G. Eldon Smith's Blog: My Thoughts, page 3

Thoughts and Opinions

Quotes
A Christmas Story has always meant a lot to me personally. ~Peter Billingsley

Jean Shepherd was a great writer and narrator. I remember listening to his stories on PBS, Sunday nights. I am glad he was able to see so many of his stories amalgamated into A Christmas Story, the movie.
~G. Eldon Smith

Traffic Stop
Cop: Reverend, have you been drinking?
Reverend: Just water, officer.
Cop: Then why do I smell wine?
Reverend: Good Lord ! He's done it again!

Colorado Makes Music
In 1893, at the age of 33, Katherine Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA had taken a train trip to Colorado to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College. As she crossed more than half the country, several of the sights on her trip inspired her, and they found their way into pieces of a poem.

At the top of Pike's Peak, as she observed the vast plains below her, she remembered the snippets of the poem. The words of the poem started to come together for her, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room. The poem was initially published two years later in The Congregationalist to commemorate the Fourth of July. It quickly caught the public's fancy.

Several existing pieces of music were adapted to the poem. A tune composed by Samuel A. Ward was generally considered the best music as early as 1910 and is still the popular tune today. Ward's music combined with Bates's poem were first published together in 1910 and titled "America the Beautiful."
Bates was fortunate since the song's popularity was well established by the time of her death in 1929.

Thoughts and Opinions

Thoughts and Opinions

11/29/2015

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Quotes
A fanatic is one who will not change his mind and will not change the subject. ~Sir Winston Churchill
(Trivia: Winston Churchill was born in a ladies-room at a dance.)

Personal Hygiene
Unlike clothes and shoes, a toothbrush should never be a hand-me-down item.
Plucking unwanted nose hair is a time-consuming job. A cigarette lighter and a small tolerance for pain can accomplish the same goal and save tedious time.
Proper use of toiletries can be used to postpone bathing for several weeks.
Dirt and grease under fingernails alter the tastes of finger foods and tend to detract from a woman's jewelry.
Toenail clippings should be scooped into a neat pile and stored for later pick-up.

Ski Conditions at Representative Colorado Ski Areas

Report current as of: Nov. 27, 2015
. Mid-Mtn. . Lifts Open
Arapahoe 26.0" 4/8
Aspen Mountain 14.0" 3/8
Copper Mountain 20.0" 8/23
Crested Butte 19.0 " 5/15
Eldora 26.0” 7/11
Monarch . 22.0" 4/6
Steamboat 21.0" 5/18
Telluride 28.0” 9/18
Winter Park 25.0” 17/26
Vail 21.0" 11/31
Aspen Highlands(Closed)
Buttermilk(Closed)
Howelsen(Closed)
Powderhorn Mountain Resort(Closed)
Silverton(Closed)
Cooper(Closed)
Sunlight Mountain Resort (closed)

If your area of interest is not listed here, contact them directly, or
go to their website. Their status may have changed after this weekend's snow.

Holiday Shopping
Murder in the Rockies is available at most fine bookstores or you can shop online at electronic book retailers like: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murde...


Words to the Wise
Always say, "Excuse me," after getting sick in someone else's car.
Never take a beer to a job interview or ask if they press charges.

Women skiers
Could (or should) teammates be rivals? Possibly two women from Vail, Colorado will vie for the Overall World Cup Championship this season. Tina Maze of Slovenia and Anna Fenninger of Austria are not racing this year. That leaves Lindsey Vonn as the favorite and Mikaela Shiffrin as a possible challenger. Shiffrin has added Super G to her list of events, which will give her more opportunities to earn overall points. Lindsey Vonn competes in the Super G and Downhill "speed" events.
Shiffrin said, "It is in the back of my mind, honestly. If I ski really well in the GS and the Slalom this year and I get some World Cup points in the Super G, I think the overall is within my reach. Lindsey is a huge favorite."

