Up Bear Creek / 24may25012

Rafting the San Juan River Canyon

Captain Mike Rozycki at the helm

TSP … Math-heads & complexity geeks know it as the Traveling Salesman Problem – how to fashion a formula that will predict the shortest routes between, say, 100,000 cities. I guess there is a certain kind of geeky gratification to solving such a computational Gordian Knot. But I could care less. Shorter and faster are no longer modes of choice. The older this hippie gets the more he likes going slow. Wasn’t always this way. But times change. And taking my first river overnight on the Southwest’s classic Sand Island to Mexican Hat stretch was a spring highlight … Of course, I was blessed with great river-mates. People I’d sort of known around Telluride but got to know a lot better, one of whom had done some 50 runs on the San Juan over the last 30 years – a wealth of knowledge and great stories … 

Negotiating the rapids

We had a few little rapids. Just enough to keep you alert from getting caught on the rocks or a sandbar. But mostly a nice long lovely coast – at least for me, as my raft captain did all the oaring. Which was tough the first day out – breaking in misplaced oarlocks and bucking stiff gusty winds. But which settled into a pleasant lollygagger’s delight for the rest of the trip … The food was gorgeous. No paltry hikers’ portions or industrial mix-with-water packets. This was the real thing. Cooked over charcoal. One night salmon fillets smoked on little planks of cedar soaked in bourbon. Beer. Tequila. Coffee with sugar or stevia, half-and-half and touch of Valrhona chocolate. I mean, I don’t eat this good at home … And while the party ethic is encouraged, the leave-no-trace ethic is the prime directive. We had our own groover (portable latrine box with attachable seat) and were instructed to wash hands, crush cans, spills crumbs into the river and not along the river campsites. In fact, the hardest thing of all for me was learning to pee into the river. There’s the shyness thing (although a few males were shameless in whipping out their peter and pissing into the stream in full public view -- once as we promenaded by in our raft). It’s impolite to expose one’s genitals to public view in our culture (sometimes illegal). A bizarre, almost quaintly baroque notion – or so it seems to this Rainbow hippie. But it is the custom, and one usually tries to observe the local customs, so as to not offend the locals … No, the real reason I was shocked by the BLM river ranger’s etiquette talk was that, in mountain streams, I’d always been instructed not to piss in the water. To get back a ways from the water before urinating. So, learning the new ropes was unsettling … But it was impressive. The campsites were free of fire rings or old toilet paper flags flying from the bushes. And they smelled of willow leaf and yucca, not uric acid … If you want to see some photos, check my Facebook page.

PARTISAN MADNESS … It seems sad that we seem to be being pushed into an orgy of impolite and often untrue attack-ad games when we talk about national politics (even some state politics, though not as completely). I think many of the Republican principles are wise – fiscal responsibility, work rather than welfare, local control (meaning local participation in federal decision-making when it affects local communities). Just like I subscribe to a lot of the Libertarian principles – personal responsibility, ending foreign wars, get government out of the bedroom and our personal lives … But I don’t cotton to the current crop of Tea Party refuseniks unable to set aside differing principles and work across the aisle towards good governance on behalf of the people. There are dozens of reasons why this is a bad idea. But the most recent Scientific American editorial (June 2012 issue) in support of Planned Parenthood gives one pause ... When we champion extreme positions, we all bend the facts a bit to make a point. But when Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona pronounced on the floor of the Congress last year that PP spent “well over 90 percent” of its money – much of it in the form of federal funding – on abortions, he wasn’t just using hyperbole. He was lying ... PP spends 3 percent of its budget on assisting women with ending unwanted pregnancies (none of those services using federal monies). By proposing to cut its funding – half of it from federal and state funding – Republicans have stepped from good governance into partisan intractableness and even lying on behalf of their cause. That’s just one of many risks in letting extreme campaign partisanship rule the day. Citizens don’t know if their leaders are telling the truth or not anymore. It seeds distrust, and a nation only governs wisely with the trust of its electorate … In 2011 PP served over 4 million people with tests and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, it performed 750,000 breast cancer exams and 770,000 Pap tests for cervical cancer. Thanks to PP’s assistance in providing birth control options to women – in particular the pill -- maternal deaths have declined 60 percent since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Connecticut’s law against public access to contraceptives in 1965. And more than half of all doctoral degrees in this country went to women in 2009, compared to 20 percent in the early 1960s. The Chicago Tribune has even called PP “America’s largest abortion preventer” … 

Sen. Kyl  (AP Photo/Matt York)

Who knows what partisan source provided Sen. Kyl with the false info? The fact is we are moving beyond the reasonable into the realm of the deceptive with our partisanship. And it’s not a pretty picture. Or a true one.

THE TALKING GOURD

Panta Rei

-for Ken Wright

On sandbars & river’s edge

geese & their goslings

ignore us, boating by

while a solitary heron

perched on legs like cattails

keeps a close eye

Bighorn sheep

leap from ledge to edge

browsing under blue skies

Circling high above us

on a rim of acrylic sandstone

& poured igneous

a hawk. Maybe an eagle.

