Tag: Anythink

While Colorado might not be the literary hub that New York or Washington are, we we have our fair share of literary greats right here in the Centennial State.

Denver boasts a vivid literary history filled with novelists, poets and journalists. Some were born and raised here, while others came seeking our clean air and mountain views in the prime of their literary prowess. Our mountains beg for stories, our caves are rich with lore, and our blue skies are the stuff of legends.

A girl dressed in a witch costume sitting by a black cauldron.

One of my favorite Halloween costumes when I was little was a homemade witch. My mom cut up black fabric and hastily sewed it together (as no one in our family knew how to sew). She decorated the fabric by drizzling neon green puffy paint all over it before hacking a jagged hole out of the top to slip over my head. The uneven, frayed cut added the perfect effect.

A worn chapter book on the ground covered in fall leaves.

The first book I read by the great Ann Patchett was “Bel Canto,” and I remember the experience so vividly. I was newly married and had just moved to St. Louis. I didn’t know a single person there and was spending my days feeling nervous and alone while he was away at class.  After weeks of staying inside, I asked my husband to draw out a map to the nearest library; this was pre-GPS.

A dark corridor with two open doors on left reflecting blue light on white walls.

There is not a section in our library that doesn't include James Patterson. He's shelved in the adult thriller section, where his books fill three entire shelves. He’s a minor note in the teen section with a handful of novels (“Maximum Ride” series), and a major player in the middle grade section (“Treasure Hunters” series,

An image of a pink, purple galaxy with bright white stars. Black sky background.

I was brand new to the world of graphic novels when our wonderful adult guide Maria dressed up as a character from “Saga” for Halloween. In her yellow overalls, she chirped, “I’m Gus! From ‘Saga’!” 

By the blank look on my face, she could tell that I had no idea what she was talking about.  

I remember a heavy conversation I had recently with a coworker about COVID-19. We talked about how in our everyday life, and in conversations with people, we were struggling to really voice the magnitude of loss. I mean, how do you grieve half a million people? How do you understand the amount of loss, how do you even begin to process it?  When Sept. 11 happened, we carried the loss of almost 3,000 people for months – for years – and it was (and is) so heavy. So how do we, as a community, begin to mourn our loss from COVID, with a number so big we cannot comprehend it?

I was looking around my bedroom the other day and thinking “We should repaint this.” Our bedroom is currently a lovely light lavender-grey, a color picked not even two years ago. There isn’t anything wrong with it. In fact, it’s barely been up long enough for me to dislike it or grow sick of it. And yet, I’m incredibly ready for a change. In fact, in every room of my house, I’m longing for something new to look at. We don't want to move, but we need things to look different.

A black and white photo of two young girls laughing.

Wanna hear a poop joke?

Nah, they always stink. 

I have a 7-year-old son, and I would say that at least 30% of our conversations these days begin with him laughing about poop. This has surprised me; I grew up in a family of four girls, and talking about bathroom habits was not something we did on the regular. It wasn’t that we were all so proper, no – it was that it never crossed our mind. 

It’s not a stretch to say that Americans are suffering from unprecedented amounts of anxiety in 2020. COVID, job insecurity, loss of work, politics, a discussion about systematic racism, political upheaval ... all of these things have been thrown at us this year in an unending hailstorm of change and stress. It’s an anxious time to be a human being. It’s an especially anxious time to be an American.

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