with the changing of the Aspen. BUT, in a tight economy I decided to take Peggy in the direction less traveled by, EAST.






As you can see, in Colorado there is beauty in all directions. About a hundred miles EAST of Denver is the town of "Limon." I did tell Theda "Limon" is where we traveled to celebrate our anniversary. Theda writes she's never heard of "Limon" and is going to do some research.



Well, for Theda's sake, Limon is a prairie town of, I'm guessing here, about 5 thousand people? It is distinguished by three things I know of.

I (and every other Colorado journalist) spent four days in Limon in June of 1990 when the town was hit by a tornado. Downtown Limon was pretty much wiped out. It was nice to see a good portion of it rebuilt.



(At the same time it was sad to see so many businesses closed. No cars on the streets, almost a ghost town? And on a Saturday? The economy?)

Limon is also noted as a place thousands of motorists visit over night every winter. Not, for the skiing, however. It is where Interstate 70 quite often gets shut down from bitterly cold, high wind snow storms. (Snow drifts can get up to ten feet high.)



Finally, Limon is noted for it's truck stop, only good spot between Kansas and Denver to get a good 'ol, cholesteral packin', trans fat totin', "all ya can eat," Chicken Fried Steak! You've gotta agree that's just about the most romantic meal a man could offer up to 'is wife in a tight economy. Eh?

Wave to Peggy. (She had a huge plate of mashed potatoes with cream gravy. I had the "all you can eat" "deep fat fried" chicken special. MMMMM, good.)

Here's some relieving news about Limon? No one was on the street and all the businesses were closed, right? Well, turns out it was Limon High School's Homecoming Day. All five thousand (?) residents were on the North side of town watching the game. ( I'm guessing the South side of town is now about 5 feet higher. Think about it!)

Enough, already, about Limon revelations.

Today I decided to sketch what I am declaring to be the first maple leaf to hit the ground in our front yard.

As I sketched the little devil, I was struck by a couple of revelations. First the network structure is incredibly intricate. Peggy says, "Why. You mean because of all those little veins?"

"Well, YEAH! They remind me of a map of a drainage basin, nature copying itself almost microscopically."

The other revelation is how powerful shadows are. If they want to block something out? They block it out. And fall shadows are so BIG! And they are masters at softening lines.

Moving on, I've got no illustrations for this next revelation and you'll soon know why. Even though, since you're reading this, we presumably speak the same language? Nuance can certainly alter our communication intentions.

BACKGROUND:

Our pharmacist, Stanley shares our age and senses of moral justice and humor. We seldom get home from the pharmacy without laughing.

A few weeks ago Stanley notices the owner of his building has allotted most of the parking lot to a new tenant, making it a tough commute from car to counter for Stan's employees and customers. So we share some banter about parking in those spots anyway, just to see if they "have the guts" to tow us.

Now jump back a couple of months when my Primary Care guy determines I need a little extra testosterone in my blood.

Jump forward now. Today I'm at the pharmacy. I'm behind a lady who has been patiently (heh, heh) waiting for her prescription to be filled. She looks like she's had a rough day. In addition to Stanley, there are three women, including his daughter, working behind the counter.

Jump back. So I know, just to be ornery, I've parked today in one of those designated "threatening to tow me" parking spaces?

Jump forward. I know I can't get out of the pharmacy without a little fun (little did I know) banter with Stan. SO I SAY VERY LOUDLY, SO THAT EVERYONE CAN HEAR....?

"You know Stan, this testosterone is forcing me to PARK illegally."

Stan says, "Yeah it IS one of the side affects."

So the woman waiting? She gets this incredibly disgusted expression on her face. The woman behind the counter in front of me gasps, and slams her hand over her mouth.

The two other women turn away trying to hide and squelch their guffaws.

You know is wasn't until I was a block away from home before I GOT THE DOUBLE ENTENDRE?

WHAT A REVELATION!