Pulitzer

My friend Steve Starr passed away last night due to complications from ALS. He was 79. Steve was a 3rd Order Franciscan brother. But he was best known as a photojournalist who won the Pulitzer Prize for his AP news photo of armed protesters exiting the student union at Cornell after a tense standoff in April ’69.

 

Pulitzer, 1970.
A bit of history on this signed photo is here.

 

I know Steve was in process of writing an autobiography, but I’m not sure if he had a chance to finish it. His website, here, shows a selection of his work, which included a stint as personal photographer for Franklin Graham. For my money, Steve’s best shots are ones of children. In particular I remember the photo on his Christmas card one year: It was taken in an Egyptian cave by firelight showing a newborn being held in the air by a jubilant young father. The backstory is that these desperately poor Coptic Christians live in spaces hollowed out underneath huge mounds of garbage on the outskirts of Cairo. I still get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Steve always led Saturday Morning Men’s Bible Study @GSS Episcopal in Colorado Springs. And man, did he ever come prepared. Not that we all always bought in to his beloved evangelical commentaries. But leavened with his sweet spirit? Let’s just say, it was much easier to take than might otherwise have been the case.

 

An old newsroom joke about the Pulitzer being awarded to him was told, Starr remembers. “Well, now at least the first three words of your obituary are already written,” they told him.

 

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RIP, Steve. Well done, good and faithful.

But who will bring the Barclays on Saturday mornings now?

“All the darkrness in the world

cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

—  St. Francis of Assisi

More on St. Francis is here.

Confession

I have a confession to make. When I read stories about the Pope’s recent anti-gay gaffe, I had to Google the term “frociaggine.” And even then I was confused. The PinkNews website, for instance, had this to say:

 

The term “frociaggine,” which Pope Francis reportedly used to refer to gay men, is an f-pejorative in the Italian language. The Italian word roughly translates to the derogatory term, “f****t”. While the word literally means a bundle of sticks and was used in the 19th century to describe older women who gathered firewood, it has since taken on negative connotations to describe gay men.

 

Confession: "Frociaggine means firewood gatherers."
The firewood of our labors? I’m so confused.

 

While I was in the firewood business for over 20 years, I’ve gotta say, both “f-pejorative” and “f****t” still had me stymied. “Fucknut,” maybe?

 

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Confession of a one-time peach picker.

 

Many moons ago when I was still in HS, I worked side-by-side with my dad and uncle @WolfBrothersFruitFarms. One hot summer’s day we were taking a break from picking peaches, sitting on overturned peach baskets in the shade. There we rested, getting a drink of cold water in cups filled from a common plastic picnic jug. And somehow – for the life of me I can’t remember the conversational context anymore – my uncle used the term “n*gger.” It wasn’t meant as malicious. It was for him as natural as the sweat rolling off our brows.

Something in the expression on my face must have alerted him to the gaffe. “You don’t like that term?” We had just been making casual conversation. And I, not interested in opening up a can of worms, said only “Nope.” That was it. We went back to picking peaches. I will say this, however: He never used that term in my presence again. And frankly, that’s good enough for me.

My dad and my uncles were raised by parents born in the 1890’s. My grandfather never thought twice about using a term like “n*gger.” Just like he never thought twice about beating the misbehavior out of his sons with an apple switch. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” was not for him an abstract aphorism. It was a hard fact of daily life. But times change. And this truth remains: We carry the past around with us where ever we go. Sometimes, things slip out. That doesn’t change filial ties. It also doesn’t change the progress of history. Sometimes the best you can do is just take a long drink of cold water, go back to picking peaches, and give it more time. 

 

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That’s what I’m going to do with the Pope. Lord knows, if anybody deserves some slack, it’s him. After all, he’s the one who said shortly after the start of his papacy in 2013, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” If that was good enough for him then, it’s good enough for me now. At least it’s a helluva lot better than what most of his predecessors had to offer. And to those who take a hard line against him on this, I guess I’d say the following: If you’re looking for a vanguard of change in the culture wars and hoping to find it in the Catholic Church, you’re bound to be disappointed. C’mon, get real: Some of us have been picking up sticks of firewood for a very long time.

Also, picking peaches.

You can tell a lot about a person’s past from what slips out of their mouth. Thankfully, that’s not got a lot to do with where we’re all headed. This is my confession. And you can quote me on that too, Padre.

Gonna Miss You

Bill Walton died yesterday. I didn’t even know he had prostate cancer. He was only 71. There are lots of retrospectives, and plenty of quotes. I leave it to you to find ones that suit you. The one from CBS Sports is here. No Bill Walton story would be complete without at least a mention of his college coach @UCLA, John Wooden. A few of their mutual bon mots spring immediately to mind.

 

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UCLA basketball had a no-facial-hair policy back in the day. When Walton – a notorious free spirit – told Coach Wooden he was going to grow a beard, the coach’s reply was delivered with his trademark wicked deadpan: “Bill, I respect people who stand up for what they believe… and the team is gonna miss you.” Walton waited until going pro with the Portland Trailblazers before growing out that awful red thatch.

 

Maybe Wooden had a point.

 

A three-time NCAA POY, Walton in his prime was perhaps the best college basketball player ever. He still holds the NCAA Championship game scoring record for his 44-point performance against Memphis in the 1973 Final. In that game, he shot 21-of-22 from the field. His coach’s post-game comment was classic: “Bill, I used to think you were a good player until you missed that shot.”

Last word goes to Walton himself. Speaking at Wooden’s funeral, regarding their notoriously stormy relationship:  “I’m sorry I drove the poor guy to an early grave when he was 99.”

