On Sept. 27, 2012, I witnessed J. Paul Brown, a rural, conservative Republican state representative, hold hands with Sweetie Marbury, a Durango city councilor. She’s been called a flaming liberal by more than one letter writer to The Durango Herald (and those are the softer comments).
Durango Connect was on a Thursday morning. Brown and Marbury were just two links in a human chain along the Animas River Trail that stretched from the bridge near Home Depot, seven miles north, to 32nd Street.
There were government officials, members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, hordes of locals and a few tourists. More than 9,000 people participated, including 6,000 children from Durango School District 9-R, and all local charter, private and religious schools – all ages and all walks of life. In fact, Durango Connect is the single largest special event ever held for students in our area.
The “official” reason for the gathering was to celebrate completion of a trail section that made for an unbroken path that linked Durango from one end to the other without crossing a single road. The 40-plus year, seven-mile long trail made its way through 10 city parks and entailed the construction of 10 bridges, four underpasses and one tunnel. The trail is a result of inspired vision, creative planning, determined leadership, steady investment and sheer perseverance by city officials and residents.
There was another point to Durango Connect.
September 2012 was a tumultuous time. National elections were just a month away. Our society was steeped in partisan bickering fueled by 24-hour news, talk radio, vicious comedians, attack ads, letters to the editor, political cartoonists and anyone who felt the need to lash out whether leaning to the right, the left or a cosmic direction of their own.
With few exceptions, everyone was sick of the vitriol, regardless of their personal, political or religious viewpoint. It was almost impossible to escape the noise. And sadly, nearly all of us contributed to the fray, as we do today.
It’s hard to believe 2012 might be considered more amicable than the current political climate. How much more can we take? Will it be worse in another five years?
Durango Connect was a time-out. It was a short calm in the storm to put aside differences, passions and grievances for a one-hour celebration of something as simple as a trail along the river.
The added benefits were many. City students and teachers walked to pre-assigned locations. Rural elementary kids were bused in to join their Durango cousins. Everyone was instructed how to form a chain, stretch out to maximize the length of each link and join in unison at the preplanned signal of a low-flying cargo plane that buzzed town from end-to-end (at minimum legal altitude, of course).
Durango Connect wouldn’t have happened without a lot of planning, hard work and cooperation. City councilors officially approved the event and set in motion many hours of organization by the Durango Parks and Recreation and General Services departments, La Plata County and Colorado Department of Transportation staff and other agencies.
The leadership, planning and coordination by local law enforcement and emergency services (assisted by the Purgatory and Hesperus Ski Patrols) boggles the mind. Every emergency possible, whether a medical event or an unthinkable act of malice, was planned for.
Service clubs, churches, sports teams and local businesses volunteered, contributed products and shared expertise. There were bands, jugglers, singers and entertainers along the way. Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad dispatched their employees by train to the trail behind the library.
Durango Connect brought us together literally and symbolically. A person in a wheelchair made a link every bit as good as the college athletes who showed up.
Rich and poor, young and old, tall and short ... you get the idea. It was just us.
Human chains are good. They can be a lifesaver. There are dramatic photographs of citizens linking arms to save people from drowning in flooded homes and submerged vehicles during hurricanes Harvey and Irma. No one cares about a person’s color, political persuasion, religion or anything else when they are pulling you from harm’s way.
Human chains bring us together in the best of times and the worst of times.
As the fifth anniversary of Durango Connect is upon us, I hope that folks might think to reconnect with each other and disconnect from the acrimony. Give it five minutes, an hour or even a day. Reach across the divide and find something simple that you might have in common with a neighbor from the “other side.”
I’m reminded of my friend J. Paul Brown. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen eye-to-eye on many political issues, but I’ve always admired his genuine courtesy, warmth and good will when our paths cross. We need more of that. And don’t forget ... he held hands with Sweetie Marbury. Anything is possible of good people.
Jack Turner helped organize, with many others, the Durango Connect effort and was a link in the human chain. Reach him at jturner@skination.com.
