I have lived in Colorado for 42 years now, 37 of those in Durango after an initial five-year stop in Colorado Springs. Not a native, but not bad. We’ve all heard of people in Durango who were actually born here, and some of us have even met a few, face to face.
When I first arrived, you could still make a U-turn on Main Avenue, and nobody’d even bat an eye. And you could still put pennies in the parking meters. This is the place, I thought.
Those days are gone and soon pennies will be with them. I found the police blotter reports so wonderfully quaint that I would send them to my family as a bonus Christmas present. One of my all-time favorites was the woman who reported a peeping Tom to the police, later determined to be a moose.
It doesn’t take long for those of us who have moved here to get very possessive and protective of our adopted town. We start asking who all these new people are moving here and why they brought their cars.
I grew up in a small town in upstate New York, so I knew I would like Durango, but my first job out of college was in New York City, and I loved that adventure. I know, I know, I hear you thinking, “Get a rope!” I do love Durango and am so pleased that my kids were lucky enough to grow up here.
There are a few things I miss about living in New York City. I miss being able to get any kind of food at any time of day. With Colorado’s 320 days of sunshine a year, I miss rain and the freshness of the air that follows. I miss sarcasm. And I miss having a good argument with someone where you can both walk away friends, say “see you tomorrow” and mean it.
I do have some friends I can do that with, but it is not the norm in Colorado. Here’s how desperate I am. I occasionally sit outside in the evenings at the end of my driveway with a sign that reads: “Free Advice” and in small print below: “arguments five cents.” Passersby stop and chat ... Don’t worry about me. I’ll be OK.
Walks outside are great here, though I do miss Sunday walks on the lower east side of Manhattan through Little Italy and Chinatown. It was like visiting another country just blocks away. Colorado’s space and sky are great, but from upstate New York I miss a country road that has a canopy of trees over it.
But most of all I miss fireflies, or lightning bugs if you’re from the South. We still make the trip back to the family cabin in the Catskills each summer where we sit outside in total darkness and just enjoy their light show. I was delighted to read the recent Herald article and learn that there are some small populations of fireflies nearby, but they are so limited and precious that the article didn’t want to reveal where they are (Herald, June 27). I get it. These bioluminescent beetles light up to attract mates. With over 2,000 different species, my favorites are the synchronous type that actually flash in unison. Now that’s great teamwork.
No fireworks again this year. Bummer. Thankfully, no drones either. I propose we add money to the town budget to acquire and maintain a population of fireflies that we can count on enjoying every Fourth of July regardless of the fire danger. Yes, it’s a subtle substitute for fireworks, but if you pay attention, nature’s shows are always better than human-made. And this is Colorado.
Jim Cross is a retired Fort Lewis College professor and basketball coach living in Durango. Reach him at cross_j@fortlewis.edu.
