Opinion

“And he carries the reminders

“Of every glove that laid him down

“Or cut him till he cried out

“In his anger and his shame

“I am leaving, I am leaving

“But the fighter still remains.”

— Paul Simon

For me, hanging in Evergreen is all about the happy little surprises that crop up and punctuate your day — and the unexpected connections that result from other, less-lighthearted encounters.

Shortly after I started as the founding director of Denver’s Mayor’s Office of Regulatory Reform in 1991, Elbra Wedgeworth, the office’s deputy director, told me she wanted us to have breakfast with one of her Leadership Denver classmates from the district attorney’s office. Shortly thereafter, she and I met with Bill Ritter. From that day, the three of us went on to bigger and better things. Elbra became president of the City Council and brought the Democratic National Convention to Denver.

There is nothing quite like starting the new year standing chest deep in 33-degree water. Regardless of what happens in 2010, everything else should seem like a walk on the beach.

After years of covering the annual Evergreen Lake plunge, I finally had the guts to participate. I made the decision to jump several weeks ago, but it wasn’t until I was standing on the edge of a hole cut through 20 inches of ice that I was fully committed. With a giant step forward, I leapt into the icy water.

Last week, the Denver Post reported that “Colorado’s budget shortfall has grown another $40 million, reaching a projected $600.6 million for the fiscal year that ends in June.” This is due in large part to declining tax revenues as a result of bad economic conditions.

To make matters worse, in the upcoming fiscal year — which ends in July — the budget shortfall is expected to be $1.5 billion. 

To put those numbers into perspective, the stateís operating budget for fiscal 2009-10 is just about $19 billion.

Another season, another scandal. This time, a minor car accident in Florida gave rise to a story that culminated in Tiger Woods issuing a public statement confessing to “transgressions.”

In what appears to be a semi-annual ritual, the press is having a field day with the foibles of another celebrity. Talk shows talk. Experts offer opinions. Eyebrows are raised. Heads move gravely from side to side.

Are we the better for it?

When Colorado voters passed Amendment 20 in 2000 to legalize the use of medical marijuana, it would have been hard to predict that the program would explode to such an extent in 2009 that Atlantic Monthly would use the term “ganjaprenuership” to explain what is going on here in its Aug. 26 issue.

Last week brought news that state Sen. Dan Gibbs, who represents much of western Jefferson County, is retiring. I’d like to thank him for his service.

Commissioner Kevin McCasky’s “controlled” discussion of the proposed Northwest Parkway (to connect C-470 with E-470) at the Lake House town hall meeting on Nov. 2 raises the question of whether building the Northwest Parkway with private funds depends on the government’s use of eminent domain.

I’ve had my share of senior moments the last week, more of them unforgettable than forgetful.

No single piece of mail can more brutally deliver mortality’s sharp stick in the eye than the dreaded AARP membership packet, and my own little reminder of the five-decade milestone came when seniors and their concerns were uppermost on my mind.