Thoughts and Opinions

Colorado Ski News

This weekend six ski areas are operating: Arapahoe Basin, Aspen Mountain, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Loveland Ski Area, and Wolfcreek Pass. Fifteen areas have not started their ski seasons yet.

Monarch Mountain has announced they will open November 20. Monday or Tuesday a major snow event is expected, which will certainly help to build some some bases on the runs. Traditionally Thanksgiving is the opening day for most ski areas. In 2015 the Thanksgiving tradition will likely hold. Weather permitting.

News and Rumors from the World of Books
The second Andrew Coyle mystery is looking for an agent to find a publisher for Two Miles High and Six Feet Under (A Tale of Leadville,Colorado, Elevation 10,152 feet above sea level.)

Excerpt
While they waited in line to get off the train, a fellow passenger commented to Coyle, that if Coyle was going to Leadville on business, there had been lots of money made in the Two Mile High City in the ‘80s, but things were a little tight now during the depression. Then he added, “At least Leadville is not the violent town it was in the old days.”

All during the last leg of the trip over Fremont Pass, and into Leadville, Coyle heard the train’s wheels bouncing along, over the narrow-gauge tracks repeating their warning, “Vio-lent town, vio-lent town, vio-lent town…” ~ Two Miles High and Six Feet Under

If you are wondering, "Who is Andrew Coyle?" The first Andrew Coyle mystery, Murder in the Rockies is available at fine book stores and electronic retailers.
http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Rockies-...

Thoughts and Opinions

Quotes
Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind. ~ Mary Baker Eddy
Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors. ~ Norman Cousins


Colorado's Historic Role in Good Health
By the late 1800s, Doctors believed Colorado's year-around sunshine, dry climate, and fresh air was the best treatment for consumption (tuberculosis.) Doctors recommended Colorado rest for their TB patients.

Colorado had a reputation for trying to finding a cure for TB.
Sanitariums sprouted in Denver and across the state,
Because of the number of people with TB and their families who came to Denver for their health, it was nicknamed the "World's Sanitarium."

Montclair was originally developed as a small suburban community east of Denver. The land was purchased and developed by the Montclair Town and Improvement Company in 1885. One of its founders, Matthias P. Cochrane, originally came from Montclair, New Jersey and named the new community in its honor. The other founder, Baron Walter von Richthofen, was a German nobleman and uncle to Manfred von Richthofen, the celebrated World War I flying ace known as the 'Red Baron.' The community was originally designed to attract wealthier residents who were turned off by Denver's "400 saloons and forty Market Street bordellos."

Richthofen built his own home to resemble the castles in Germany. (see picture above) Richthofen's castle stands in modern day Montclair as a historic landmark. Richthofen also built a TB a sanitarium in Montclair with lots of open air for the patients. The sanitarium was built high enough off of the ground to have space below it so that the cows of Richthofen's dairy could walk under it, The methane from the cows was thought to be good for the TB patients.

Cynthia Stout, a history scholar, asserted that by 1900 "one-third of Colorado's population were residents of the state because of tuberculosis, either as patients or patients' families. Thankfully that is no longer true.

Ski News
This past Thursday, Arapahoe Basin and Loveland Ski Area both opened for the ski season. Next weekend Copper Mountain and Keystone Resort will open for their season. Many, if not most, of the other areas plan to start the season two weekends from now, if the snow comes.

Lindsey Vonn came back from Europe and pronounced she is fully recovered from her injury from last year and she is anxious to get started for this season. Vonn is a little disappointed that her home ski area, Eagle-Vail, has not been able to open yet. She may have to train at nearby Copper Mountain.

Fun time
As the apprentice Juggler juggling eggs said to the spectator, "The yoke is on you."

Q: How many Indianapolis Colts does it take to win a Super Bowl?
A: Only one, Peyton Manning, and he plays for the Broncos.

If all is not lost, where is it?

Q: What does a Raiders fan and a bottle of beer have in common?
A: They're both empty from the neck up.

