Durango Telegraph July 23, 2020

Lying down on the job since 2002

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July 23, 2020 Vol. XIX, No. 26 durangotelegraph.com

inside

T H E

O R I G I N A L

I N D I E

W E E K L Y

L I N E

O N

D U R A N G O

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B E Y O N D

Getting drilled

The band played on

Salad days

N.M. methane rules could be good news for hot spot p8

How local musicians are keeping going when the world isn’t p9

An ode to carpaccio, Manhattans & the lost art of dining out p11

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lineup

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4 La Vida Local

Getting drilled

4 Thumbin’ It

N.M. announces more stringent methane rules to match Colorado’s

by Missy Votel

5 Word on the Street 6-7 Soapbox

9

8 Local News

The band played on

Local musicians switch it up to keep going during a pandemic

9 Top Shelf

by Chris Aaland

11 Good Eats 12 Stuff to Do

Ear to the ground: “Smells like the alley skunks are back.”

– Local worker remarking on the wafting of weed smoke coming in his office window

Getting iced

thepole

RegularOccurrences

Just like video killed the radio star, social media has put a hurtin’ on Silverton’s spectacular Ice Lakes Trail. One of the most popular – and most FBed and Instaed – trails in the San Juan Mountains, Ice Lakes is seeing even more unprecedented numbers of visitors this summer with the pandemic. To help keep the area from being loved to death, San Juan Mountains Association is seeking volunteers to help staff its Ice Lakes Educational Basecamp to provide educational outreach and encourage visitors to stay on designated trails, pack-out all waste and respect fire restrictions.

Volunteers are needed six days a week, Tues. – Sat., from 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the basecamp, located at the South Mineral Creek Campground, a few miles north of Silverton. The basecamp will be open July 28 – Sept. 7.

There will be an outdoors training for interested volunteers this Thurs., July 23, at 6 p.m. at the Durango Public Lands Center (15 Burnett Ct.) To register, email: psherman@sjma.org .

And if you happen to visit Ice Lakes this summer, please, turn off your geotagging.

A grate idea

11

13 Ask Rachel

Salad days An ode to the before-times of dining out

14 Free Will Astrology

by Donna Hewett

“The Human Cheese Grater” may sound like the latest horror movie, amusement park ride or extreme beauty treatment. But, it is actually CDOT and the Colorado State Patrol’s latest invention to help save lives. Fortunately it’s not a real grater but one made of paint, placed on roads at various Front Range motorcycle dealerships as a somewhat grisly reminder to slow down, wear protective gear and receive training.

15 Classifieds

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15 Haiku Movie Review

Glad for plaid

On the cover: After moving nonstop since 2:30 a.m., an unavoidable siesta happens in No Name Creek./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire

Rock and roll in the era of social distancing and other stuff to do

boilerplate

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel (missy@durangotelegraph.com) ADVERTISING AFICIONADO: Lainie Maxson (lainie@durangotelegraph.com) STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Eginoire (steve@gulchmag.com)

T

he Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, beckoning singletrack or monster powder days. We are wholly owned and operated independently by the Durango Telegraph LLC and

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Lainie Maxson, Shan Wells, Jesse Anderson, Zach Hively, Donna Hewett, Chris Aaland and Clint Reid

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We’re only human. If, by chance, we defame someone’s good name or that of their family, neighbor, best

friend or dog, we will accept full responsibility in a public flogging in the following week’s issue.

Although “free but not easy,” we can be plied with schwag, booze and flattery.

telegraph

Although the human cheese grater lacks real teeth, motorcycle statistics don’t. According to CDOT/CSP, motorcyclist fatalities increased more than 32 percent from 2011-19. In 2019, there were 103 motorcyclists killed on Colorado roads, accounting for 17 percent of all roadway deaths even though motorcycles make up only 3 percent of vehicles on the road. So far this year, 64 people have died in motorcycle crashes.

"Year after year, approximately 75 percent of fatal motorcycle crashes are caused by the motorcycle rider," State Patrol Major Tim Keeton said.

Proper gear includes boots over the ankles, riding pants and jacket, gloves, eye protection and a helmet. And this should go without saying, but don’t drink and ride – even one drink has been shown to decrease reaction times, coordination, vision, judgement and concentration.

July 23, 2020 n

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opinion

LaVidaLocal Meditationally challenged Like any of the dozens of human beings actively striving not to kill other human beings with my breath during these End Times, I stay home. This is not a radical shift in my life. In fact, this is not a shift in my life at all. The primary difference between my life in the beforetimes and now is that now I no longer have to fabricate excuses to back out of social engagements at the last minute. This is heaven.

But! No matter how heavenly it is to hermitize myself from the world, and no matter what kind of mask I wear, Weltschmerz is still contagious. Pardon me; that’s how my coughs sound these days. I was trying to say that I now know the feeling of having a lifetime supply of television footage on three streaming services all at my fingertips, yet still feeling the pain and suffering of knowing the rest of the world can watch even more shows on even more streaming services.

Yet none of these programs can backfill the ache in my soul. One’s spirit needs more meaning in life than an in-progress comic adaptation can provide before its final conclusion.

So four months into this Weltschmerz (excuse me again), I found my solution. I needed to take up meditation. Again.

You see, in these times, I read all my emails, even the ones from LinkedIn. So I also read the email about a One-Month Meditation Challenge. First of all, my several hours studying Buddhism never even indicated that one could win at meditation. A challenge implies victors and losers. I was intrigued. Second of all, that’s it. I just wanted to win at meditation.

So I signed up, and Day One came, and I forgot to log on to Zoom. But that’s okay!

The leader sent me a recording to the meditation for me to watch later.

I didn’t watch it, but I COULD have watched it, which felt like a win considering I had not meditated in some time. No sense in overexerting and injuring myself the first day.

Or the second day, am I right?

The third day, I logged on at the appropriate time, and the meditation blissed me out. Within two minutes, I had connected to my breath

and grounded through my seat and recalled the awe of Universal Oneness. Then I recalled that I meant to put orange juice on the grocery list.

Then I recalled the theme song to “The Muppet Show,” but only the melody without the lyrics. Then I recalled the fascinating fact that elephants can pluck up a single grain of rice with their massive trunks.

Then the meditation was over, and one thing made itself clear to my spirit above all other things: I have so much life to live, and I needed to live it all while doing my lockdown to-do list.

Don’t ask me what is on my lockdown todo list, because I do not know. But something is on it, because why else would I appear to be busy all the time? My time is so jam-packed that I have even begun setting an alarm – two alarms! – to make myself believe I will hear them and thus accomplish more.

