Nicely Plated

"There's no reason to take any chances this close to the end." A friend at work.


Four gun calls within 36 hours. A suicidal man with a shotgun. A woman firing off a shotgun at fictional "drug dealers." A guy doing backgrounds for the Feds chased across an apartment complex by a woman with a loaded twenty gauge. An armed robbery. I went to all of them.

Then, Aurora happened.

My wife and I chat several times a day, regardless of work schedules. Often, one of us just wants to hear the other's voice. There is, of course, family business to address. Occasionally, some mis-dialing.... So my wife's question - "What's a plate carrier?" - in an otherwise innocuous conversation did not take me entirely by surprise.

Visiting

Tomorrow I appear on "Just Romantic Suspense," which is exactly what the name suggests it is. There will be a give away so come over, leave a comment and enjoy the other authors' blogs while you are there.

Port Call

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. Psalm 107, King James Bible

The view from seat 13A of the US Airways Embraer RJ145 was spectacular, if not breathtakingly colorful. The rolling New England countryside has yet to see autumn's changing leaves. Green and lush, made more so under a cloudless blue sky. House Island, and the revetments of historic Fort Scammell are clearly visible from fifteen hundred feet above the Atlantic Ocean as we turn to land in Maine.

Visiting our daughter Beth has involved the sea since she left Denver in 2005. Moving first to Ft. Myers, Florida she now resides in Portland, Maine, a law student at the University of Maine. A 3L.

Legs

"What happened to Jack?"
"He fell behind."*

The great legs makes me feel like George Hincapie

Denver weather in the middle sixties, clear blue sky overhead and what does any self-respecting bike cop do on the second day of vacation? You got it - go for a bike ride.

It's not as goofy as it sounds. What do the guys on "Deadliest Catch" do in the off season? Go marlin fishing in the Keys. Billy Kidd, the great Olympic skier? Still skis down Mount Warner at Steamboat Resort every winter day at 1 PM, tourists trailing behind. Just because I often noodle a mountain bike three or four hours on a work day doesn't mean I let my road bike collect dust at home. It also doesn't mean I don't suffer.

Don't Read This

Read this instead. The story of Rick Rescorla chronicles one of the great heroic acts of 9/11, a day full of American heroes. Born in Cornwall, England, an officer in the US Army during the Vietnam War, he saved all but two of the several thousand Morgan Stanley employees where he was security director. He was one, going back into the building to ensure he'd gotten everyone else out. He was never seen again.

Read "The Real Heroes Are Dead," an excellent New Yorker article.

Be proud to be an American today. It is his legacy.

Summer in the City

"Are we rolling downhill like a snowball headed for hell?"*

Last weekend marked the unofficial end of another summer. For some, it signals blessed relief from the heat, a visit to SNIAGRAB (the yearly snow-sport sale at Sports Authority in Denver, held on Labor Day weekend for the last 57 years) and one last visit to the Farmer's Market for roasted Hatch peppers. For others....

I glance at the mountain bike I ride at work and sigh. We have passed the end of our "rotation," the four months my summer team spends together. We said good bye to some members, and greeted new ones. I prepared for the inevitable moment I set the bike aside because of snow and cold. But, not without a fight.

I, and a few others, find a way to extend the riding season by taking advantage of Denver's often mild winters, making sound uniform choices and practicing advanced denial skills. "It's snowing? Yeah, but it's only sticking in the grass!" Never give up, never surrender. Deploy the winter gear!