When you're finally holding all the cards, why does everyone else decide to play chess?

Murder in the Rockies
Murder in the Rockies is about a young lawyer who came to Denver in 1893 and takes the murder case of a rancher charged with murdering a miner. Exciting, thrilling, and at times humorous and romantic!

Murder in the Rockies is available at fine book stores and at electronic retailers like Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murde...

Thoughts and Opinions

Quotes
If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased. ~ Katharine Hepburn

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me - they're cramming for their final exam. ~George Carlin

Love conquers all things except poverty and a toothache. ~Mae West


By the Numbers
Your heart pumps approximately 2,000 gallons of blood through its chambers every single day. It beats more than 100,000 times a day to achieve this feat.

You blink about 28,000 time a day with each one lasting just 1/10 of a second.

Bald Eagles rebounded from 412 nesting pairs in 1952 to 9,789 pairs in 2006 because of the banning of the use of certain pesticides, namely DDT.

German U-boats sank 2,000 ships with torpedoes in World War II.

The average person takes around 17,000 breaths a day.

To pump blood up their necks, giraffes have massive hearts that can weigh close to 25 pounds.

Each of your kidneys expels an average of 2.5 pints of urine from your body each day.
(Heavy beer drinkers likely exceed this amount.)

Thoughts and Opinions

Quotes
"There shall be no solution to this race problem until you, yourselves, strike the blow for liberty."
~Marcus Garvey

“I may not be my brother's keeper, but I am my brother's brother.”
~Jeffrey R. Holland

"I knew the shame and dishonor of race hatred. I grew to despise it because it threatened the happiness of you and you and you."
~Governor Ralph Carr

Executive Order 9066

Executive Order Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas

Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined....

Thus after minimal discussion in the U.S. Congress, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an Executive Order that was designed to remove all people of Japanese ancestry, both citizens and non-citizens, from the west coast of the U.S.

Ten weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the removal of any or all people from military areas “as deemed necessary or desirable.” The military in turn defined the entire West Coast, home to the majority of Americans of Japanese ancestry or citizenship, as a military area.

By June, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to remote internment camps built by the U.S. military in scattered locations around the country. Near Granada, Colorado, Camp Amache housed 7,000. In October of 1942, it reached its peak capacity of more than 7500 evacuees, two-thirds of whom were American citizens. During the course of World War II, 10 Americans were convicted of spying for Japan, but not one of them was of Japanese ancestry.

In the midst of fear-triggered-hysteria and out and out racism one Colorado hero stepped up. Governor Ralph Carr spoke about the injustice to the Japanese and welcomed them to the state and urged Coloradans to do the same.

For example, in one speech to a large and hostile audience (made up primarily of worried Colorado farmers), Carr said of the evacuees, "They are not going to take over the vegetable business of this state, and they are not going to take over the Arkansas Valley. But the Japanese are protected by the same Constitution that protects us. An American citizen of Japanese descent has the same rights as any other citizen... If you harm them, you must first harm me. I was brought up in small towns where I knew the shame and dishonor of race hatred. I grew to despise it because it threatened [pointing to various audience members] the happiness of you and you and you."

His stance probably ended Governor Carr's political career.

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn ~folk song of the 60s

The Last Word
We are all time travelers moving at the speed of exactly 60 minutes per hour

If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?

Just about the time when you think you can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.

Comments
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Thoughts and Opinions

Quotes
My time at the Denver Public Schools taught me there is no harder, or more important, job than being a teacher. ~ Senator Michael Bennett

We were living in Denver, Colorado, and I was teaching high school. I asked the kids to write a short story, so I thought I should write some myself. ~Adrian McKinty

Bad News Bears
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Personnel tags mark a bear's first incident of invading human space. If a tagged bear comes back a second time, Wildlife Personnel must euthanize the animal. A tagged sow and her two cubs have been hanging around a Boulder neighbor for weeks and becoming bolder. The neighbors cared about the bears and tried to protect them.