This exuberant can-do attitude lasts until after breakfast. After breakfast, I might as well write off the day until tomorrow. Oh, I still accomplish some things in that time. I always remember to feed the dog, and I brush my teeth more often than not. I water the garden that, so far, despite my best attempts at pinning cool ideas on Pinterest, consists of one sunflower and a really tall weed. And then, it’s pretty much bedtime.

I often wish for a more fulfilling approach to life that would help me realize my potential every day while maximizing my time. A real quick fix would be nice. Something that could transform my existence in, oh, let’s say a month.

I never feel that I have time for meditation during my full pandemic life. But maybe, just maybe, I don’t have time NOT to meditate.

So I sat down the other day and played back one of those recordings. What do you know? Enlightenment DOES come from a screen. I meditated until I found peace. I let go of my to-do list. And I found relief, because finally, after all this time, I remembered that it’s time to play the music. It’s time to light the lights. It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight.

– Zach Hively

Sign of the Downfall:

Thumbin’It

Thief at Large Sen. Michael Bennet’s CORE Act, which would protect some 400,000 acres of wildlands in Colorado, finally seeing action and passing the U.S. House New Mexico realizing that pollution knows no state boundaries and getting on board with stricter methane rules to help combat the Four Corners Hot Spot Local organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club, United Way and School District 9-R, coming together with PCs for People and distributing 400 computers to local school kids in need for distance learning

4 n July 23, 2020

President Trump directing his administration to exclude immigrants who are in the country illegally from Census counts, in effect reducing the political clout of diverse cities and states with large immigrant populations and favoring his base in whiter, more rural areas The chilling scene of heavily armed, militia-style “federal officers” forcefully removing protestors from the streets of Portland in dark, unmarked SUVs More dire warnings about polar bears, with a recent study finding the Arctic dwellers will be all but extinct by the end of the century due to unabated global warming

telegraph

This past Tuesday, a Las Vegas man broke the penal code by walking into a sex shop called “Déjà Vu Love Boutique” and stealing a 3foot, 40-pound dildo. Laura, an employee who doesn’t like giving her last name while being interviewed about dildo theft, said the item wasn’t a prop or a gag gift. It was a bonafide sex toy called “Moby,” and it retails for $1,250, which raises more questions than it answers. But the good news is that this will never happen to Déjà Vu again, because nobody could take Moby twice.

WordontheScreen With no end to the pandemic in sight, the Telegraph asked, “How are you bracing for several more months of COVID life?”

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Jeff

“I’m fighting the urge to break every law in suburbia. I’ve already torn all the tags off of every mattress in the house.”

’ Matthew

“The peppers I planted four months ago to feed my family during the pandemic bore their first harvest. So, obviously, I plan to continue using grocery delivery to stave off famine.”

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Peggy

“My husband and I have turned our garage into a home office for two.

Wouldn’t have imagined I’d be starting an office romance this year.”

Jennaye

“I’m getting better at answering ‘work from home’ emails while squatting on trails.”

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July 23, 2020 n 5

SoapBox

ReTooned/by Shan Wells

Not just no, but hell no to Trump To the editor, It’s always nice to have our national leader use Independence Day as an occasion to urge Americans to come together to celebrate our ideals and work for that elusive “more perfect union.”

That’s not what we got this year from our Disaster in Chief. He preached fear and divisiveness in support of his re-election and made clear that he supports and will protect the ugliest aspects of American heritage – slavery, ongoing systemic racism, white supremacy and Jim Crow-era statues celebrating those. Then he came out in support of the Confederate flag.

He seems to have more concern about those than he does about the big increase in COVID cases and overloaded hospitals in several states or the millions of Americans now at risk of eviction and homelessness.

Now Trump has enforcers in Portland, Ore., showing us what he means by law and order – unidentified men from unidentified federal agencies in camo driving around in unmarked vans, grabbing random racial justice protesters off the streets with no probable cause, taking them for questioning and searching their stuff, and generally harassing and intimidating them. Then the feds began incitements with tear gas and beatings, escalating the situation. Oregon is suing to make this stop and get Trump’s Gestapo to leave.

Trump never calls out the alt right for gun-toting threats of violence and actual domestic terrorist attacks.

In Trumpamerika those are good people. Instead, it’s all about the so-called antifa, the current equivalent to the Communist under every bed during the McCarthy era and now his excuse to send his Gestapo into our cities.

Does anyone think it will stop with Portland?

Is escalation the intent? Is it his plan to have an excuse to declare a national emergency and cancel the elec-

tion? This is a bit like what mainland China is doing in Hong Kong. The dictatorship is revealing itself.

It’s up to the people to say not just no, but HELL NO

in the streets and at the ballot box if there’s any hope for that more perfect union with liberty and justice for ALL. – Carole McWilliams, Bayfield 4

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Marsha’s collaborative leadership To the editor, I am very honored to support Marsha Porter-Norton for County Commissioner. She is the forward-thinking and clear choice we need now. In a Herald article June 30, Marsha’s career was summed up as being in the nonprofit sector. This is true, but not the whole story. The reporter left out that she has headed her own consulting business for 20 years. She facilitates, leads and mediates meetings about controversial, tough community issues.

Her platform is simple: do the most good for the most county residents through affordable housing, growing good jobs and recovery from COVID-19, health-wise and economy-wise. She wants a land use code that is easier to use and more customer friendly, and one that protects the values we love about living here. She wants to see more preparation around wildfires and thinks that taking care of our county roads is vitally important for the future. Renewable energy is a focus for her, especially related to how we can create local jobs and local electricity.

With two candidates, our local media will serve us better by offering accurate portrayals of all candidates’ experiences. I am proud to support Marsha because she has experience in both the nonprofit and private sectors. Her steady, known and collaborative leadership is what we need now.

– Pat Senecal, Durango

Fleshing out mask compliance To the editor, I may have the perfect solution for mask enforcement in Durango.

We know through hubristic traits in outdoor endeavors that the one universal truth in altering behavior is that people would rather risk serious injury than be embarrassed.

When Governor Polis announced a mask ruling for all of Colorado, I read in a news release that business owners now have the same legal remedy against someone who is not wearing a mask, as someone who is naked in their establishment. I don’t know if that’s true, but bare with me.

I propose a brigade of those willing to get naked in Durango. This brigade would patrol downtown. When they encounter a non-mask wearing individual, they would strip down to just their mask and footwear, and follow the offender just inside of their personal space.

Just enough to make them really uncomfortable until they sport a mask. Durango Business Improvement District may be the logical entity to spearhead this. It would give new meaning to their ambassadors “pressing the flesh” with our visitors.

With those visitors who are mask-abiding, it would be a simple matter of helping our valued visitors find the perfect lunch spot. No mask? Off comes the clothes. Once naked, the ambassadors would be a beacon, so that law enforcement could then come and issue a citation for noncompliance of mask regulations.

