Authentic Aging - The Durango Herald

I’m making decisions about disposing of my corpse

She called it a cemetery crawl. We were to drive to all the cemeteries in the area and decide where we wanted to be buried. Both of us are interested in green burial, burial into...

DATE: Jun 2, 2017 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Nearing the end, how do we look back on our lives?

At an 80th birthday party recently, we asked the birthday girl how she felt about being 80. She took a moment, then offered, “I feel like I’ve accomplished what I came into this ...

DATE: May 3, 2017 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Living situations can be as diverse as we are

It’s fascinating and helpful to learn how and where other elders are living as we move into these later years. The choices and decisions many have already made are as varied, creative and in...

DATE: Apr 2, 2017 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Elders share wisdom, experience with activists

No longer can I avoid writing about what’s happening politically, environmentally, socially and legally right now. The momentum is so fast, it’s like a fireball gathering more an...

DATE: Mar 2, 2017 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

How do we answer the risk vs. safety question?

Shall I climb up that ladder to hang the bird feeder? I really want more birds to visit this winter, but I’m not sure about the ladder ... Crash! Bang! Boom! 911! Casts and doctors and three...

DATE: Feb 1, 2017 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

From wisdom to gratitude, aging has positive aspects

It was a couple of days after the election, and I ran into a friend walking on the river trail. Being disappointed in the election outcome, we said things like, “I’ve been here before,” “I f...

DATE: Jan 5, 2017 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Learning how to hula is helping my aging mind

My kids took me to Hawaii as a big birthday gift during Thanksgiving. I decided to prepare a bit beforehand by immersing myself in the culture. I read James Michener’s Hawaii and...

DATE: Nov 30, 2016 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Disposal of our bodies: What to do after we die?

November is the cruelest month. People I loved have died in November, and with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos just past, it seems fitting to think about the macabre and our bodies dying. W...

DATE: Nov 2, 2016 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

The holidays can be more difficult as we age

Many of us will be spending time with family and loved ones this holiday season. The joys of seeing grandchildren, being with our own kids, perhaps traveling to exciting places, experiencing...

DATE: Oct 31, 2016 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Support end-of-life options, vote ‘yes’ on Proposition 106

We get the diagnosis: We have six months to live. We’re in pain, very ill and can’t see ourselves struggling through these next few months. None of us want to be confronted with t...

DATE: Oct 5, 2016 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Looking back at our lives can bring gratification

Do you think it’s important to leave something behind when your life is over? Something for your family or something for the community? We all want to feel that we made a difference, that th...

DATE: Aug 31, 2016 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

Vacations bring so much joy, but challenges too

It’s summer, time for vacations! Not only is it fun, but traveling gives us different perspectives on things. It takes us from our comfortable routines and forces us to adjust, h...

DATE: Aug 3, 2016 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

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Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Photos: Chapman Hill fires up the snow guns

I’m making decisions about disposing of my corpse

Nearing the end, how do we look back on our lives?

Living situations can be as diverse as we are

Elders share wisdom, experience with activists

How do we answer the risk vs. safety question?

From wisdom to gratitude, aging has positive aspects

Learning how to hula is helping my aging mind

Disposal of our bodies: What to do after we die?

The holidays can be more difficult as we age

Support end-of-life options, vote ‘yes’ on Proposition 106

Looking back at our lives can bring gratification

Vacations bring so much joy, but challenges too

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