Bear Number 317, the mother bear, was tranquilized and euthanized, as required by law. The two cubs had been weaned. They have a fair to good chance of survival in the wild. The cubs were tagged and will be relocated. The tags mean they have been given a second and last chance.

Fun with words
1. Use the letters in new door to make one word.
2. What do frogs order when they go to a restaurant?
3. The word "listen" contains the same letters as what word ?
4. Once a zulu met a zulu in zulu land. Said the zulu to the other zulu how many z's in that?


More Bad News
An English Bulldog was attacked and killed in a backyard in Lafayette, CO, a town northeast of Boulder, and a little further away from the mountains, the natural habitat of bears and mountain lions. Claw marks indicate the predator had three inch claws.The mauling took place between 11:00 A.M. and noon in a yard fenced in by a six high wooden fence. "It was likely a black bear or mountain lion," said Dept, of Wildlife Rangers.

Did you know?
On the average, right-handed people live 9 years longer than their left-handed counterparts.
Smokers are likely to die an average six and a half years earlier than non-smokers.
(I'm glad I'm not a left handed smoker!)

"Bookkeeper" is the only word in English language with three consecutive Double letters.

A normal person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a Few weeks.


Answers
1. "one word" is the answer
2. French flies
3. silent
4. There are no Zs in "that"

Comments
Leave your comments, questions, and suggestion in Contacting Us in the menu above. Really, we would like to hear from you...and you, and you.

Thoughts and Opinions

Wildlife in Autumn
Elk come to lower attitudes to avoid the harsh winters of the high country place where they spend their summers. While Estes Park at 7,255 feet is not low, to the elk herds that winter there it is a winter resort. Thus local Estes residents make the best of having these uninvited guests by putting on the "Elk Fest" Oct. 4-5.

A former college roommate who now lives in Estes Park and has worked as a volunteer in Rocky Mountain National Park for years, gave us a guided tour of the park. We saw a large bull elk and his harem of about 30 cows and caves. We also heard the cry or bugle of another bull far away as he tried to call together cows. The bugle can not be described. One person in the crowd called it "weird." I guess that is about I close I can come.

Colorado Wildlife representatives warn, "Don't go to close to the animals. If the animals behavior changes you are too close."

Bears on the other hand, hibernate and must fatten up in autumn to survive their long winter sleep. This year much of their natural food has not been as plentiful as is it in normal weather conditions years. Results---

In Aspen, the hardest-hit town, police have received more than 460 calls for help dealing with bears since
July 1, including 15 during one 24-hour period last week. Wildlife officials say the bears are not only comfortable with humans, but are also teaching their cubs to scavenge for fried chicken and candy instead of acorns and berries. Bears aren't dumb. I prefer chicken and candy over acorns and berries any day.

So wildlife officials are begging anyone who encounters a bear in an urban setting to be mean to it: Shout, throw rocks -- anything to make the animals associate people with fear and discomfort instead of greasy treats. ~Wall Street Journal

Mountain Lions are also coming to places where they are not normally seen as they follow deer and other wildlife to their winter homes.

You can't have your cake...Department
Hate to see summer end. Love the colors of autumn. Just when the fishing gets good, then the weather is too cold to fish. Don't need to mow the lawn, shovel snow off of the sidewalk instead. Love the change of seasons but I wish summer would never end. What can a person do?

What they are saying
Here are some reviews of Murder in the Rockies as seen in Amazon

This was an entertaining and informational (!) book to read if you're a fan of historical and western fiction, which I am. From the moment it starts with an action scene to the very last page, it's hard to put down. The author's use of dialogue compares favorably with that of Elmore Leonard, and moves the story along at a good pace. His main character, Andrew Coyle, is believable and likable--you really want him to succeed. The mystery is sustained well throughout the story, and the descriptive settings add just the right notes of realism. I'm glad the next book is coming, and I look forward to it! ~Susan Freeman, author