Now to keep this from attracting creeps to Durango in hopes that they would enjoy a peep show, we’d need to recruit those who are not Durango’s most attractive residents. Picture, if you will, an individual who has experienced too much sun exposure. Maybe their sun-beaten skin hangs off of their frame like wet cellophane (and before you flame me, I am approaching that demographic, so I speak from personal experience). Essentially, we want the aesthetic experience to be one of “You can’t unsee that.”

An unintended consequence? This would no-doubt be picked up by every news outlet on the planet. The simple act of taking one’s clothes off to make our community healthier could bring PR value that Visit Durango could only dream of.

– Marty Grabijas, Durango

A wheelie serious question To the editor, A serious question for my bicycling friends, especially those riding CR 250: If I wear a Durango Wheel Club jersey when driving my roadster, will I be immune to getting a ticket for running stop signs?

– Dennis Pierce, Durango

Trump makes mockery of office

To the editor, President Trump has shown how fragile our democracy is when we have a president who abuses his power and threatens the Constitution of the United States.

During protests in June, Trump wanted to deploy 10,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division and other units to Washington, D.C., to squelch the protests. The rational thinking and recommendations of Defense Secretary Esper, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Milley and Attorney General Barr avoided the deployment.

Trump abused his power when he asked the Ukrainian President to interfere in our election, and Trump was subsequently punished with impeachment by the House of Representatives. Trump asked China’s President Xi Jinping to help him in the 2020 election.

Trump commuted convicted criminal Roger Stone’s sentence and interfered with the sentencing of other friends. Attorney General Barr said Trump’s tweets were interfering with Justice Department cases.

I agree with former Chief of Staff General John Kelly who essentially said we have to scrutinize candidates for the Presidency of the U.S. to ensure they have the psychological stability, even demeanor and intelligence to assume the office of the President of our great country and do not threaten our Constitution.

– Donald Moskowitz, Londonderry, N.H., via email

*Yes, it is fine if you want to take a few for friends, neighbors, family, etc. Just don’t poach the whole stack. That’s lame.

If you need extra papers for fire-starter, Trump Piñatas or makeshift COVID masks, we stock back issues at our racks at the following locations: • The Mayer Building, 679 E. 2nd Ave. • The Durango downtown Post Office • Peerless Tire Or call 970-259-0133 and we’ll hook you up.

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July 23, 2020 n 7

Quick’n’Dirty N.M. releases stricter methane rules Colorado could soon be getting help from its neighbor to the south in helping to combat the notorious Four Corners Hot Spot.

On Monday, the State of New Mexico released draft rules to rein in methane waste and pollution from the oil and gas industry in that state. Although Colorado has some of the toughest methane rules in the country, they are powerless in the face of pollution drifting over from neighboring states. It is hoped the New Mexico rules will change this. A key element of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s climate strategy, they call for 98 percent capture of methane leaks by 2026 and would apply to producers as well as pipeline and processing companies.

The state expects to have the rules finalized by the end of 2020.

Environmental groups were cautiously optimistic over the draft rules, saying they contained tough provisions to both reduce waste and ensure enforcement.

“Upon first look, it is wide-reaching, sets tough standards and should deliver real reductions,” Thomas Singer, senior policy advisor with the Western Environmental Law Center, said. “We still need to carefully go through the fine print to determine whether the rules take effect quickly enough to achieve the governor’s climate goals, and if exemptions are appropriately limited to prevent loopholes that would undermine the purpose of the rules.”

Singer, who participated on the state’s Methane Advisory Panel in crafting the rules, said he would like to see limits on venting of methane as well as routine flaring in the final rules. He also wants the final rules to apply to the state’s low-producing wells and smaller facilities which, collectively, are a significant source of methane waste and pollution.

Oil and gas activity and aging infrastructure are the primary causes of the Delaware-sized methane hot spot over the Four Corners. It is estimated 1 million metric tons of methane are wasted per year in the area, the equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions of 30 million cars or more than 20 coal-fired power plants. In addition, the Permian Basin in the southeastern part of the state contributes 500,000 metric tons of methane waste in 2018 from venting and flaring of wells, accounting for 4 percent of total gas production in the state.

The wasted gas amounts to more than $40 million in lost royalties every year for the state, not to mention the environmental impact. Methane, more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, is seen as a major driver in climate change. Further, methane also forms volatile organic compounds, which contribute to ozone formation and are linked to a wide range of health issues, including asthma. Oil and gas drilling also releases other air toxins such as benzene, ethylbenzene and n-hexane, which have been linked with cancer.

It is hoped the rules will be close in line with Colorado, which in 2014 became the first state in the country to crack down on methane by requiring oil companies to regularly inspect and repair leaks at their biggest facilities. In 2016, the Obama administration followed Colorado’s lead and announced a federal methane rule, which is now threatened with rollback under President Donald Trump.

In 2019, Colorado went even further by passing sweeping new regulations that further crack down on methane emissions and accompanying VOCs. The stricter provisions include semiannual leak detection and repair for low-producing wells; stronger tank controls for low-producing wells; expansion of the “find and fix” program for malfunctioning controllers and valves; and a requirement that operators report all pollution, including methane emissions, on an annual basis.

Dialing down free testing, drinking Due to a sharp increase in COVID cases and a strain on testing resources and labs, San Juan Basin Public Health is scaling back its free community testing program. The local health department requested this week that only high priority individuals be tested at its free drive-up testing site at Mercy Medical Center. High priority cases are considered people with COVID-19 symptoms or who have been notified of an exposure by SJBPH or another public health agency.

People in the “medium priority” category – those with no symptoms or identified exposure but who live or work with high-risk

8 n July 23, 2020

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RainorShine:

The sun hits a distant peak beyond Hope Lake as the weather tries to make up its mind in the San Juans last weekend./Photo by Missy Votel

populations – should coordinate with SJBPH or contact a private clinic in the area for testing. All others, including those instructed to get a test by an employer or school and those testing for travelrelated reasons, should contact private testing providers as well.

Testing sites include: • Mercy Medical Center drive-thru testing (high priority only), Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs. and Sat., 8 a.m. – noon, North Parking Lot at the intersection of Mercado and Nighthorse Circle. Note: Appointments are not required but there is a limit of 50 tests a day.

• Cedar Diagnostics (medium priority and all others) with locations in Durango, Cortez and Pagosa, testing for $50, by appointment only. Durango or Cortez appointments can be made at www.cedardx.com/index.php/covid-19/. For Pagosa Springs, appointments can be made at 970-372-0456.

• La Plata Integrated Healthcare (medium priority and all others) 1970 E. 3rd Ave., free drive-thru testing on Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., by appointment only: 970-335-2288. No referrals or doctors’ orders are needed, and testing is open to all.