And first sketch

rafting the San Juan

I feel the cold rush of blood

rippling through the narrows

of my body’s veins

The mind’s hot sun

warming lungs of Russian Olive

Tamarisk. Native willow

Just another critter

on the canyon block

Hitching a ride with the flow

Up Bear Creek / 17may25012

Norwood loses an elder

Terrill S. Snyder of Norwood

TERRY SNYDER … Norwood mourned the passing of Terrill S. Snyder this past weekend with a service at the Norwood Christian Church and a graveside ceremony with military honors … Terry and Jo Anne have been my neighbors since I moved to Norwood in 1984. Their ranchlands, where they raise sheep and cattle, surround my little acre … They’ve been good neighbors. And it’s been an education watching them farm the land for alfalfa hay with a gravity-fed irrigation system, as well as balancing cattle and sheep herds. The land is well-cared for, their fields productive, their livestock healthy … As a city-enviro-come-to-the-country, I learned a lot from life-long ranchers like Terry and Jo Anne as they’ve maintained their operation through lean times and fat. When you pay close attention over several dozen years, it’s hard not to admire good ranchers for the environmentalists they are -- although they might not call themselves such. Nevertheless, it’s their ability to sustainably raise sheep and cattle year after year that takes great skill and perseverance and helps feed the nation … My condolences to Terry’s family and friends.

SMPA Safety Demonstration

ENERGYWISE … I do enjoy the consumer/member newsletter that SMPA has been sending out with their monthly electrical bills these days. It’s good to keep up on all things electrical, since energy – its use, transmission, generation and relationship to climate change – is one of the critical issues of our times … I read with interest the May issue with its explanation of proposed rate changes. Brad Zaporski had given a great overview at one of our quarterly Tri-County Meetings with Ouray and Montrose Counties a few months back. But, not being fluent in technogeek, nor even a pretender to truly understanding electromagnetism’s kilowatts and gausses, I had forgotten most of what Brad had patiently explained. The rate change piece in the newsletter was very helpful, until I got down to one of the final paragraphs, where I was told consumer/members would get to choose whether to go onto a demand meter when they found themselves using 20 to 40 kilowatts (kW) of power. I looked at my bill. Nowhere did I see kW mentioned or listed. I looked through the newsletter. Nowhere was it explained how kW translated to kilowatt hours, which is how SMPA measures our usage and bills us. We get to choose whether we want to go on demand rates when we’re between 20 kW and 40kW of usage. But how could we choose if we had no idea if we were in the target kW range or not? “We’ll let you know,” was what I was told when I called SMPA for clarification … SMPA is having several “community education forums” around the region to catch people up on the rate changes being proposed. They sound like a good idea to me. But you might want to ask a few questions about the demand rate and how to know when you reach that 20-40 kW threshold of use.

Folksinger, storyteller Utah Phillips

ENERGY PIG … My mea culpas (when starting these confessions) for my using too big an energy footprint for just one & a half persons (being a half-time single dad) have been (over the course of a year) transformed into (restrained) hosannas as I’ve managed to ratchet down my Cloud Acre energy demand, cutting my usage in half, from a an average of 1,343 kWh per month three years ago to an average of just 598 kWh per month this year– saving tons of carbon (theoretically, not released into the atmosphere) without ruining my quality of life. In fact, even at my modest means, in a dilapidated bungalow that lost 25% of its value in the Downturn, I’m still a One Percenter to the World’s 99 … So, whether hosannas or mea culpas, it’s important that we all re-examine our lives and energy habits, and occasionally take those leaps of faith that precede important changes ... Or, as Utah Phillips once told a crowd of us at a Bay Area Folk Festival in the Seventies, “Every so often you have to wake up and jump off a cliff.”

Whitetop on private property near Norwood

WHITETOP … It seemed a few years ago, whitetop wasn’t the problem it’s gotten to be in Norwood. But now it seems to be everywhere … Although I find very little on the county roadways – thanks to Sheila Grother’s effective county treatment program … But private property owners have let the pernicious little intruder get firmly established, and acres and acres now fly the early spring white flag of blossoming Lepidium draba (formerly Cardaria draba) … Thanks to untreated properties just to the north of me, across Highway 145, I’m finding more and more plants popping up in my potato fields. And I’m seeing it in town as well as all across Wright’s Mesa. 

ACE of Norwood's Livery performance space

GARDEN SHOW … ACE of Norwood held a garden show this past weekend at the Livery, and I got to sell a bunch of my heirloom seed potatoes and buy some lovely flower and herb starts. I hope they make it a spring tradition from now on.

THE TALKING GOURD

Viva Vulpini

Indian paintbrush leant to you its hue,

but for your feathered tip dipped in snow –

that white surrender flag which tailed you

reflecting high-beam blaze of headlights’ glow.

