Daniel E Wolf
I’m off Facebook again. Last time it was for 3 years. This time it’ll probably be at least until the end of the Biden Administration. In any case, I don’t miss it much, but I do occasionally sneak out there under my wife’s ID. Mostly that’s just so I can catch up on what’s posted on High Church Coyote. Here’s the latest. <Sorry honey!>
I included my own shot of Winslow along with the Bernie meme just to prove I was there. Also, it’s rarely cold enough in Arizona for mittens, but I digress.
You know what’s the great thing about hiking? No greens fees. Also, if you go in winter, you’re unlikely to run into many other people. That is why my 4-hour Old Mill hike in Staunton State Park yesterday was so cool. Nothing against greens fees or other people, but for just the low low price of a 1500′ elevation gain, I got to be out in the fresh air enjoying the views without having to worry about catching a deadly virus. Who could ask for anything more? Well, other than straight drives and accurate putts, that is.
And as an added bonus, you get a bit of local history for free.
Staunton has only been a State Park since 2013. Before that it was Staunton Ranch. It has tons of amenities like a nice new visitor center (which I did not visit) and great-smelling toilets (which I did visit – twice). For those with more of a death-wish than I currently have, there is also ample opportunity to climb hundreds of feet straight up vertical granite cliffs on the Staunton property. Me personally, I wouldn’t have tried this even in my misguided youth. The near-45-degree 1-mile climb up to the Old Mill was plenty for me, thank you very much. But hey, whatever floats your boat. Go ahead, knock yourself out. Just be careful, because paths are icy in spots and the State Parks System makes it clear they are not responsible for any injury you incur – up to and including being beaned by a stray golf ball. Ahem.
Some of you may feel sense of relief over the fact that I’ve not been lecturing on etymology for quite a while now. Others – not naming any names here – may actually miss it. Me personally, I think it’s been far too long since we’ve had a good old-fashioned WOTD. So, without further ado, here’s today’s good word from Merriam Webster: Insouciance. And just in case you were wondering, that means “lighthearted unconcern” or “nonchalance.” Not that anybody needed a lecture. Ahem.
While it’s one thing to be a couple of trustafarians taking a year off waiting for your luxury Florida mansion to finish construction – you can read the full Javanka story from Vanity Fair, here – it’s quite another when you don’t have two nickels to rub together. Having spent far more of my life in the latter condition than the first, you can probably guess where my true sympathies lie. But hey, no worries. In the spirit of lighthearted unconcern, let’s evince insouciance and let bygones be bygones. You know: “Devil May Care” rather than “Devil Take The Hindmost.” Get it? Got it. Or, to quote the byline from Vanity Fair…
“WE ALL COULD USE A VACATION AFTER THAT”
Amen.
Bet you thought I was gonna say “for Inaugurations,” right? But, nope. It’s been a good week for New Yorker cartoons – only one of which is even vaguely partisan. So enjoy from whichever side of the aisle you’re currently sitting.
“Would you worry less about your relationship if I told you we’re about to get hit by a giant asteroid?”
“The following contains scenes of people not accepting what they cannot change. Viewer discretion is advised.”
“I am wearying of the crew’s constant repetition of the same old sea shanties.”
Awww, what the heck. It was also a good week for inaugurations. And my favorite piece on that is here if you really wanna read it. But the cartoons are still yours to enjoy with or without the hard news. Because that’s just how we roll here at dewconsulting.net/blog. Yeah, yer welcome.
I know, I know: We just had MLK Day earlier this week. But for those who live in states where MLK’s birthday was once not recognized – yeah, I’m talkin’ to YOU New Hampshire and Arizona – you can read all about it here. Or for those who live in states where MLK Day is slyly paired with Robert E. Lee’s birthday – most notably Idaho, Alabama, and Mississippi: I have a counter proposal. This should appeal to those who are looking for something a little bit grittier and harder-edged. So hear me out, y’all.