Despite the scaling back of its free testing program, SJBPH executive director Liane Jollon stressed that widespread testing is still a key tool in fighting the pandemic. “SJBPH continues to emphasize the importance of testing in controlling the spread of COVID-19, as each additional diagnostic test taken gives us an understanding of the transmission of the disease in our community and helps us make strategic decisions on how we respond,” she said.

In addition to this, Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday that in an effort to fight the state’s growing number of COVID cases – particularly among the 20-29-year-old age group – alcohol sales after 10 p.m. will be prohibited. The rule took effect Thurs., July 23, and will last for at least the next 30 days.

“We know we can’t behave the way we did last summer, or even the way we did in February,” he said during a news conference.

“Though we have taken steps to open up more of our economy, we have to remain vigilant. Do not give the virus the power to do what it does best: spread by engaging in risky, irresponsible and thoughtless behavior.”

– Missy Votel

thesecondsection

TopShelf

Staying alive

Livestreaming, Rolling Revues and other tricks in the pandemic musician’s ‘toolbag’

by Chris Aaland

B

ack in before times, I’d stare at the clock on Friday afternoons wondering when it would be appropriate to ditch work and head to the bar.

Usually, the yearnings started around 3 p.m. By 4, I’d be barreling down the road. In the summer, that meant meeting my buddies at The Balcony to slam a few happy hour pints and watch a local band.

In this new normal – at least for most of my friends and me – these chances are few and far between. Call me a sheep or a snowflake, but I’m holed up in the house.

While it’s a bummer to those of us hankering for a cold one with our pals, it’s financially devastating for bands that have lost gigs. It also takes away their best chance to sell CDs, T-shirts, koozies and other merchandise.

More than a half-dozen local artists have released full-length albums or CDs during the pandemic or the months leading up to it. Sales, other than donations to crowdsourcing to help with production costs, are few and far between.

Durango singer/songwriter Caitlin Cannon recently moved to Nashville part-time seeking a real music career. Over the past eight years prior to that, she fronted local groups like Caitlin Cannon & the Artillery and The Cannondolls, playing smaller local venues and street festivals while sporadically releasing recordings with her bands. The move to Nashville meant recruiting a group of seasoned veterans to record with, hiring a producer and even seeking management to handle publicity and bookings.

“My whole life was going to change,” Cannon told me last week. “And then it didn’t change at all, which is so sad. I was really upset because I had invested a lot of energy into my release cycle. Everybody was pulling their releases because they have teams of people helping them strategize how to be successful. The only way artists can make money off their albums is touring.”

The Huntsville, Ala., native had completed a record called “The TrashCannon Album,” which had been pushed back due to a variety of reasons. Instead of releasing it, she began releasing singles, some with professionally produced videos. She attended the Americana Music Association convention in Nashville last fall, making professional connections that could advance her career. One of those contacts was Denis Grabill, owner and booking agent for Black Oak Artists, which has a roster of more than 25 up-andcoming country and Americana acts. He quickly signed Cannon to Black Oak. “Denis has been around to give me advice when I

The Stillhouse Junkies on one of their impromptu “Rolling Revue” performances. When a tour in England as well as a summer on the festival circuit evaporated because of the pandemic, the trio began offering frontyard and driveway concerts via its social media as a way to keep playing. “We were feeling pretty depressed that we weren’t playing much,” lead vocalist Fred Kozak said. “The Rolling Revue was a way to pivot to something else.”/Courtesy photo

“No band has been able to continue touring through this. There’s a bit of solidarity in that Bruce Springsteen is sitting at home and watching TV just like the rest of us.”

– Fred Kozak, Stillhouse Junkies needed it, like starting this weekly livestream called ‘Married to Monday,’” she said. “We’re getting creative about how we’re going to do things when they open up.” One piece of advice was to release a few advance singles like “Toolbag” and “Deliver.”

“We’re in a singles market, and since I had released my other recorded music as Caitlin Cannon & the Artillery and The Cannondolls, Caitlin Cannon didn’t have a presence on digital,” she explained. “I kind of needed to do something to try and build that presence.

By the time the record came out, I had some pretty good press.” Major publications like Billboard and Saving Country Music raved about her, drawing the attention of radio programmers across the country.

When the May 15 release date came around for “The TrashCannon Album,” Cannon and her team didn’t hesitate. “I’ve put upwards of 30 grand into that record,” she said, adding that she had to cut hair to pay for it. “I don’t know if I can do that to my body again.”

Cannon said all she really wants to do is build a cult following around the album. “I just want to connect with the people who get what I do … people who probably have accumulated a lot of pain in their life, but at the same time they probably have a good sense of humor about that,” she said.

Snarky and sassy with autobiographical lyrics about personal battles like alcoholism, failed relationships and her brother’s incarceration in the Alabama prison system, “The TrashCannon Album” is an early frontrunner for my record of the year. Cannon, who splits time between Durango and Nashville and still cuts hair to make a living, will have to look toward 2021 for her big breakthrough. 4

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July 23, 2020 n

9

Musicians from p. 9 “I really do want to make another record, but I’m going to have to do the whole label shopping thing,” she said. “I also think that I need to get in the zone of self-promotion again.”

Another local act that was poised for big things in 2020 is StillHouse Junkies. The Durango-based bluegrass and Americana trio signed with Blue Sun Entertainment, which counts the jamgrass group, The Wooks, among its artists. StillHouse’s first tour of England in late March was on the horizon, as were numerous summer festival dates. The group released its second fulllength album (and first as a trio), “Calamity,” in midwinter.

“This was going to be a pretty big year for us. We felt like the opportunities were going to lead to other stuff – like Grey Fox, the John Hartford Festival, IBMA,” Fred Kozak, guitarist, mandolin player, lead vocalist and chief songwriter for the Junkies, said. “It’s been an ongoing game of trying not to get our hopes up, but being somewhat hopeful that not everything is going to be wiped out. We cancelled well over 100 shows.”

Kozak and his bandmates, bassist Cody Tinnin and violinist Alissa Wolf, find some solace in the fact that the economic repercussions of COVID-19 aren’t exclusive.

“No band has been able to continue touring through this,” he said.

“There’s a bit of solidarity in that Bruce Springsteen is sitting at home and watching TV just like the rest of us.”

Instead of dwelling on the lack of national dates, the Junkies took matters into their own hands by starting the “Rolling Revue” in April, which brings live shows to fans’ driveways and front yards. “We were feeling pretty depressed that we weren’t playing much,” Kozak said. “The Rolling Revue was

a way to pivot to something else, and we feel like we’re giving something to the community. It’s cool to get that energy back from people. Playing to two people who are really stoked is not all that different from playing to a big crowd.”

