Mile High Heart – Fly Southwest

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say few people reading this post will care much about Southwest Airlines new “Mile High Heart” Denver ad campaign. But seeing as I’m flying SWA Flight 1864 out of DIA tonight, I’m gonna comment on it anyhow.  Humor me.

 

Mile High Heart - SWA ad.
Love Southwest. Love Denver. Warms my heart.

 

Full DP story, if you’re interested, is here. The gist of it is, United took a nasty swipe at Southwest in one of their recent local ads, and this is Southwest’s more-or-less warm cuddly response.

For the record, I used to fly Frontier a lot, but Southwest just has a much wider array of departures for not a lot higher fare. And I wouldn’t fly United, American, or Delta if you paid me to – mostly because their hubs are located far from us here in Denver – so there’s that. In any case, bon voyage, air-travelers. If you’re passing through DIA tonight, I’ll be seeing you with my Mile High Heart on my sleeve. And if not – well – fly Southwest anyways!

 

Mile High Heart

And lest you think my SWA preoccupation is just a flash in the pan, see one of my first-ever posts, from July 2018, here.  It’s just nuts!

Keep Cool Guys

Sending cooling thoughts to those in the sweltering Northwest today. They have endured an unprecedented string of triple-digit days, while we here in CO have enjoyed below-average temps and frequent showers all week long. Keep cool, guys!

 

Keep Cool Guys - Roxborough Park.
Roxborough Park. Photo credit: RGW.

 

Keep Cool Guys - South Platte.
South Platte. Photo credit: Andy Marquez.

 

 

 

 

 

No worries, Ben says it was only 111 in Portland yesterday.

Nothing But Humor

For those of you who were hoping for in-depth news analysis or reporting on the latest hike… sorry. Today it’s nothing but humor.  Somehow you’ll just have to make do.

Nothing But Humor - 2 treats Nothing But Humor - barn owl.

 

After all, age is just a number. Right?

Lightning Strike

There was a lightning strike near Mt. Falcon this week – see DP story here – and it started a small wildfire in steep terrain behind Red Rocks Amphitheater just west of Denver. Jeffco firefighters called in air support, and a water drop seemed to do the trick. But then the wind picked up and increasing smoke told a different tale. So the next day, hot shots hiked in and dug a trench around the now-2-acre fire, and that was that.  Heavy rains yesterday made sure there was going to be no tragic third act to this play. All’s well that ends well – right?

This time of year in this part of the country, lightning strikes and wild fires go together like Mom and apple pie. Given that Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod way back in 1752, John B. Walker should have known better when he built his dream house atop Mt. Falcon early in the 20th century. Alas, Walker’s edifice lasted only 9 years before it was reduced to rubble by lightning and fire. You can read the whole story here, and see below for my photo from today’s Mt. Falcon hike for what remains over a century later.

 

Lightning strike - Walker ruins
Built in 1909, Walker’s estate burned down in 1918 after a lightning strike and fire.

 

Lightning Strike - today's forecast

 

Plenty of lightning forecast for today. If only John B. Walker had paid closer attention to his weather app, things might have turned out different.

 

US 285 South seen from the Parmalee trail on Mt. Falcon.

 

Those of you who know the area know that Parmalee Gulch Road goes past a delightful ever-changing sign at the Indian Hills Community Center. Many more iterations of this sign can be found in a past post – here.

 

Indian Hills sign
Hit snooze, but don’t forget that lightning rod!

Fog That Obscures – Where’s My Ball?

With the easing of mask mandates as the pandemic nears its end, Merriam Webster serves up what may be the perfect Word of the Day: “Miasma.”

 

miasma

noun – mye-AZ-muh

1 : a vaporous exhalation formerly believed to cause disease; also : a heavy vaporous emanation or atmosphere.

2 : an influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt; also : an atmosphere that obscures : fog.

 

Fog That Obscures
“Where’s my ball?”

 

Fog That Obscures
“Where’s my road?”

Waterfowl

It’s been a good couple of days for waterfowl in the canyon.

Not sure, but I think they’re all ducks.

 

Waterfowl

Waterfowl - ducks. Waterfowl - ducks.

Well, except for that last one of course.

🙂

Eavesdropping

There’s a wonderful piece by Sarah Larson in the current New Yorker about eavesdropping. You can read it all, here – or just the intro, below. It’s a must-read for those who like to listen in, and for those – like me – who love to record what they’ve overheard.

 

There are two kinds of overheard conversations. The kind you try to avoid, and the kind that inspire eavesdropping. I’ve been tracking that second species all my life.

I still remember good lines from Paris, in 2019 (“I don’t care what the blood test says—he’s my son”). And Albuquerque, in 1992 (“So the mayor goes, ‘How was I supposed to know he was a convicted felon? Don’t all hot-dog vendors look like convicted felons?’ ”)…. East Village, 2009: “Most ophthalmologists are schnooks.” Seventh Street, 2014: “He has a passion for pizza, and I’m not going to argue with it.” Smoker outside of a downtown bar, 2015: “Nobody can ever Google me, because there’s a million hits for the political prisoner with my name.”

The best lines provide several little thrills at once: a sketch of character, a hint of story, the joy of feeling like you understand the rest. Like a Norman Rockwell painting, they’re obvious yet mysterious, conveying too much and too little in a single moment.

 

Eavesdropping Rockwell

********

 

Norman Rockwell’s preoccupation with eavesdropping aside, all of this set me to thinking about the origin of the word itself. It turns out to be a bit surprising. The Merriam Webster version of the derivation is below.

 

Originally this word had nothing to do with snooping. Eavesdrop started off literally. First it referred to the water that fell from the eaves of a house. Then it came to mean the ground where that water fell. Eventually, eavesdropper described someone who stood within the eavesdrop of a house to overhear a conversation inside. Over time, the word obtained its current meaning: “to listen secretly to what is said in private.”

 

********

 

So, there you have it. Now get out there and start listening. All things considered, maybe best to stand under the eaves to hear what’s being said inside. And if it’s raining, not a half bad way to stay dry.

 

 

 

Happy Flag Day – Long May It Wave

Happy Flag Day, y’all:  Long may it wave. In honor, a couple of memorable pix. The original stars ‘n bars. A latter day Betsy Ross at the onset of the pandemic sewing masks, not flags. Flag hung from the end of a firefighter’s hook ‘n ladder in the park by Chipeta Elementary on the one-year anniversary of the Waldo Canyon fire. Mountain Shadows neighborhood, circa late June 2012.

 

Happy Flag Day - Chipeta Park Happy Flag Day - Stars 'n Bars

Happy Flag Day - Stoneridge.
Remember: It’s fire season in the West.

We will never forget.