A new POTUS gets inaugurated at most only once every four years, right? So here’s my idea for a new national holiday in late January that we can celebrate every single year: National Shadenfreude Day. What’s that, I hear you ask? Well, from the WOTD archives of Merriam Webster comes this borrowing from the German that should appeal to the inner-National-Socialist in each of us.
Schadenfreude – noun, often capitalized.
From the German: Schaden damage + Freude joy.
A gleeful sense of pleasure in someone else’s pain.
Or, enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.
Think about it for a minute. We already have Lincoln’s National Day of Thanks enshrined on the last Thursday in November – you can see a previous post on that topic from my 62nd birthday, here. And we’ve already got MLK Day, however watered-down, as described above. What could be more fitting – indeed, what could be more American – than a new national holiday celebrating the misfortunes of others? I mean, if you’re looking for something to join us together in a spirit of national unity here at the sunset of the Trump-era, well folks, surely this is it. After all, nothing unifies like a sense of shared pain. And nothing satisfies quite like that special sense of glee over the pains of others.
Am I right? C’mon, Proud Boys: Let’s hear it!
So then, National Shadenfreude Day it is.
As the sun sets on the Trump Era….
Long may it reign.
Trigger Warning: This is satire. If that bugs you, may
I suggest you re-read Swift’s A Modest Proposal.
Then, go get over yourself. And remember:
Only 1460 days until the next inauguration.
That is true for both sides of the aisle.
It’ll all be over before you know it.
Credit for inspiration of National Schadenfreude Day goes to radostdg.
Only the errors – and the grittier bits of satire – are mine.
Mea Culpa.
I’m headed to the Golden State next weekend. I’m gonna clean the kitchen and a couple bathrooms. Gotta prep for our next Airbnb guests.
Maybe I’ll see how the local real estate market is doing.
Also I’m gonna head on over to Midtown Farmers Market. Open year round! Pick up some flowers and fresh fruit. Pet the family-friendly canines.
.
Might check out my favorite Midtown coffee shop for some high octane java and leftover Christmas swag.
If I’m really lucky, I’ll get in a walk on the levee come sundown.
I might even hug some trees. You just never know.
Don’t worry, Rocky Mountain friends. I’m headed to the Golden State Friday. But I’ll return before it even snows enough to cross-country ski.
Count on it.
Today I figure we all need a break from the heavy news cycle. So, for your enjoyment, here is the lighter side. It IS Friday after all. Just, don’t get used to it. I’m sure if something bad doesn’t happen by the start of the weekend, at least by next Monday we’ll have SOME fresh horror.
Happy Friday anyway!
Gotta love Dorothy Parker.
Book of Common Prayer, Proper 28 The Sunday closest to Nov. 16
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Note that the majority of those in the following videos are Republicans.
https://nyti.ms/2JRIIGi
https://nyti.ms/3bhyDxS
https://nyti.ms/3hRKuUE
Their words, not mine.
So. where do YOU stand?
A simple “yea” or “nay” will do.
Go ahead, take your time….
Operators are standing by.
DP coverage, here.
BCP Proper 28, here.
A remembrance, here.
May God continue to bless these UNITED States of America.
Stay strong, and be off good cheer.
Also, this:
So very proud today on behalf of all our friends in Georgia. Especially US Army vet, Grace Church alum, health care worker, and make-up artist extraordinaire Jillian Morales and family. Way to go, guys. We just couldn’t be prouder. Happy Epiphany, y’all!
In yesterday’s post I mentioned a hike “across the mountain and down the canyon.” Today I thought I’d flesh that out a bit with a blurb from the Roxborough Park Foundation newsletter, Hike of the Month, November 2014. It’s called “Trail 19,” and thereby hangs a tale. First, the trail. Then, the tale.
Roxborough Park Foundation – A unique residential community, committed to living in harmony with nature.