The band floats signup sheets on its social media, which quickly fills up. There’s no cost associated with it, although many Rolling Revue hosts are generous with tips. “We’ve been to all corners of the town and county. July filled up in a day,” he said.

Meanwhile, there’s “Calamity,” a collection of Kozak’s best writing in songs like “Mountains of New Mexico,” “Burn it Down” and the “Shackleton” trilogy that the band debuted at the 2019 Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Tinnin and Wolf play a bigger role than ever in this album, adding harmonies and a strong musical backbone.

The Junkies will have likely moved on from “Calamity” by the time touring resumes. “We have an album done that we could basically record pretty soon,” said Kozak. “For us, the next big push is to try and find a label to help us put out new music without having to do the crowdfunding. We’ve crowdfunded all of our albums so far.”

That new record will follow a pattern of songs with a sense of place. Tinnin’s “Five Doors Down in Leadville” and the Wolf/Kozak instrumental, “Johnny Mac” were already part of the live setlists before the lockdown.

Their year-old digital single and concert staple, “(Mancos Kind of) Saturday Night,” will likely find a home on the new album as well.

In the meantime, they’ve received help from national nonprofits like the Grammy Foundation’s MusiCares and the IBMA Bluegrass Trust. “There’s a lot of positive energy, and a lot of people who didn’t lose their income are stepping up to contribute,” said Kozak.

The Junkies have paid this forward by participating in fundraisers like April’s CERF the Airwaves event, which benefitted local musicians, and last weekend’s Spirit of Grey Fox event that raised money for the IBMA Bluegrass Trust. They shared the bill with artists like Sam Bush, Leftover Salmon, Nickel Creek and dozens more in the four-day online concert that mixed new performances in isolation with vintage film and sound recordings from Grey Fox’s festival archives.

Others to release music in COVID-19 times include People We Know, a bluegrass band that dropped its debut album last December, only to see Meltdown and summer

Left: Caitlin Cannon busts a move in her video for “Toolbag,” which is on Youtube and definitely worth a watch – or several. Her latest album, “The TrashCannon Album” came out in May.

gigs dry up; old-time musician Brendan Shafer, whose brand-new EP was recorded with his Six Dollar String Band mates; country crooner Tyller Gummersall, whose “Heartbreak College” saw a mid-spring release; Sunny Gable (leader of Sunny & the Whiskey Machine), whose solo EP “Little Things” will be available July 31; and Americana songwriter Thom Chacon – a bigger thing in Europe than in his own hometown. Chacon’s latest album is nearly complete, but he’ll follow Cannon down the singles highway for the time being.

As local music fans, the best we can do is buy music, schedule backyard performances or drop a few bucks into a virtual tip jar. I already have digital copies of all the StillHouse Junkies material, but a “Calamity” LP would sound even better on my turntable. Just as I’d rather buy produce from a local farmer than a big box store, I’d rather spend my entertainment dollars on my friends and neighbors.

And it washes down easy with a cold pint of Mexican Logger, Colorado Kolsch or Class VI IPA on my back deck.

Ride a raft with old Huck Finn? Email me at chrisa@gobrain storm.net. n

Lucky you.

No. 13 of The Gulch is here!

Available wherever you find the Telegraph or at www.gulchmag.com To find out about advertising opportunities, email: steve@gulchmag.com

10 n July 23, 2020

telegraph

GoodEats

Carpaccio & Manhattans An ode to the salad days of dining out

by Donna Hewett

I

’m standing in line at my local Albertson’s. Three ladies with their baskets wait 6 feet behind. The cashier is also the manager. She’s expediting very well.

She’s a bull of a woman in a black mask.

We all have masks. We’re all eyes.

“Excuse me … ,” A young male joins the tail-end of the line, wearing a midriff tee and ignoring the 6-foot rule. He has a huge box of Captain Crunch and a six pack of Charmin.

“Nice chin strap, Cavity Sam,” snaps our cashier. “You gotta pull your mask up – over your nose. Both nostrils.”

Instead he pulls it down into what looks like a dirty ascot.

“I happen to have a perfectly working immune system. And I can assure you that it protects me a hell of a lot better than this bird cloth does.”

“It ain’t you that I’m worried about.”

She ushers him to the front of the line and before we can blink, he’s paid and gone.

Whew. The manager stands tall behind her mask. I pay, give her a slight bow and take my bag of frozen shrimp and wipe down in the car.

Our friends are hosting a birthday party that afternoon. When I get home, I ask Paul if he’s sure about going. We’re both dying to get out of the house, and it is a small pool party in the sunshine, but still. My husband, usually the rational one in the family, adores splashing in water, especially when it’s blowing 100 degrees of dry heat.

“We’ll just stay in the pool the whole time,” he begs.

“People can still sneeze in a swimming pool,” I tell him.

“Please? They’re our neighbors, not just a bunch of strangers!!”

We arrive with plump grilled shrimp, savory watermelon salad and a couple of bunches of fresh asparagus, the dreaded Faber Castell variety – pencil thin. (We girls had a joke in college about Faber Castell, but that’s a different story.)

The patio is divine. Spacious. The pool’s jewel blue and the gardens above it full of fruit trees and the entire alphabet of eatables. A compost pile dotted with purple flowers rests in the shade. I sip a frozen margarita as my husband larks about in the water.

Across from me grilling is a man in great shape (for his age), who happens to be a very religious consumer of all things keto. I brace myself for his soggy hamburger. And sure enough, right off the platter, it drips. The rareness doesn’t bother me so much as the chef’s intention.

Cooked bleu as the French prefer or grilled in the Pitts-

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burgh style, burgers should have an intense caramelized crust that contains the juice and adds a truck full of flavor. To distract myself, I tell the others about the guy at the grocery store.

“He was breaking the law and didn’t care a bit who he breathed on. How can a mask be a symbol of tyranny when a pandemic is ripping across the landscape? I don’t get it. How can someone not believe in a virus?”

I notice their fine-tuned friend is glaring at me. He says in a Clint Eastwood sorta way, “We don’t wear masks. We don’t follow the ‘herd’ mentality. We leave that to the woke folks.” And with that, he coughed. At me. Right across the table. No elbow. Silence invades the space. I’m confounded.

“But your wife’s a nurse,” I reason.

“We’ve released the muzzle,” she says with her head up. They won’t look me in the eye. Just having eaten their food is regretful. I give myself a double pump of Purell and go find another cocktail. Laura’s giggling in the kitchen.

“I tried to warn you!”

“God-damned anti-maskers. I guess we can thank our president for creating a club of fools.”

She nods. She knows.