I found it hard to believe that this is G.Eldon Smith's first novel. His concise writing style moves the story along briskly, yet provides enough period details that I felt I was visiting 1890's Denver. The main character, Andrew Coyle, is a likable young man who headed west to avoid becoming part of the family firm of Philadelphia lawyers. His adventures as a "tenderfoot" provide humor. I also enjoyed the secondary characters, especially Chop Chop Charlie. The murder mystery plot is mysterious almost to the end of the book. There's even a little romance. All in all, I found Murder in the Rockies to be a very worthwhile read. I'm left with only one major mystery-will there be a sequel? I most certainly hope to see one ~Pat

Yes, there is a sequel, Two Miles High and Six Feet Under looking for a publisher.

Thought of the day
Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.

Thoughts and Opinions

Quotes
Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer. ~Henry Lawson
There is no such thing as a bad beer. It's that some taste better than others. ~Billy Carter

Rugby is great. The players don't wear helmets or padding; they just beat the living daylights out of each other and then go for a beer. I love that. ~Joe Theismann

Great American Beer Festival
Denver has just experienced the Great American Beer Festival for the thirty-third year. The festival is presented by the Brewers Association, a not-for-profit educational and trade organization that is devoted to making quality brewing and beer information available. Most people claim they attend the GABF to taste the various kinds and types of beer. These are the same people who claim to read Playboy for the stories.

It took 77 minutes to sell out the public tickets. Over the three days, September 25-27, the anticipated attendance will be 60,000 people tasting 3,500 different beers from brewers representing all 50 states. Brewers are anxious to enter the competition because it is a well established fact that if a beer wins a medal, sales increase dramatically. There will be 242 judges judging the various kinds of beer.

Denver Beer History
Beer is not new to Denver. Gold was discovered in 1858. The first brewery was built in 1859. German settlers soon arrived and started brewing beer. The first two breweries in Colorado were the Rocky Mountain Brewery and Sigi’s Brewery. The Rocky Mountain Brewery established in 1859 eventually becomes the Zang’s Brewery. Sigi’s Brewery established in 1864 evolved into the Tivoli Brewery. In 1900, John Good, the original owner of The Rocky Mountain Brewery, acquires Sigi’s brewery and renamed it Tivoli, after the famous amusement park in Copenhagen. Good kept Tivoli alive during Prohibition by producing “Dash,” a cereal beer with minimal alcohol content. (W.C.Fields once remarked, "Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.")

Tivoli continued to grow and drinkers continued to love Tivoli beer. After Good died in 1918 the brewery stayed in the hands of Good’s descendants and his long time business partner William Burghardt. By the 1950s, the brewery became one of the largest in the country producing up to 150,000 barrels a year, sold everywhere west of the Mississippi. When Loraine Good, the final Good descendant, passed away in 1965, Carl and Joseph Occhiatio purchased the Tivoli-Union Brewery from the estate. The brothers immediately faced hardship when the Platte River flooded in 1965, damaging the brewery. Sadly, in April of 1969, the Tivoli Brewery closed for business. Until Tivoli closed, it was the second oldest continuously operating brewery in the country with Pennsylvania’s Yuengling brewery being the only brewery with an existence surpassing that of Tivoli.

With the increased interest in craft beers, in 2012, a group of native Coloradans formed the Tivoli Distributing Company and Tivoli Beer was reborn. The first batch, a re-creation of the historic Tivoli Beer recipe, entered the brew kettle on August 1, 2012. At this time, establishments in the Denver area began selling Tivoli Beer for the first time in over 43 years.

True Facts (?)
Interesting facts, but one of these statements is not true. Which one is false - an outright lie?
1) Colorado ranks third in the nation in the number of craft breweries with about 300 breweries.

2) When Colombian drug lord Pablo Escolar's home was raided by the military, the soldiers did not know what to do with the hippos in Escolar's private zoo, so they let them go. They now thrive in Columbia's rivers, making Columbia have the largest hippopotamus population outside of Africa.