A lightning strike had nothing on the streak

that was your flying flash across the black:

the hot pursuit of strong against the weak –

a ruthless race, a bracing brave attack.

But Vulpes vulpes is not Volvo’s match.

The cleverest of foxes know that some

predators kill without intent to catch,

so train their ears to strain for tires’ hum.

You curled your tail around your pelt and died

as first light knelt upon the mountainside.

-Autumn Hall

Colorado Springs

Up Bear Creek / 10may25012

Telluride loses one of its stars

SHARON SHUTERAN … Sad news to learn of the Sharon’s passing in Mexico. Our county judge was one of those bedrock locals who defined what was different about Telluride. What was unique … In the courtroom she had immense patience and went out of her way (I thought) to explain the law clearly and fairly to all who came before her. For years I’ve attended her court sessions. Sometimes as a prospective juror or spectator. Once on the jury through a trial. Another time sitting in on a family member’s hearing. For a couple years I served as one of the state appointees to the District’s Judicial Review Commission that gets to monitor and “grade” judges – so, I had the privilege of sitting in judgment as Sharon came up for review before the panel and answered our questions and critiqued her own behavior behind the gavel. Colorado is lucky to have such a fair system, where no one, not even judges, are immune to citizen review, but at the same time are not forced to buy their way into office, as was the case in Colorado at one time … All these years and I have to say, every time I entered or left Judge Shuteran’s court, I was impressed. To me she was a model judge … But that was only her official capacity. I also knew her socially, and she was a fine spirit. Interested in many things, a good storyteller, with a witty smile and a long history here, including running the old Excelsior Café, in the early days, when even staying in town could be touch and go. She loved to talk politics. Travel. The arts. I always marveled how she kept her private life private, with its own set of parameters, and her public life public, making decisions based on the law. Her integrity was unquestioned … It’s not often that a public official can serve the people so well, especially in the difficult intricacies of the judicial system, and still lead a vibrant, happy life as a full community member … Sharon, we miss you.

Prepping a field at Cloud Acre

PASTORAL LIFE … This spring, more than any other in my memory, I’ve been unable to sit behind a computer and trade emails … Imagine getting 100 a day – it’s unsustainable. If you’ve emailed me and haven’t got a message back, better go back to the telephone. I can’t seem to keep current in cyberspace anymore. It’s just not possible … But this year, at Cloud Acre, everything’s possible -- with water. For years I’ve been trying to perfect my growing system for my private spud patch experimental station, where I grow upwards of 50 varieties of potato …That’s right, 50+. I cultivate about three or four plants of each variety, and end up with 300 or 400 mounds – depending on how many potatoes I plant for myself to eat and how many to trade or sell to others. Of course, since I’m only a part-time agriculturalist and I depend on the vagaries of the weather, I lose a bunch to drought, flood, long trips, benign neglect, a failure to weed, hail, bugs, deer, and the goddess remembers what else. Farming is not for the faint of heart … But after I froze the old pond pump, it was only last year that I’d gotten my new pump outfitted with quick release couplings and fixed (actually a couple of fixes by very compassionate neighbors over the course of several break-in seasons) and once finally took spring advantage of my junior water right (thank you Wayne Goin) to the Goodtimes Waste Ditch as it flows into Foster Pond of the Maverick Draw drainage, thence into Naturita Creek, and down to the lower San Miguel River in Montrose County. Mid-April’s when it started to warm up enough this year to start Spring’s great greening up. But it still freezes over at night in early Spring. And I’d already lost one pump and several past years’ water trying to irrigate too early … This year, the quick release system let me make use of my pond allotment in the day, disengage the pump each night as the pond recharges, and hook up each morning. This year, color me Spring green.

SCIENCE NEWS … I mean it blows me away. Most o’ my private life I’ve spent deep in that right-brain intuitive-creative poet space that is my Budadaist Yogic Rainbow path. But maybe it’s the past 16 years of public service, trying to keep local government local, and away from big, or partisan, or deeply indebted, that’s made me crave science. Facts, not the fickle sway of people aroused (which, of course, in a democracy, has its place) … Anyway, I find myself at sixty-six devouring the science zines. Scientific American, in its third year in my mailbox … We’re in the middle of a party and suddenly I’m explaining the newest physics on gluons and gravitrons to my wizard Ed Joe Draw neighbor … Tonight, it’s the low-brow Science News, whose scope of popular scan summarizes hundreds of discoveries, rather than just the monthly in-depth look at a scholarly dozen or so … The rare metal Iridium has been fingered in a new catalytic process to store and transport hydrogen at low temperatures and pressures – it could be a huge breakthrough for hydrogen-fueled autos … And I learned a new word – Alkanofer \al-Kan-o-fer\ A subsurface body made of liquid alkanes, molecules such as methane and ethane that contain only single-bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms. Found on the surface of Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. Analogous to an underground aquifer on Earth.

