Tax Day T.E.A. Party Rally - Colorado

"IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

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In the post below I have shared a number of photos that I took at today's Denver T.E.A. Party Rally. I did so without comment in order for y'all to be able to click on each one and look at the full size image. I was overwhelmed, amazed and frankly, thrilled!

It was a good sized gathering, for the traditionally laid-back, somewhat apolitical populace of Denver. Estimates of 3,500 to 5,000 total people showed up for the rally/protest. The DPD officers mingled with the crowd, seemingly at ease. Only those poor blues who drew traffic duty had any real work to attend to as the crowd spilled out onto Lincoln Street crossing in front of the West facade of the capitol. The others talked and laughed as they interacted with a mass of people intent on having their voices heard.

Two things in particular still resonate within my mind, psyche and heart.

First, it was a peaceful, powerful and focused event. And this is what I saw:

- There were Vets from WWII onward, some in wheel chairs, some in full GOE leathers.

- There were crisp, Brook's Brothers suits with blue tooth ears, office managers, both male and female.

- There were small business folks, families and simple, hard working folk who are simply fed up with the bullshit, the tax and spend, and tax and spend, and tax once more and spend once more beauracracy that exists in D.C.

- There were blacks and hispanics and white folk of all ages. There were straights and gays and "Guy Fawkes" faced dancers.

- There were FAMILIES.......Allow me repeat that:

THERE WERE FAMILIES!....Families made up of fathers and mothers and children talking and interacting with veterans, gays and lesbians and...and...POLICE!!!!! fer Jeebus sake!

It was an amazing day.

The bottom line is this:

We want our country back.

We want it now.

Colorado State Capitol,15 April 2009

The Hidden Seasons

Waiting for Wonder

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On the East side of the Rocky Mountains, in the shadow of the Front Range, seasons don't always pay attention to the predicated musings of the Old Farmer's Almanac. Old curmudgeon Winter can toss in a regular limb cracking, flower killing, major snow storm in late April, early May. Some years, like this one, mid winter can bring long dry spells where shirt sleeves and bright skies prevail over parkas and sweaters and bone chilling, bitter cold. February and March were dry, record breaking dry and warm. The foothills and close in montane held crusty, elderly snow banks in the dark canyons and sheltered remnants under spruce and fir boughs.

Now, with April half over, front range sentinel peaks, from the Long's Peak massif in the north to Mt. Evans in the south are buried under heavy and brilliant white spring snows.

This is one of the hidden seasons, tentative easily overlooked and overpowered.

Yesterday, great long grey mounds of mid and upper level clouds settled in over the foothills and prairie. Quiet, palpable anticipation hung in the air. It felt dense. At one point in the early afternoon, I walked outside to check on Nate dog. A fragrance, almost forgotten, rolled in the light breeze. I smelled rain!

Heady, earthy, rich and ready to fill the skies and quench the parched earth; that's the promise. It was as though Spring had cracked open her bower chest, shaken out her long skirts into the fresh wind.

Forsythia, plum, cherry, and all manner of ground flowers will color her wardrobe in the coming weeks...If Winter doesn't throw down a wild card storm!

The Harry Potter star, Emma Watson is a sometime reminder of early Spring.

The Merriam sub-specie of Wild Turkey, they too, remind me of the hidden season of early Spring. Hunters wander the riparian habitats along freshening creeks in the lower Ponderosa parklands, or set up decoys in the cottonwood and willow grasslands beside the High Plains rivers. They Merriam is strutting and breeding in late April and early May...depending on capricious weather.

They remain hidden unless called to a decoy by stealth and guile.

It is a wonder filled time of year, this time between when Winter still plays a hard hand and Spring dances tentatively towards her own full womanhood.

What's for Dinner?

~ Ham ~

Its an Easter ham, laden with pineapple slices and mandarin oranges and cloves and a glaze made with spice infused Pedro Domque brandy, the juice from the pineapple and oranges and the brown sugar crust packet that came with the Ham.

It was served with smashed Yukon Gold taters, spiced with dill seed, green beans and a lil' salad.

Mostly, beloved, it was all about the ham and 'taters!

Recipe will follow in Comments...later!

Now I need to go make sawdust and a closet wall.

Alleluia!

He is Risen

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The Resurrection...We call it Easter Sunday.

Three women, all named Mary and close to Jesus, rose the morning after the Sabbath. They went to see, to check the grave where only 2 1/2 days before, the battered, tortured, and pierced body of their Lord had been laid. He was dead. Of that there was no doubt. Evidence points to Mary Magdalene reaching the tomb first.

There she found the large stone door rolled away, the tomb empty.

Some say Mary ran back to tell the others, some say she stayed close while others called or ran back. Hesitant to enter, she peeked inside and found two luminous beings sitting on the stone bed. The body was gone, her Jesus was gone.

St. John tells the story in this manner:

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!"

- John 20:11-16

At that point, I believe that her blind grief and hot tears fell away. She recognized Jesus and her heart must have shouted: "Alleluia!...." John says that she spoke only one word: "Rabonnai"...teacher. What else was said between the Christ and his beloved Mary Magdalene? That is best left between them.

The relationship between Jesus and each of us is special, private. He knows each one of his flock individually, our hearts and minds. Sometimes he calls us to share our story, sometimes it remains priveleged, confidential.

Jesus had returned from Hades, triumphant over death and all sin. Over the next fourty days he walked with them, talked with them and breathed upon them......That, beloved, is important. Jesus, now fully man, fully God, fully Spirit...breathed his own Spirit upon them.

And that, THAT, is the next chapter of the story!