So when the entire state of New Mexico recently shut down, again, I wasn’t astounded. No dining in (funny, I always thought of it as eating out.)

With servers looking like triage nurses, people staring dumbly into space while chomping their food, yellow

tape clumsily placed around every other table, music and proper lighting seem pointless. Ambiance today has – how shall we say – de-materialized?

Once upon a time in the not-so-distant past (circa 2008) in Durango, on the stylish side-street known as College Drive, sat a small, north-facing restaurant called Ariano’s. I guess you could say it was just an Italian joint, but it was more than that. Ariano’s stood out in a way that was quiet and dignified. They didn’t serve lunch or mess around with happy hour, they made one thing: Northern Italian Cuisine. Pictures of generations of families tipped charmingly across the walls. Nothing phony to entertain the tourists. Just really good food that you were lucky as a ducky to dive into.

We’d drive the 45 minutes twice a month, or three times if we had company to show around. In the alley in the afternoon you could hear soft Italian music wafting down from the second story kitchen, along with scents of garlic, marjoram and artichoke. That’s when you knew Vince, the chef and owner, was in the midst of his mise en place.

Doors flung open at five o’clock sharp.

Reserved and busy upstairs, we usually sat at the dark, wonderful bar on the first floor. Carmine, the doorman, with his gleaming copper complexion, would give a quick glance to Jake, the unsmiling handsome bartender, and pretty soon they arrived: two Maker’s Mark Manhattans straight up, their cherry lit beneath tiny moon lights.

We always started with the fresh carpaccio, served with big flaky shavings of parmigiana, cut lemons and capers.

And then the homemade pasta with a veal Marsala so delicate you could devour it in under 10 seconds but instead savored it with bread and wine for a long part of the night.

Vince would descend from his perch when the kitchen closed. As always, from a very old bottle, label near gone, he’d pour us icy cold house-made limoncello. The talented, charming chef was a delight to drink with. If his brother was in the house, then it was a party.

We’d drive back home with the kind of dinning satisfaction that has never been available where we live. We, of course, visited many other wonderful spots in Durango, like Chez Grand Mere, Ken and Sue’s, the Red Snapper, Le Rendezvous Swiss Bakery, which tragically burned down (remember the old bread cutter in the window?)

But my deepest yearning remains for Ariano’s. The quality that the people and the food brought into our lives is unquestionable. We were living to eat and drink there, basically. When Vince retired and sold it, our hearts broke. The best was lost.

Back in Farmington, it’s been tough. n

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July 23, 2020 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday23

Local favorites Farmington Hill bring the plaid and the rock and roll to the Mancos Brewery on Saturday night for a socially distanced show

th

DJ Calvin plays, 5 – 8 p.m., 11 Street Station.

The Southwest Civic Jazz Orchestra plays for the free Concerts @the Park virtual concert series, 5:30 – 7 p.m. To log on, go to www.durangoconcerts.com.

Larry Carver & Jack Ellis play, 7 p.m., Derailed Pour House, 725 Main Ave. Mark Doty “What is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life,” Zoom author talk, 6 – 7:30 p.m., presented

by Maria’s Bookshop. RSVP at: tinyurl.com/y33f72pp

Friday24 Middle Ground plays bluegrass, 5 p.m., outdoors at The Nugget Bar, HWY 550, south of Purgatory.

Sean O’Brien plays, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Deadline for “Stuff to Do” submissions is Monday at noon. To submit an item, email: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Kirk James plays solo blues, 6 p.m., Union Social House,3062 Main Ave. The Black Velvet Duo plays, 6 p.m., Dandelion Café (previously the Cyprus Café), 725 E. 2nd Ave. Zion Spencer plays, 6 – 8 p.m., 11th Street Station.

“Water and Wine” featuring Jenny Winegardner and Gary Watkins, play 6 – 9 p.m., at Foxfire Farms, Ignacio.

Aikido via sword and jo training, 9-10 a.m., Claire Viles Park (next to St. Columba Church). Masks required. www.durangoaikido.com

Sunday26 Henry Stoy plays piano, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m., Jean Pierre Wine Bar, College Drive and Main.

Saturday25 Durango Farmers Market, Saturdays, 8 a.m. – 12 noon, in TBK Parking Lot, across from the Transit Center.

Facemasks required. www.durangofarmersmarket.com.

Dustin Burley plays, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Edible/Medicinal Plant Excursion, 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Meet at the Rec Center and carpool to the site. Register at DurangoGov.org. Info: AlpineHike@gmail.com. $35.

Blue Moon Ramblers play Americana/bluegrass, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Monday27

Mike Testa plays, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Farmington Hill plays, 6 – 8 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

Limited seating, masks required, groups are asked to arrive together, and movement between tables is not allowed. Call 970-533-9761 to pay for a reserved table or a bring-your-own-chair spot.

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12 n July 23, 2020

Aikido via sword and jo training, 5-6 p.m., Claire Viles Park (next to St. Columba Church). Masks required. www.durangoaikido.com The Great Animas City Passeggiata, a creative, physically distant stroll, 5 – 8 p.m., 30th and N. Main Ave. area. Hosted by the Animas City Night Bazaar.

Rocky Mountain Uke Fest online jam, 6:30 – 8 p.m. denise@rockymountainukefest.com for Zoom link.

Ongoing

Ed Morlan Day food drive, 3 – 6 p.m., 118 W. Mill Street. For info call, 970-769-6873

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“How to Become a ‘Big,’” informational online sessions by Big Brothers Big Sisters, 9 a.m., 12 noon and 5 p.m. For more info. or to sign up, email susan@bbig.org

Terry Rickard plays, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Tuesday28

Gary Walker plays jazz accordion, 6 – 8 p.m., Dandelion Café, 725 E. Second Ave.

Wednesday29

Meditation and Dharma Talk with Cara Lai, 5:307 p.m. online at www.durangodharmacenter.org/

Rob Webster plays, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Lacey Black performs 5 – 8 p.m., Serious Texas BBQ South, 650 Camino Del Rio.

Leah Orlikowski plays, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

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“Cirque,” large-scale paintings by Mariah Kaminsky, on display at Animas Chocolate Co., 920 Main Ave. Lacey Black/Dale Elliott play ragtime and honkytonk piano, 12 noon – 2:30ish, daily at the Gran Imperials Hotel’s Lone Spur Cafe in Silverton.

MoreStufftoDo4

AskRachel

Sign rage, catnapping and maskless avengers Interesting fact: Body farm research at the Forensic Investigation Research Station at Colorado Mesa University inadvertently discovered that, yes, given the chance, cats really will eat your dead body.