KATHY MCDONOUGH … Marty Hollinbeck sparked a community benefit for our good friend McDonough whose home in Naturita burnt down this winter. Two Candles rocked with the Spor Brothers and friends and lots of volunteers, and featured an outpouring of family and neighbors coming for the silent auction, food and bake sales to help Kathy start to rebuild. Tradesfolk have signed up to help with construction, bless ‘em.

Blue Cuddle basket for Kathy

THE TALKING GOURD

The Mistake

the joy of catching and fixing

the mistake

when writing out the new date

and notice the flow and spin

to change a zero (almost a 9)

to a ten by fronting a one

welcome now to twenty ten

-Danny Rosen

on the cusp of 2009/2010

Up Bear Creek 3may25012

Up Bear Creek

by Art Goodtimes

"Spider Woman" Norwood Livery Show #9

On the road to New Mexico

Arizona & Colorado

PHOENIX … I took my youngest boy down to this Arizona metropolis to catch a plane to Hawaii – his Telluride Mountain School experiential trip. The lucky tyke. The furthest I remember going on a “class trip” (as we called “experientials” in my day) was Alum Rock Park in San Jose – about 20 miles from my Mountain View school … I’m excited to learn all the Big Island haunts he’s visiting, and especially his snorkeling investigation of coral – his class project … But, omygoddess, Phoenix! I had no idea. It’s huge beyond all measure (or sanity) – I mean, it’s the desert, for goodness sakes. I hadn’t been there for 30 years, and then as a hitchhiker, without wheels. Now, I drove around in various circles, putting in miles on the freeways finding our obscure hotel in Tempe, a “beach” park connected with a stagnant lake, and trying to maneuver the ever busy streets. When did it become the 6^th largest city in the nation with a population of almost a million and a half people? And if you measure metro areas, Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale registers as 13^th in the nation with just over 4 million. Denver-Aurora-Boulder is 16^th with just under 3 million … It was exciting driving over from New Mexico along Interstate 40 to Holbrook, and then taking smaller highways through the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and down through Payson. We knew we were coming close when we wound down through mountains with giant saguaros everywhere – a most impressive site. But the desert floor soon clogged with pavement and buildings and miles and miles of development … Once I dropped the boy off with his classmates and chaperones, I took off for Flagstaff, where I spent the night and had breakfast. I’d lived there, on someone’s front porch, after the Rainbow Gathering in 1979, staying a couple months. It too had changed, grown bigger, but it was recognizable, and manageable. I’ve always had a soft spot for Flag, and the nearby San Francisco peaks … Met a slightly younger version of my bearded paleohippie self at the motel I stayed at, and almost ferried the stranger up to our neck of the woods. He was tempted, and I had room. But he was worried his “Cricket” wouldn’t work in the mountains, and he made his living on phone sales. So he passed up the chance … Which worked out as I gave a Navajo hitchhiker a ride to Cameron from Flag. He was my age, exactly, although he looked a bit older. Had waited a long time for a ride. Said lots of Navajo drove by him in their pickups, which was kind of sad. We had a nice talk. Said they were closing the post office in Cameron, where he lived on the Rez, and he was having to go to a bank in Flag to get his Social Security check. It sounded obtuse. But this was Arizona. And when it comes to social services, no manner of rude and inhospitable behavior would surprise me.

Mark Walsh explaining the Albuquerque Basin to Rio (left) and Gorio) on the slopes of Sandia Peak

 ALBUQUERQUE … Or “Burque”, as the locals like to say … On the way down, Gregorio Oshá and I made a swing through New Mexico’s biggest city (small chiles by Phoenix standards) to visit with Number One Son (and Gorio’s older brother) – Rio Coyotl. And to see an old friend of Dolores LaChapelle – Mark Walsh. 

Blooming cactus on the slopes of Sandia

Mark led us on a lovely hike through the desert foothill spring flora of Sandia Peak, an oasis of wild above a basin filling in with development (if not on the scale of Arizona’s red hot growth spots). We feasted on barbequed salmon and had a bit of an adventure, coming back from a quick visit to Rio’s bachelor pad and unable to get inside Mark’s seemingly locked door (it wasn’t) and not wanting to wake anyone up (they were waiting for us). We ended up sleeping on pads on the lovely back deck under windy skies – one of those traveling adventures that you’d never do on purpose, but look back on kind of fondly. Roughing it, as Mom would say.

Susan, Gorio and Susan's dogs hiking off into Canyons of the Ancients in McElmo Canyon

MCELMO CANYON … Part of our discomfort might have been the royal digs we’d enjoyed the night before Burque, visiting my friend Susan Thomas in McElmo Canyon. Having just built a most amazing home right across from Battle Rock, my boy and I enjoyed a separate lock-off apartment under the main house that we stayed in – beds, breakfast and another lovely hike on a trail into the Canyon of the Ancients Monument – accessed through a gate along her back fence … Susan has a daughter, Francesca, who’s Gorio’s age, and who has horses – has had her own horse since she was born. It’s been a while since I was around (barely) teen-age girls, so it was fun, all of us telling stories and sharing tales.