 

Gonna miss you, Bill.
Yes Bill, we’re all certainly gonna miss you.

 

 

Wee Bit Nip

Today’s Winston K Walker Loop hike from the O’Fallon Park trailhead  off state highway 74 near Kittredge was a wee bit windy and a wee bit nip. Well, at least when you got up near the ridge line it was. Down in Bear Creek Canyon it was fine. And, truth to tell, the weather was much nicer today – over Memorial Day weekend – than it was last time I was up here back in January.

At least now the snow and ice are gone. So, no need for crampons, hiking poles, or an ice axe today. There’s still plenty of that kind of terrain available this time of year above tree line for those that want it. But as for me, I much prefer a wee bit nip to freezing your butt off cold. Oh, and also, it’s preferable to having to crab-walk down the steeper stretches to avoid going ass over teakettle on the ice. I know, I know – call me crazy. Call me a wimp. Call me anything you like. I’m good with it.

 

Wee Bit Nip, and still plenty of snow above tree line.

 

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I will say this much, though: I was very glad to get out on the trail and be done with my hike early before the holiday hordes descended. Parking was at a premium. At Corwina Park trailhead, where there are only 9 spaces – it’s like trying to park at Trader Joe’s even on the best of days – today there were at least 18 cars in there.  Half of those fools are going to end up with parking tickets when they’re finished. At Lair o’the Bear, it was even worse, with many cars toting mountain bikes waiting in a long line for someone to pull out so they could pull in. Ah the joys of fresh air and getting away from it all.

 

 

Maybe if you’d like to accompany me we can come back again next January. You know, after the crowds have died down. Just remember to bring your ice axe and crampons. No sense going ass over teakettle if you can avoid it.   😉

Unremarkable

Today’s down-and-back hike along the crest of Chatfield Dam was utterly unremarkable except for the following.

  1. My better half accompanied me. That’s always cause for celebration.
  2. Fishing and boating season is in full swing, so the scene on the water was definitely hopping. There was even one brave water-skier. Brrrr!
  3. We witnessed an aerial duel between a few raptors and some pelicans. The raptors – probably red-tailed hawks – did not seem to appreciate lumbering water-fowl invading their airspace. The bigger birds were quickly dispatched.
  4. We were passed by a peleton of spandex-clad bikers who seemed in a hurry for some reason. Relax, guys! It’s not a race! (Well, maybe for them it was.)

 

Unremarkable shot from the crest of Chatfield Dam.
OK, maybe I was wrong: Some days even an unremarkable hike deserves a few remarks.

 

It’s already the 26th in Timor-Leste, so Happy 33rd to RGW.

Miss you, girl!

Stock Photos

On today’s hike, I forgot my phone. Therefore, all images here are stock photos. Each of them was triggered by actual things I saw on the trail today, but none of the photos are mine. So sue me.

First up is a raptor that screamed at me walking by. Since red-tailed hawks are much better-mannered than that, I’m guessing this was a screaming eagle.

Stock photo of a screaming eagle.
A Bald Eagle screams that we may be too close to her nest:  ‘Tis the season.

 

Next up were a pair of border collies being walked by a single hooman.

Cute pups, eh?

 

And a pair of female horseback riders I’d seen before on this trail.

Matched pair of horses and riders.

 

Last but not least, one very large horned owl, blinking and swivel-necked, looking sternly perturbed from their perch in a cottonwood.

 

I also saw a few mountain bikers, but we don’t need to encourage them with any stock photos. Just imagine some spandex-clad fitness-freak shouting “On your left!” from 3′ behind you as they zoom past and you’ll get the picture.

 

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Extra credit if you can name the trail using only my descriptions along with these stock photos. If the suspense is killing you, click the link, here.

Yer welcome.

Watch vs Warning

Watch vs Warning - sidewalk
Quick, someone tell Shel Silverstein!
Truth in labeling: Only kind I buy now.
What exactly is being inflated here?

Watch vs Warning - cake.
Watch vs Warning. Now you know.

 

 

Canis

This will be a short one because I’m not 100% sure what I saw on today’s Rampart Range Road hike. But I did get a pic. You’ll have to expand it to see the pertinent detail: Dead center at the base of the largest tree trunk. To my eye that’s definitely Canis-something. But beyond that…?

 

Canis
Canis lupus? C. latrans? You make the call.

 

Current CPW Collared Gray Wolf Activity map as of 2 days ago is here, with details below. According to CPW’s map, the re-introduced Colorado wolves are still a bit west and north of us. But they are definitely headed our way. And they travel up to 30 miles a day. Just in case you were wondering.

 

Collared Gray Wolf Activity for the month of April 23, 2024 – May 21, 2024.

 

Details

 

  • ​​Map was created using GPS data from all functioning collars in CO.
  • ​Two of the ten collars placed on wolves translocated in December are no longer providing signals to CPW biologists. This includes the collar that failed in March and an additional collar that was partially functional in March but has since failed. The animals with the failed collars are traveling with other animals with functional collars, which currently allows CPW to monitor those animals.  
  • Wolf 2303-OR was found deceased on April 18, 2024, in Larimer County. The initial necropsy report found the cause of death was trauma, consistent with predation. (Probably a mountain lion attack.) Full necropsy was performed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which will release their final report upon completion. ​
  • ​​​​​Wolves still remain above I-70, even though two watershed areas highlighted are slightly below the I-70 highway line.

 

 

Grape Nuts

Grape Nuts, After Party, Day Drinkers, and more.

I gotta say, “Grapes of Wrath” is pretty clever.

 

Grape Nuts
Scientology? Hoo Boy!

Where were YOU in 1965, hmmmm?