Dear Rachel, People are very touchy right now, in case you haven’t noticed. Like at the stop sign on my corner, where there is at least one daily f-bomb or road rage incident. This beats old men yelling at clouds. How do you argue about a stop sign? Or WITH a stop sign? I feel partially responsible, since it’s my neighborhood after all. So what should I do about it?

– Seeing Red Dear Animal Planet, Here’s what you should do about it: Pull out a lawn chair, make yourself a pitcher of mojitos, don your mask (complete with one of those straw holes), and livestream every incident that happens at your friendly neighborhood stop sign. You can edit together the best ones for a weekly digest of sorts. I’ll talk to the editor and see if we can’t make that a regular feature on the Telegraph website.

– Tune in next week, Rachel Dear Rachel, I need a moral ruling here. Let’s say that Person A entirely hypothetically finds a friendly stray cat with no collar, lures the cat inside, feeds the cat, and declares she’s never letting it go. Meanwhile, Person B thinks the cat should be checked for a microchip and, if chipped, re-

turned to its rightful owner. But Person B doesn’t speak up because he has intimate relations with Person A and doesn’t want to piss her off.

How can Person B ethically slip the cat to the vet’s office and blame its disappearance on an open window?

– Cat Burglar Dear Thin Blue Feline, This sounds a lot like the premise to “Misery,” only with more sexual tension. You’ve painted yourself as the only barrier between sanity and complete lawlessness on behalf of the cat. But have you considered that cats, really and truly, do not give a litterbox crap? About anything? Sure, there might be a catless child searching the ’hood at night looking for that beloved Fluffymuffin.

But Fluffymuffin just wants to eat you when you die, no matter who you are.

– Meow, Rachel Dear Rachel, I wonder if we should treat maskless tourists like bears. Stop feeding them. Put those aggravating garbage-can latches on their hotel room doors. Tranquilize the problem ones and transport them deep into the Weminuche. Set up enough of these deterrents, and they’ll go away, and we won’t have to cross the street every time we see one on the sidewalk. I’ve reached out to the Bear Smart folks, but haven’t heard back yet. Can you help me get the word out and start the movement?

– Bear Necessities

MoreStufftoDo Rob Webster plays July 30, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Andrew Schuhmann plays July 31, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Adam Swanson plays ragtime piano, Aug. 1, 3 & 8, 5:50 – 8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Dear Ursa Major, I tell you what, I’d rather run into a bear than a maskless tourist. I’ve never had a bear cough on me or argue about their freedoms. We’re all used to bears, too. But the tourists aren’t. I think instead of treating tourists like bears, we should start acting like the worst misconceptions about bears for the tourists. Dress in faux fur rugs and snatch the beers (and small children) right out of their hands. Even if the tourists don’t go away, you might just make that stop-sign livestream.

– Bearing my soul, Rachel

Back in business?

from p.12

Upcoming:

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

Carve Wars, chainsaw carving competition, Aug. 7 – 9, Purgatory Resort. www.purgatoryresort.com Jose Villareal plays, Aug. 6, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Donny Johnson plays, Aug. 7, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. The Black Velvet Trio plays Aug. 7, 6 p.m., at Fox Fire Farms Winery, Ignacio.

Devon Scott plays everything from R. Kelly to Patsy Cline on ukulele, Aug. 1, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

“Unbridled” equine photography of Tony Stromberg, opening reception Aug. 7, 5 – 7 p.m., Sorrel Sky Gallery, 828 Main Ave. Exhibition runs through Aug. 31.

Dustin Burley plays, Aug. 2, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Matt Rupnow plays, Aug. 8, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Rob Webster plays, Aug. 3, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Leah Orlikowski plays, Aug. 11, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Terry Rickard plays, Aug. 5, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Sean O’Brien plays, Aug. 13, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

The Telegraph can help you let customers know whether it’s business up front or a socially distanced party in the back.

Call Lainie to mullet over: 970-259-0133 or lainie@durango telegraph.com

telegraph

July 23, 2020 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): “The creation of the world did not take place once and for all time, but takes place every day.” Aries playwright Samuel Beckett made that observation, and now I’m passing it on to you as you glide into an extra-creative phase of your astrological cycle. I hope you will regard Beckett’s idea as an open-ended encouragement to improvise and experiment. May it rouse you to brainstorm about novel possibilities. May it inspire you to explore fresh trends you could launch. May it mobilize you to imagine the new worlds you might “Big Bang” into existence.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Author Diane Ackerman tells us, “So often loneliness comes from being out of touch with parts of oneself.” That’s the kind of loneliness I worry you may be susceptible to right now, Taurus. You’re a bit out of touch with aspects of your psyche that are crucial for you to include in your total sense of self. You’ve been neglecting to nurture certain soulful qualities that keep you healthy and wise. Please note: It won’t be useful to try to find those parts of you in other people; you will have to locate them in your own depths. Here’s the good news: The coming weeks will be an excellent time to do just that.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Someone ought to do it, but why should I?” Author and activist Annie Besant identified that sentence as the motto of people who are moral cowards: those who know about an injustice but do nothing to address it. Very few of us have completely avoided that behavior. Most of us, including me, have now and then chosen to serve our need for comfort instead of standing up against corruption or unfairness. But I think it’s more important than usual that you Geminis don’t engage in such moral cowardice now. More depends on your integrity and bravery than you realize.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Born in 1936, Cancerian author and activist June Jordan was a black feminist bisexual born to Jamaican immigrant parents. When she was growing up, her father beat her and her mother committed suicide. Later, she raised her child alone as a single mother. Despite the challenges she faced, she published 28 books, won numerous awards and wielded significant influence. How did she do it? She was a highly evolved Cancerian in the sense that she put a priority on treating herself well.

“I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect,” she testified. I’d like to make that your keynote for the rest of 2020. Your task is to achieve June Jordan-levels of self-care.

14 n July 23, 2020

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “How can I communicate to wild bunnies that I am their ally?” asked a Twitter blogger named Ghost Girl. That question is a good place to start my oracle for you. In the coming weeks, I think you’ll be wise to meditate on how to enhance your relationship with all kinds of wild things: animals, people, weather, landscapes, and your own exotic thoughts and fantasies. In my opinion, you will upgrade your intelligence and well-being by increasing your access to influences that don’t necessarily play by conventional rules and that draw their energy from primal sources.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): “The soul should always stand ajar,” Sagittarian poet Emily Dickinson wrote, “That if the heaven inquire, / He will not be obliged to wait, / Or shy of troubling her.” I’m confident that this will be a fertile meditation for you in the coming weeks. So what does it mean? By “heaven,” I assume Dickinson meant marvelous interventions, sacred revelations and lucky accidents – and maybe also soulful invitations, out-of-the-blue opportunities, and supernatural breakthroughs.