Commissioner Pete McKay speaking at the Mining Conference

SILVERTON … Getting back to Colorado was no relief from traveling. I made a blitzkrieg visit to the Silverton Caldera and the San Juan Hardrock Mining and Water Quality Conference sponsored by Mountain Studies Institute at the Kendall Mountain Recreation Center. Some 25 years after the Idarado Superfund Cleanup, I got an opportunity to explain what a unique and successful settlement it turned out to be. Having been on Gov. Romer’s local committee that managed a win-win-win for Newmont Mining Company, Telluride/San Miguel County, and the environment … It’s a good story, and folks there seemed to enjoy it … 

Mobile at LaChapelle Park

My buddy, Commissioner Pete McKay, who’s also running for re-election this year, took me for a visit to LaChapelle Park that was created just north of town to honor its famous resident. It’s a beautiful spot, with signs leading folks up to a bluff for a grand view of the town and a lovely stone circle, with pictures of Dolores, David and Ed tucked into a niche in the rock.

LEWIS-ARRIOLA … That’s one of the stops between Cortez and Dove Creek and the middle school gym was where the Lower DoloresPlan Working Group has been trying to hammer out a collaborative alternative to Wild & Scenic designation for the Dolores River. It’s a several year process, but the group is close to making a recommendations, although there are still some boundary and fish issues to work out. It’s been an amazing process. Peter Mueller gave an eloquent talk about collaboration, and it’s amazing to see Repubs and Demcrats, conservatives and liberals, ranchers and enviros all working closely together – singing the praises of having everyone at the table. It makes you realize. Government may not work on the national or state levels, but locally and regionally we seem to do pretty good.

URANIUM DRIVE-IN … Suzan Beraza used Kickstarter to raise over $5000 to start work on her Uranium Drive-In documentary. I was a proud contributor … West End folks are also trying to raise money to save their old Uranium Drive-In sign. It once stood on the road outside the drive-in itself -- on the hill above Naturita.. I remember watching a film at that drive-in when I came to the region 30 years ago. I may not be a fan of uranium mining or nuclear power, but I do love the history of a region – and the sign seemed to sum up a lot about the West End, where uranium mining was such an important historical boom (and bust). The sign itself is a classic drive-in come-on. It bounced around the region. Sat in front of a hilltop gas station in Nucla for a while. Now a Restoration Team has set up a site on Indiegogo and have raised over half their goal of $10,000 dollars to try and restore the sign and put it on public display. They only have a couple weeks left to meet their goal. I’ve donated to the cause. Check it out and send them a donation.

THE TALKING GOURD

Recombinant Physics

Let us not

forget

the hope of wreckage, the

strength of shattering.

That which breaks

can mend with stronger bond.

Fragments

re-arrange into new wholes

mosaic into patterns new.

Splinters sand to dovetail, dado,

tongue

and groove.

Unbonded elements regroup, reform, reforge.

But that which sits in

safe or wary neglect,

that which fades and crumbles

into dust,

can only blow away.

-Matt Ozier

Lawson Hill

Up Bear Creek / 26apr25012

Getting a chance to play 

educator for a day

SWOS … I have a soft-spot in my resume for education. My original thought was that I would be a teacher. I rose through the pre-school ranks and became the director of the John Adams site in San Francisco’s exemplary Parent Education Pre-school Program back in the Seventies. I even attended U.C. Berkeley night school to get a lifetime California Teaching Credential (the last year that they gave those out) … But I moved to Colorado, and had to find other work, as all the local pre-school jobs were taken when I came to town. But I always harbored a desire to spend some time in a classroom with a group of kids – one of the most important jobs one can have in a community … Thanks to some friends in Cortez, I got invited to teach a class at the Southwest Open School several years ago. I was deeply impressed … These were the kids who’d had troubles in regular high school classes and had gotten the boot, or had dropped out and wanted to try again, or any number of special situations that an innovative charter school was willing to address … My contact was a teacher, Sam “I Am” Carter – a charismatic educator with an easy manner but tough love standards that he held his students to. I lectured on poetry the first time. Next year it was politics. Then, anarchy (a favorite concept) … Soon I’d become a regular visitor, and I met the equally charismatic Judy Hite, the director, and Jennifer Chappell, her assistant … A couple years back the students even requested that I give their senior commencement speech. I was deeply touched. I canceled a regional political meeting I’d been scheduled to attend in Montana. Speaking to the SWOS graduating class was too important to miss, in my book … This year they wanted me to be part of a Portfolio Review team that they solicited from community members – there were musicians, ranchers, educators and politicos (like myself). A group of us got to listen to a graduating senior give a verbal presentation of their written Portfolio – a kind of senior project outlining all they’d done that year. It was fascinating. One fellow had done a haiku in Russian (exactly 17 syllables, and he actually pronounced the Russian correctly). Another was a dazzling artist, and his tessellated sketch of an eye had me intrigued. Another did a very good research paper on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 … And when we all assembled in the common room of one of the trailers that make up the school buildings in this shoestring operation (they recently lost a bond issue in Montezuma County to expand the facility), it was a happy bedlam of cheers and noisemakers. Lots of Diné and Hispanics and Anglos all mixed up, celebrating together. The good feelings were addictive. I think I’m becoming a SWOSaholic.