Volume 9, Issue 11 November 7, 2014
Hike of the Month – Trail 19 to Bear Meadow
This hike is very different from most of the other hikes featured in this article. The main reason for the difference is that this hike takes the adventurer out of Roxborough Park and into the wilds of Pike National Forest. We will feature the start of this hike again in future articles because once you start on this hike the options become almost limitless. If you have a lot of spunk you could walk to Durango from this entry to Pike National Forest. But I get ahead of myself.
To begin this walk make your way to Raven Run. It is a little over 3 miles from the entrance of Roxborough on the west side of Roxborough Drive. It is a cul-de-sac with limited parking for residents. At the west end of the cul-de-sac, between two drive-ways, you will see a trail heading along a drainage ditch. Please be courteous on this first stretch of the trail. You are walking on an easement granted to the community by private landowners. Keep your dogs on their leashes and be respectful of the private land.
The first stretch is steep, very steep. In fact you will find a series of stairs, lots of stairs to get you up into the forest. These steps were put in place by your neighbors at a trail workday several years ago. Once you get to the top, congratulate yourself, catch your breath and continue left up the trail. This section takes you up a gradual incline around the corner and into the pine forest. The trail continues through a few aspen groves and pines until you reach a high spot in about a third of a mile. Look up. You should be under power lines. If you ever get lost back here in the forest look for the power lines and follow them to this spot: they are a great beacon.
You will notice at the power lines you can go left, right or straight. I like to call this the crossroads. In future articles we will go the other two ways but for this hike we are going straight. You will descend the trail through the pines. After about a mile from the start you will break out and see beautiful Bear Meadow (at least that is what I call it). You will notice remnants of an old ranch or miners’ camp depending on the storyteller. Continue through the grassy meadow until you reach an occasional creek. This is the turnaround spot. Total round trip distance is about 3 miles. Of course you can continue, but we would suggest having maps and a GPS. The trail does continue to Waterton Canyon but please be prepared…
The rest of the hike from this point on to the top of Waterton Canyon is an easy uphill half mile, followed by a rather steep downhill mile and a half. At that point you arrive at Strontia Springs Reservoir, and it’s all a gradual downhill on a graded dirt road following the South Platte River six-and-a-half miles to the Waterton parking lot.
This time of year you need micro-spikes or Yak Trax to negotiate the ice on the stairs at the start. Other than that, it’s a piece of cake, and takes a total of three-and-a-half hours at a fairly brisk walking pace. With the sun going down around 4PM this time of year, it’s best to start out by noon. Otherwise you might end up needing a headlamp for the last mile or so.
The guy who lives at the end of Raven Run at the start of the stairs is a certified kook. The Roxborough Park Foundation negotiated the easement along his property, hence all the “be courteous and respectful” lingo in the newsletter write-up above. But even with that, he used to take it upon himself to regularly call the Douglas County Sheriff on people hiking Trail 19 whenever he didn’t like the cut of their jib. For instance, he once chased my daughter and her college roommate down the street with his hand-held video camera as they were finishing a hike and I was waiting for them on Raven Run in my car. As a result of all the hullabaloo, the Douglas County Sheriff now has a restraining order against him for harassing hikers.
That still didn’t stop him from shouting down from his second floor balcony at me last Sunday. He commented about the “California plates” on my Chrysler parked on Raven Run, and informed me “this is not a public trail.” I told him that – despite the out-of-state plates – I was a Roxborough resident with all the appropriate stickers on my windshield and I also informed him I was a member of the trails committee who had helped build portions of Trail 19 in past years. He told me “be careful on the ice.” I told him “have a nice day.” Ahem.
I guess it’s one thing to “live in harmony with nature,” quite another to deal with kooks shouting down from balconies – or chasing you with a video camera. But the fact of the matter is, by the time I reached “Bear Meadow” last Sunday, the kook on Raven Run was only a distant memory. Hiking will do that for ya. Which is why I highly recommend it in all seasons. Well, at least if you come equipped with the proper winter footwear. And the proper neighborly attitude, year-round.