3) The Araucanian chicken is called the Easter Egg Chicken because it lays natural blue, pink, green, and brown eggs.

4)The Tesla model S scored 5 out of 5 stars in the National Highway Safety Administration test, the highest ever achieved by any car. It even broke the machine designed to crush it in the rollover test.

5) Pitchers are not known for their hitting. The record for the most home runs in a lifetime by a major league pitcher is held by Wes Ferrell, 38.

6) Yogi Berra struck out more times (414) than his lifetime total home runs (358)

7) To keep the beer cold, the Great American Beer Festival will use 130 tons of ice during the three days of the festival.



Answer
The correct answer is 7) the amount of ice is 208 tons at GABF

Thoughts and Opinions

Quotes:
If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. ~ James Herriot

. I like animals because they are not consciously cruel and don't betray each other.~ Taylor Caldwell

Elk and Deer come down to lower altitudes in the fall to avoid the snows of winter in the high mountains The elk of Rocky Mountain National Park consider Estes as their winter resort.

Autumn is also a good time to visit the park to listen to the bull elks "bugling" to call their "harems" together during rutting season.
Elk in the streets of Estes Park, Colorado

AVERAGE DATES OF PEAK FALL COLORS---ASPEN TREES
(areas N to S)
Steamboat Springs 9/5 to 9/15
Frisco 9/18 to 9/29
Aspen (town) 9/22 to 10/3
Ouray 9/25 to 10/5
Pagosa Springs 10/8 to 10/16


These are only averages, wind or snow can leave the trees bare at any time.


It is better to go early than too late. Remember a freak snowstorm will ruin the fall colors and make a beautiful but different scene.

Estes Elk Fest Oct 3-4
Many special are events planned. Their website announced:
"The free festival features bugling contests, Cabela's Archery Range, elk exhibits, the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, elk seminars, a Mountain Man Rendezvous, elk-inspired arts and crafts, Native American music, dancing and storytelling, self guided elk tour maps, a children's' area with elk-themed activities, and a craft beer garden.

Vendors will display artwork, handmade elk-ivory jewelry, and will offer distinctive elk cuisine. Mountain men from around the country will gather at the Mountain Man Rendezvous to sell their wares and demonstrate their skills.

Enjoy the Educational Seminar Tent to learn more about Elk and wildlife in Estes Park from a variety of professionals including Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Mile High Note Game Calls. Representatives from the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program will display on a gloved hand some of their magnificent rescued birds. It's amazing to see these majestic birds close up! Colorado Parks and Wildlife are on-site offering an Elk Camp where you can explore a variety of educational booths, and their staff will be helping in the field as attendees take the self-guided elk tour!

What they are saying:
Can't go to Estes Park or the Rocky Mountains? How about reading a good book. Here is what they are saying about Murder in the Rockies:
"You too should enjoy this engrossing mystery enriched by Smith's love of Colorado's natural beauty, and his ability to bring characters to life.'
~ Thomas "Doctor Colorado" Noel, University History Professor
and author of 41 books on the Highest State.

"G. Eldon Smith has fashioned a ripping good murder yarn about
justice in the Old West. His knowledge of Denver and its wild early years
shines through as he leads the reader on a merry chase through the
seamy underground of the Mile High City.
~ Dick Kreck, author of Hell on Wheels: Wicked Towns Along the Union Pacific Railroad

"I found Murder in the Rockies to be engaging, informative about Colorado's colorful history, and laced with funny, true-to-the-times dialogue. Humor twinkles throughout, and the ending is satisfying and unexpected."
~ Karen Gerdes, former professor of English and English as a Second Language at University of Denver

Mr. Smith: I picked up a copy of "Murder in the Rockies" a few weeks ago at the bookstore in Edwards, Colorado, and just finished it a few minutes ago. Well done! I enjoyed it very much and look forward to the next Andrew Coyle novel. Thanks very much!
~ Kent (unsolicited email)

Available at most electronic retailers and at many fine book stores.

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Rockies-...