Patty Limerick

CAW … Dr. Patricia Limerick heads up the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado in Boulder. We met years ago at the first Headwaters conference at Western State College in Gunnison (its name recently changed to Western State Colorado University), and we’ve remained friends ever since. Last year she invited me to come lecture one of her classes about my brand of Green politics out on the Western Slope. The class seemed to like it, and so Patty invited me back again this year … It’s a darn long drive to Boulder for an hour lecture, but having once entertained the idea of becoming a college professor, lecturing to a couple hundred students was a challenge and a treat … This time Patty made it easier by asking me questions the students had prepared and we had a lively session of back and forth on lots of sensitive issues from politics to poetry to mushroom festivals. In the end, I was humbled with a standing ovation, which was both unexpected and quite generous on the part of the students whom I’d harangued … Patty selected six of a list of students who’d signed up to have dinner with us and we all walked over to the Sink (a Boulder institution) for another lively hour of exchanged stories and repartee … I’m not sure I could handle grading student papers, sitting in on faculty committees, and all the hard work that goes into making academia a focused place for learning. But I sure loved the hit-and-run lecture option.

Iris on Boat Ride in Argentina

IRIS WILLOW … Number One daughter, who turns 29 this month, has just finished a six weeks respite in Buenos Aires, after travels around the southern continent, following six months in Santiago, Chile, where her partner Bert Fan has been working on a cyber-startup, Recollect. They’ll be moving back to San Francisco, after Iris spends her birthday with friends in Colombia … She had a number of things she said she’d miss about Argentina’s capital city, that I thought I might share … “The copious amount of tasty Argentine steak easily consumed on almost every block, muy rico (delicious) homemade raviolis and pastas around the corner, and authentic Italian gelato a mere three blocks from our apartment … Attempting to relearn to rollerblade in the beautiful French designed bosques de Palermo as expert Argentine bladers weave, twirl and jump around me … Sipping a cafe con leche at an outdoor cafe in Palermo watching Argentine fashionistas in leopard print leggings, neon yellow platform flip-flops and ballerina buns stroll past … Visiting unusual Argentine bars, like the "secret" bar, Frank's, which requires you to dial a password in a telephone booth before entering the swanky velvet and chandelier-clad bar, or the funky Acabar with an entire room dedicated to board games including a giant Jenga and a Spanish Sexionary … Visiting the San Telmo Sunday feria (fair) and perusing the antiques, independent jewelry and fashion designers and street performers … The amazing BAFICI international film festival which was perfectly timed during our stay and allowed us to see a range of international films including a fascinating documentary by Werner Herzog examining the death penalty in the States, Death Row; the silly new Whit Stillman flick, Damsels in Distress, and a surprisingly good The International Sign for Choking, which was filmed in Buenas Aires -- along with several films at BA's beautiful planetarium … Wandering along the beautiful tree-lined, cobblestoned streets with pretty colonial buildings and occasional burst of colorful street art.”

La Boca, Buenos Aires (Photo by Iris Willow)

THE TALKING GOURD

Меланхолия

Тупые, Мимолетное

неважно

Melancholia

Stupid, Fleeting

Of no consequence

-Michael Lyons

SWOS senior

Up Bear Creek / 19apr25012

What to do about energy 

& our carbon footprint?

URANIUM-235 … I got a very nice email from a friend who didn’t necessarily disagree with my assessment of the issues involved with nuclear power but wanted me to see the Bill Gates TED talk on our nuclear option, and youtubes of several other respectable thinkers who lean towards nuclear to solve the world’s growing demand for cheap energy in a carbon-constrained future … As a thinker myself, I think I understand the attraction of 20^th Century magic – the ability to “harness” the mysterious atom, that is, make bombs & electricity. We have become the gods our ancestors dreamed of … But I also think Jerry Mander had it right with his books, In the Absence of theSacred: The Failure of Technology and the Survival of the Indian Nations (1991) and Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television (1977) – some technology is bad. We have to make responsible choices – choices for which we agree to be responsible … Two catastrophic black swan events in less than a generation? Waste toxicity that continues emitting on-site killing rays for hundreds of thousands of years? All so we can support a hundred greedy Wall Streets around the world? … Brand me a conservative on this one, but nuclear power’s far too liberal for my blood. Risking our children’s lives on a technology we’re trying to keep out of all but a few hands and which not even Lloyd’s of London would fully ensure? … I’m a Green. I say lets build a resilient energy future in America based on renewables, efficiencies and reductions of use. Let’s downsize our risk & usage, and supersize our security & interdependence.

Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam

BRIE … Funny, I had my first taste of soft-ripened cheese at a German delicatessen out on Church Street in the upper Mission, between Noe Valley and Glen Park. It was the Sixties, and I was in my early-20s. I’d never heard of Brie, but I fell head-over-tongue in love … My Nippon-Brit-Hispanic mom had told us stories of Limburger, and we’d tried it (we three boys called it “stinky cheese”), but we preferred the Liederkranz my Italian dad bought (he shopped and she cooked) – an edible gold tan crust around a semisoft, pale interior with a mildly pungent flavor and distinct aroma that could become unpleasantly ammonia-like with age. But spread on Larraburu Sourdough French Bread, nothing could quite compare. Still, the aroma was strong, and it kept many a friend away from our family treat, which was kind of cool ... Of course, as I started to make the Bay Area gallery and opening party circuit, I looked forward to brie, on crackers, or just neat … Like single-malts, double and triple-cream cheese came even later to my palate. But as a health nut (of sorts – one who always buys organic, when it’s available) the thought of bad fat haunted me. Even as I relished the buttery delights of many an exotic French and Italian double-cream … And then along came Cowgirl Creamery of Pt. Reyes Station with their organic, hand-crafted Mt. Tam triple-cream. Just found some in the Whole Foods (“Whole Paycheck”) store in Boulder this past weekend. On “sale” for $26.95 a pound, but as close to heaven as any food I’ve ingested.

 A TISKET A TASKET … It’s my first big show of baskets – the first time I’ve gotten to hang the ones I’ve hung on to. Truth is, I’ve given most away over the last 16 years of weaving during meetings, conferences, lectures, workshops and public events. But I’ve kept a bunch too. And I think I’m ready to sell some. It’s like my tapestry artist friend Pam Smith of Cortez says – I’d rather see the baskets out and about than moldering in some dark attic … The Norwood opening was Monday the 16^th at the Livery. The show will hang there for several weeks. If you’d like to see it, let me know, and we’ll set up a time to visit the collection. 327-4767

DOVE CREEK PRESS … I first started reading the DoveCreek Press back in the Eighties, when I was editor of the Telluride Times. In those days, editors exchanged subscriptions with regional papers, and we all read each others’ work (a journalism tradition in Colorado from the earliest day). It gave one a great overview of the region. Of course, things were a lot slower then, and smaller. So it was easier to keep in regional touch … Doug and Linda Funk were editors of the Press, and they covered stories in Egnar – the community furthest from Telluride but still in San Miguel County. So it was doubly important to read their paper ... Plus, they always had a brief summary section of headline news in papers from Cortez to Monticello. Sometimes they tossed in bemused and mildly disparaging comments about Telluride -- a favorite pastime in the region. And amazingly, years later, they’re still doing journalism just like they’ve always done… I get pleasure in reading down home community journalism -- using a running commentary to cover county meetings or school board decisions (like the recent inexplicable firing of the school’s decades-long sports icon in what was to be his last year, Coach Ken Soper – and only two wins shy of a state high school coaching record) … I admit to having a bias for blow-by-blow coverage – an older form of news reporting. Rather than focusing on the spotty “big issue” stories that miss all the little stuff … Doug even writes a weekly column, talking about all the little pains and pleasures of rural life. Nothing flashy. Just real life stuff. Phunque’s Desk … The Silverton Standard may be winning all the prizes hereabouts, but I got a real sweet spot for the paper of record in San Miguel County’s far west end.

Ken Salazar hosting a delegation of Colorado county commissioners at his Interior office

KEN SALAZAR … The Interior Secretary (and one of my favorite politicos) is catching heat from Utah’s (Tea Party) Governor Gary Herbert who railed against Ken’s “nonsensical, bass-ackwards, peek-a-boo policy” in reversing the Bush Administration’s decision to fast-track shale and tar sands development and support a stampede to strip-mine two million acres of Western public lands. Herbert called the move “political posturing” and suggested the decision was made with “no science and no data”, conveniently ignoring the Government Accountability Office report that stated quite clearly that the science and the data didn’t support the Bush leasing plan … In an administration of Dem disappointments, Ken’s been an Interior Secretary willing to make some tough calls and come down on the side of the environment.

THE TALKING GOURD

Immorality

When you carry

all your own water

into a house

letting it run free

even to wash hands

seems almost a sin

Up Bear Creek / 13apr25012

A million dollar County surplus?

