Decided to catch a bus for the remaining 180 miles to Denver because I need to start my volunteer job and my paying job quickly before summer ends, because the temps out here on the plains will be in the mid to high 90s all next week and finally because I can!
So, Lord willing, I will catch the 4pm train out of Sterling and arrive in downtown Denver tomorrow at 620pm.
Can't tell you how much I miss Denver! Can't wait to see Rich, Marge, Jeremy, Josh and his new expecting wife, Emily Nelson. I will be back at my old job helping Rich with his company, Nelson Tree Service.
I first started working for Rich when I newly arrived in Denver in February 2003. I have worked for Rich on and off for years afterward. It will bring back many memories of Mardell, my second former wife and her children, Jonathan, Sarah and Clara who I cherish.
Rich and his wife Marge were Mardell's friends when I first came to Denver.
I will stay with the Nelsons for a couple of weeks and then find living quarters with others in Denver.
Can't wait to hike Green Mountain and the highline canal trail again! Mardell introduced them to me when I came to Denver. She is a proficient hiker and nature lover. She used to go camping alone with only Jonathan when he was just a baby! Now Jonathan is married owns his own home in Red Wing, MN and has a beautiful little two year old daughter who I met for the first time last winter.
Can't wait to go to LoDo down town Denver and read books at The Tattered Cover! Andrew( my second son) and I did that every Sunday when he worked roofing sales with me in Parker and Denver back in 2009.
Can't wait to see Boulder, CO better known as the People's Republic of Boulder again!
Got to know Boulder because Rich stored his equipment there back in the late 90s and early 2000s and he had a bunch of customers there.
Can't wait to see how tall Rich and Marge's son Jeremy has gotten!
Can't wait to give Marge a hug! She has been such a great friend to me over the years!
Looking forward to seeing John Stidman again! I rented his basement apt a while back. Marge rented this same basement apt many years ago. Even Mardell rented the main floor back in the late 90s. Noah Mendoza, Clara's late father rented the same basement apt too. Lot of personal history there on High Street near Denver University. The apt/house is only three blocks or so from the original Chipotle.
Then there are the Kommodores!! Alex and Debra and their children. They live only one block over from my old apt on High Street. Alex is a nationally ranked guitarist and music professor. Debra is a stay at home mother heavily involved in church and school affairs.
Can't wait to see them and have a spaghetti dinner at their home. They are gourmet chefs who use whole, natural and organic ingredients.
In any case, I could write a book about the many friends I have in Denver and it thrills me to know I will be there tomorrow!
However, pleasant as those memories are and as thrilled as I am it also makes me sad as I miss both my three children and Mardell's three children. My kids are Joshua, Andrew and Ally.
My emigration to Denver back in 2003 hurt my children sorely. I sincerely regret that decision knowing what I know now.
I will never know exactly the type of pain or the depth of pain they experienced and still do. Only they and God knows.
Now of course there is nothing I can do to rectify the situation. Water under the proverbial bridge. But, I know that my recent trek across the US brought up those old hurts again especially with Ally. However, Josh confronted me with similar issues and we dealt with those emotions when I stayed with him in Kansas City. Andrew is very tight lipped so I don't know the extent of his hurt...at least not yet.
Anyway, I need to get going to scout out a camp site at Pioneer Park for my last night out on the eastern plains of Colorado.
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