A “bucket list” for smaller things

When people talk about “bucket lists” they’re usually referring to fairly major things they’ve always wanted to do- climb Mt Everest, run a marathon, learn to fly an airplane, tour Europe’s art museums, etc. I don’t know if there’s a term for the lesser things we’ve been wanting to do, but some of those things pop up in my mind every so often… one of them is to visit the Air Force Chapel in Colorado Springs. It’s one of the most famous buildings in Colorado, and seems to elicit strong reactions from visitors- Frank Lloyd Wright once called it an “abomination on stilts” (the photos I’ve seen gave me a better impression). I’ve seen it from a distance (Interstate 25) plenty of times, but have always been passing through town with a schedule that didn’t allow for a stop there. One of these days… after the renovation project they’re starting this month. Anyway, what are some of your “less significant bucket list” items? Who knows, they might matter more than you think- I can’t count the number of times when a small side trip somewhere or a somewhat mundane new activity led to something more interesting…

A post 9-11 post

I’ve heard a lot on social media about how crooked and corrupt law enforcement officers are. They’re no less human than anyone else, so it stands to reason that the ratio of stupid, reactionary jerks to decent people is roughly the same as it is in the general population. The thing is, though, that while there’s no shortage of the former in this country there are more of the latter. First responders have a job which would give most civilians PTSD from a small fraction of what those responders cope with on a regular basis. And, being human, those responders sometimes suffer for it. And they make mistakes, as we all do. Your fire, police, and EMS professionals and volunteers are not getting rich from the work they do, but society wouldn’t last very long without them. People sometimes wonder if, given what we now know about the illnesses and deaths from exposure at ground zero, any of those first responders wouldn’t have gone in, but you can bet every one of them would have done exactly what they did.

New label… same old story

The term “progressive” gets used rather often these days around my city (Boulder, CO), and it usually refers to folks who are socially liberal, tolerant, and generally want a more sustainable, less toxic world. OK, great- I guess I’d count myself in that demographic, and many people reading this probably would as well. But there can be a darker side (you knew this was too good to be true, right?) and left-leaning people are the targets of con artists as often as right-leaning people. It’s pretty easy to see how foolish the Trumpsters look when they swallow all the silly things the president says, but when a developer comes to town and says they’re promoting environmentalism and sustainability through high-end real estate and significantly increasing the population of the city (and compounding every problem longtime residents thought they’d escaped by living here) it seems a number of us don’t realize we’re being manipulated. The term “progressive” was also used on the Navajo Nation back in the 1980s by modernization advocates to soften the perception of people involved in the relocation of traditional tribe members from their ancestral lands so Peabody Coal could increase strip mining (I wouldn’t compare the situation of people on a reservation with Boulder residents in any way other than to illustrate the variability of the label). Another way the well-funded development interests have affected life in our city is through the significant reduction in affordable commercial space- pretty much every one of those large new buildings sits on a place which used to house local businesses, like yoga studios (my partner taught in one which moved to make way for the new Google complex), music stores (my friend owns one which moved to make way for the same complex) and many other non-chain stores, all of which now face higher overhead and lower profit margins due to the reduction in available space. The photo above is from 27th and Pine in Boulder, and used to house my favorite auto parts and tire store- whatever gets built there next isn’t likely to be nearly as useful to me (or my automotive customers) as what was there before. These days, the term “progressive” is taking on baggage I’d rather not carry.