OR BUDGET WOES? … While a recent Daily Planet story may have given the impression San Miguel County is afloat in money, “San Miguel County Ends 2011 With $1 Million Over Projections,” it’s important to put that accurately reported fact into perspective … We are all in a major downturn, both the private and the public sectors. Have been since 2008. But because of the state-mandated way counties are required to assess and collect property tax (our main source of income in San Miguel County), the effect on county revenues has been delayed. Property taxes actually went up for many people after the 2008 recession. Without going into the details, it’s only now that the full effect of the downturn is starting to hit the county. And projections suggest we will be losing revenue (even as demand for services and the cost of providing them grows) for the next four or five years … So, the county has been tightening its belt, deferring raises, forgoing cost of living salary adjustments – that’s part of why we saw about $600,000 more in revenues and $400,000 less in expenditures than our budget estimates for 2011. That and a big help from the Feds, in the form of a Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) payment larger than we’d expected … And while a 192% increase in interest earnings for 2011 sounds impressive, that only amounted to $22,980 more than projected in actual dollars for county coffers. Plus, as the story noted, property taxes – our main source of income – was down even lower than projections (a worrisome indicator, since our finance staff likes to budget conservatively) … Both the Towns of Telluride and the Mountain Village had to lay off workers. Resort counties like La Plata and Summit have seen layoffs in the double digits. Happily, San Miguel County has been able to avoid laying anyone off, although we’ve let a number of positions go vacant after employees have retired … We’ve built up a year’s operating reserve that we’re going to be drawing on in 2012 and subsequent years to keep the county operating in a reduced but functional mode, while we all try to climb back out of the depression hole – thanks to the housing mortgage scandal and the cost of multiple foreign wars. So, while it might have sounded like the county was bucking the deficit tide most governments are experiencing, that’s not the case. It’s just that our county has prepared well for this rainy day, and the many rainy days to come … Let’s hope we can all go back to regular raises, hiring the five sheriff deputies and two county road workers we’re down, and the slow but sustained growth that is the mark of an economically healthy community.

SEAN MCNAMERA … I’ve long been a fan of “The View”. Like Peter Shelton, another of the region’s sterling columnists, Sean writes about his life here in the mountains or about his travels, and his stories are delightfully written, full of good sense and humor, and invariably captivating … A recent piece, “Hitchhike to glory,” reminded me of how I too, at 66, still hitchhike around the region -- when a car is being fixed, or at other odd times. I actually treasure those moments. Time to touch base with folks I wouldn’t meet otherwise. Stories I wouldn’t otherwise hear … When I was a young hippie, hitching was my main mode of transit. I was only marginally in the money economy. These days I’m part of the economic mainstream. But I still appreciate the generosity of drivers who share their big cars with a stranger (or a friend). And writers like McNamera who write about it so gracefully.

Co-chair Bill Bartlett and Telluride's John Wontrobski at the Green Party State Convention in Carbondale (photo by Goodtimes)

GREEN PARTY … Green Party delegates from eight chapters around Colorado assembled in Carbondale’s Third Street Center for the annual State Convention to cheer on Dr. Jill Stein and six state candidates, including a unanimous endorsement of my own candidacy for re-election. Two new chapters were accepted – one in the Pike’s Peak Region and another in Douglas County (there are currently 9 active chapters in the state currently, including the San Miguel Greens in this county and the Southwest Colorado Greens in Montezuma County … Other candidates affirmed at the convention include Steve Schecter for County Commissioner (Dist. 1) in Gunnison County, vying for Dem. Paula Swenson’s seat; Karyna Lemus running for El Paso County Commissioner (Dist. 2); Brad Harris for El Paso County Commissioner (Dist. 4); Victor Forsythe for Denver’s State House District 5; Misha Luzov for U.S. Congressional Seat in district 5, Susan Hall for U.S. Congressional Seat in District 2; and Gary Swing for U.S. Congressional District 1, held by Dem. Diana DeGette … Bill Bartlett of Greeley and I were re-elected state co-chairs for this election year, and Greens agreed to move from a listserve to a forum for Council deliberations and other business between state party meetings.

DR. JILL STEIN … Massachusetts physician turned Green politician is finally speaking truth to power in this country. You may not have heard her name, but you will recognize her New Deal platform ... Makes more plain sense, from what I’ve heard, than any Repub or Demdat … Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama -- the two-party see-saw makes the lifeboat bankers more secure, as it cuts loose the Titanic’s safety nets … Let’s do more than just hope for change. This time let’s put a woman in the White House who gets it and has a plan … According to Stein, the 1980s began 30 years of what she called "The Stolen Decades" in which the real wages and purchasing power of the average American worker began to flatline, and the wages of corporate CEOs shot up dramatically. "We need major policy changes to bring economic security to the working people of America," Stein asserted. "The fundamental flaws of an economic policy dictated by Wall Street are apparent, even if they have sometimes been masked by periods of apparent growth that were actually financed by unsustainable credit card and housing debt. Wealth that should be invested in our local economy to create jobs is being put in the hands of the super rich who build factories abroad instead. Families disintegrate while the income of the richest few surges upward. This is changing America in a way that we must not accept."

THE TALKING GOURD

Dear God,

I want

not to want.

How do I ask for that?

-Patrick Curry

Carbondale