December 29, 2000

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It has been a while since my last “Tale” so let’s begin.

Early in October a herd of 218 cattle were spooked and broke out of their pasture wandering onto highway 119, the main road between Longmont and Boulder. There was dense fog that morning and the first accident occurred at approximately 5:00 a.m. At least 7 cattle died, which was quite a monetary loss to the local farmer. Amazingly, on this 65-mph highway, not one person was seriously injured. Cowboys on horseback herded the animals into trailers at the nearby IBM plant. Yes, the west is still alive with cattle stampedes and roundups.

October 27^th my godchild, Darcy, and her fiancée, Rick were married in Las Vegas. I flew to Las Vegas for the ceremony on Thursday. On Friday I walked to some of the newer casinos. The Bellagio had indoor gardens and a ceiling with colorful floral relief that was a beautiful work of art. I was told it cost millions. I went into the Venetian with its canals and gondoliers who break into operatic song. There was a delightful Mexican restaurant at this location and it was a perfect spot to have a margarita and lunch. The Paris casino is very well done and interesting. You are walking inside the Eiffel Tower and around the streets of Paris where it is always evening with streetlights providing soft lighting. The last casino I visited had a Brazilian motif (the name escapes me for the present). They had an interesting exhibit of the Titanic with artifacts that were retrieved from the sea. This exhibit was very well done. They had recreated the lovely staircase featured in the movie, Titanic. They also have free performances with entertainers descending from the ceiling on platforms and perform while gamblers spend their money freely. I must mention I did not spend one nickel on gambling.

The wedding ceremony took place Friday evening in the Excalibur chapel and was very lovely. You could readily tell the love Darcy and Rick have for each other and after tears of happiness, we went off to celebrate at a local performance of the Tournament of Kings Dinner Theatre where a sort of round table feast takes place. We ate without utensils! The performance is about King Arthur, and his band of knights from around the European continent. Throughout the performance you are encouraged to bang on the table and shout “Shazaman” and other such carrying on. At one point I had to save my glass of wine from being toppled over. Yes, it was rowdy with pyrotechnics and flashes and horses galloping. It must have been 9:00 PM when the dinner performance was over and I decided to say goodnight to my relatives and retire to my room.

I was on an early morning return flight back home. About 3:00 a.m. this god-awful alarm goes off and it was so disorienting I woke up wondering what I did not turn off. It took a bit to realize it was a fire alarm. I put on my robe and took my purse and went out barefoot. We were on the 25^th floor and I had to walk down 25 stories barefoot. Upon arriving at ground level we were advised it was a false alarm, so up the elevator I went to my room and discovered my key was inside a locked room. Downstairs I went again to enlist the aid of a security officer to open my room. Well, after an episode such as this, you don’t really go back to sleep. Coffee was very welcomed at breakfast.

My son Scott, with his friend Carla, visited us in October. We drove up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park and parked at the main visitors center at an altitude of 12,000 ft. We hiked 2 miles along a beautiful trail to a group of tiny ponds. We stopped there for a picnic lunch. On the return drive through Estes Park we stopped at the historic Stanley Hotel, a marvelous large white rambling hotel built by F.O. Stanley. F.O.’s brother invented the Stanley Steamer. The Shining was filmed in this hotel. You can rent the same room used in the film if you want to be scared to death.

If you ever visit this area it is very worthwhile to visit the museum in the Stanley. One of the inventions of the Stanley brothers was a manufacturing method for silver halide photographic glass plates. This patent was eventually bought by George Eastman for Kodak.

Both of my eyes have developed cataracts. The right eye deteriorated rapidly within a six-month period and it became necessary to have the lens replaced. Since Ken works with several opthamologists in his line of work, they gave him key questions for me to ask of the doctor who would perform this operation. Dr. William Roberts in Boulder answered all the questions - - passed the quiz and we set up a time for the operation which would be November 1^st.

What an interesting procedure to experience and one that truly works, although doctors do have to warn you that a certain percentage of these procedures have complications and there is some risk of failure. First of all, the Avista Surgery Center in Boulder is an excellent surgical center with a very professional staff. The nurses prep you for the operation giving you 4 applications of drops to dilate your pupils. You are anesthetized for a short amount of time so the surgeon may give you a shot just below the eye to freeze your optic nerve. I was awake when they wheeled me into the operating room and remained awake throughout the entire operation, asking questions and answering them. The first thing done is to make an incision in the right eye and then vacuum the cataract debris with the world’s smallest vacuum cleaner. A new lens is then slipped into the eye, your eye is covered with tape and a stainless steel cup-shaped cover for protection.

The next day I drove to Boulder to have the cup removed and walked into the office to be joined by several other “cup” people. The doctor said the incision had already healed over and my eye and my sight was 20/40. It has since improved to 20/25. I will still have to wear glasses to read, but what a wonderful improvement, especially when driving at night. Thank you Dr. Roberts!

November 7^th was very busy working at the Altoona Grange Hall polls for the national election. We began at 6:00 a.m., and I didn’t get home until 9:15 p.m. A long day for sure, but very reassuring and interesting to see how the process evolves. First of all, there is no way you can trace anyone’s vote after the voter has placed his or her ballot into the ballot box. If you have voted incorrectly, you bring your spoiled ballot to an election judge (that’s me) and exchange it for a new one. We have punch machines and each machine has to be tested prior to the polls being open and before voting can begin. These test ballots are placed in an envelope and returned along with all the other materials and voted ballots to the designated center in Longmont. Two people, one representing each of the two major parties, must accompany these ballots to the center. The machines are removed from your vehicle by prison inmates (!) and placed into a large truck for storage and later transport to the counting center. The entire operation was well orchestrated.

Several years ago while watching TV with my son, Scott, in Arkansas I heard the St. John’s Cathedral choir from Denver and vowed when we moved here I would have to attend one of their concerts. Ken and I did so on November 26^th and heard their performance of Handel’s Messiah. This was a candlelight service and was being videotaped by TV crews for December viewing in this area. The church has quite a calendar of musical events. The price of the tickets is about $20. It is well worth taking advantage of.

The Longmont Newcomers Club held their December Gourmet Luncheon at our home on December 12^th. We had 30 ladies in attendance. The house was fully decorated for Christmas, with many trees, a few nativity sets, countless Santa Claus figures, snowmen, angles, and candles. It was truly festive and a huge success.

Friday, December 22 we hosted a party at our home for several neighbors, many of whom had never met each other. One couple, Buck Jones and his wife Patty, own a nearby farm that has been family operated for over 130 years. The evening was very successful. I love it when a plan comes together (my favorite line from the old A-Team show).

Ken has joined a road racing bicycle club located in Boulder. A couple of weeks ago he went out for his first ride with the group. I have never seen him so “whipped”. We have some super athletes around here including some bicyclists that participate in the Tour de France. Ken’s club isn’t that serious but they’re plenty fast enough for him.

Boulder also has many opinionated people. You wonder how they got to be experts on such a variety of subjects. We recently attended a Christmas party at our neighbors Steve and Maria who own the horse farm adjacent to our property. There we met a couple of fellows from Zimbabwe. They are Caucasian and one fellow was a bit miffed at some Boulder people asking them why they allowed apartheid. Zimbabwe is not South Africa, of course, and did not suffer from the same injustice. These two were just amazed to hear people voice their opinions on something they obviously didn’t know well.

However Boulder County has had truly great vision in preserving much land through their open space program. These open spaces are beautiful and a place where everyone can enjoy the trails by hiking, biking, horse riding or running. Thank you Boulder County you have done a fantastic service. We really appreciate it.

Until next year. Love to all,

Diane and Ken