What do you think, Sagittarius? What can you do to make your soul ajar for phenomena like those?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It’s never too late to have a rebellious adolescence – hopefully bigger and better and smarter than any you’ve had before. And according to my analysis, now would be a favorable time to get started. Is there any stuffy authority you’d be wise to flout? Any dumb and oppressive conventions you would benefit from breaking?

Any stale old traditions you’re primed to ignore so you can create some lively new traditions? In my estimation, you will generate good fortune for yourself if you try some benevolent mischief and creative experiments.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Everything is complicated,” poet Wallace Stevens wrote. “If that were not so, life and poetry and everything else would be a bore.” I agree! And therefore, I conclude, you should shed any resentment you might feel for the fact that our world is a crazy tangle of mystifying and interesting stories. Drop any wish that life will stop being so fascinatingly messy and confusingly intriguing. Instead, why not celebrate the deep riddles? And revel in the intriguing complexity? And give holy thanks for the paradoxical beauty? Everything I just said should prepare you well for the next four weeks.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your word of power for the coming weeks is “ubuntu,” a Zulu term meaning “I am because we are” or “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.” Nobel Prize-winning theologian Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes, “A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper selfassurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished.” I hope that between now and Aug. 25, Libra, you will put ubuntu at the center of everything you do. Make it an intensely practical practice.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them,” Scorpio-born Liberian politician Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says. “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” I trust you’ve arrived at this realization on your own in the past few weeks.

And I hope you have audaciously expanded and supercharged your dreams so that they do indeed surpass your current ability to accomplish them. If you have not yet done this daring work, please attend to it now. If you have done it, move on to the next step: making definite plans to acquire the power and resources necessary to achieve your new, improved dreams.

telegraph

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You’ll be extra sensitive to stimuli in the coming weeks. Every little event will touch you more intensely than usual. Every perception will flow into you with an unusually strong potential to move you and influence you. That’s why I think you should be vigilantly self-protective. Erect a psychic shield around yourself. Make sure your boundaries are firm and clear. Affirm your unshakable commitment to deflecting vibes that aren’t of use to you and welcoming vibes that will enhance your well-being.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Actress Gwyneth Paltrow founded Goop, a company that markets exotic, expensive health treatments. She claims that far-infrared gemstone therapy and crystal-based sound-healing baths will dissolve your negativity. Allowing bees to sting your scars will supposedly cause the scars to fade.

Drinking “sex juice,” a blend of watermelon and alkaline water, will enhance your libido. The “collagen martini,” which is a mix of vodka, vermouth, olive juice and collagen peptides, will smooth your skin’s wrinkles. I’m favorably disposed to you taking strong actions to improve your wellbeing in the coming weeks, Pisces, but I recommend that you try cheaper, more reliable modalities than those Paltrow recommends. Like what? Ample sleep and good food, for starters, along with fun exercise, time in nature, enjoyable meditation sessions, and tender expressions of love.

classifieds

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon.

Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $5 minimum. Even better, ads can now be placed online: durangotelegraph.com. Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check.

(Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)

Ads can be submitted via: n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 679 E. 2nd Ave., #E2 Approximate office hours: Mon: 9ish - 5ish Tues: 9ish - 5ish Wed: 9ish - 3ish Thurs: On delivery Fri: Gone fishing; call first

Announcements Misfit Poetry with Zach Hively Online writing workshop with the Tele’s finest! Strengthen yourself in any genre. Mon. Aug. 3, 4-6pm. Register at casaurracaltd.com.

BBBS Seeks New Board Members If you have a love of children and are willing to invest your time and talents to help them find success, we invite you to consider being part of Big Brothers Big Sisters. For information, contact, Board President at: joanmarieheil@gmail.com 602.684.9813 Do You Go Between Durango & Dolores or Mancos & Dolores?

The Telegraph is looking for someone to deliver a bundle of papers to the Dolores market once a week – preferably Thursday or Friday. Can pick up in Durango or Mancos. Email telegraph@durangotelegraph.com if interested. Small pittance possible.

The Perfect Gift for your favorite dirtbag. Literature from Durango’s own Benighted Publications. The Desert, The Climbing Zine, The Great American Dirtbags, American Climber, Climbing Out of Bed and Graduating From College Me are available at: Maria’s Bookshop, Pine Needle Mountaineering, the Sky Store, or on the interweb at www.climbingzine.com.

Wanted Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

Services RSE Handyman Service Home maintenance & repair, yard work, odd jobs 970-903-0449.

Mysto the Magi is Back!

Mysto the Magician is back in town and ready to perform the most mind blowing magic either outside or virtually for your family reunion, wedding, birthday, or corporate event. Contact Mysto at 970-759-5015 or MystoTheMagi@hot mail.com Quantum Astro Readings one hour $75 intro 772-492-9464 Lowest Prices on Storage!

Inside/outside storage near Durango and Bayfield. 10-x-20, $130. Outside spots: $65, with discounts available. RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494 Harmony Organizing and Cleaning Services Home and office 970-403-6192.

Sustainable Small Community 45 miles from Durango, next to national forest. Private cabins for rent or work exchange. Refs, dep. snowdome ranch@protonmail.com.

ForSale Reruns Home Furnishings New arrivals: Vintage Drexel Asian cabinet with matching mirror. Tall tables, bar stools, midcentury tables and cabinets. Garden items, bistro, and lots of fun kitchen items. 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

RealEstate Radon Services Free radon testing and consultation.

Call Colorado Radon Abatement and Detection for details. 970- 946-1618.

HaikuMovieReview Mucho Mucho Amor True story of a flamboyant astrologer bedazzled with love – Lainie Maxson

NewspaperOrigami A sea lion

Marketing Small and Local Businesses Media, social media, website content, SEO, etc. for small, local, independent or startup businesses. Email jnderge@ gmail.com

YardSale Yard Sale Sat. July 25th 8am to 4pm 2355 CR 204 household goods, sporting goods, furniture. Everything must go.

ForRent Standalone Studio Apt. Downtown, no smokers, no pets. $675/mo. + elec. and gas. 970-317-1018.

Housemate Wanted Male to share great in-town home with other guys. Clean, quiet, responsible. No smokers, pets, partiers, drugs. $550/mo. incl. utils., dep. 970-759-0551.

Bright & Beautiful Office Space available inside natural health care office. Perfect for body worker or therapist.

Shared waiting area & bathroom. Free: pkg, wifi & util. $550/mo Call/ text 970749-2815

telegraph

July 23, 2020 n 15

Come visit our shiny new Airstream style trailer in Bird’s restaurant parking lot 2957 Main Ave. Open daily, noon ’til dusk 970 903 1300 See our Instagram and Facebook pages for updates

La Plata County’s new Draft Land Use Code is out for public review!

Please provide your input on the new code that aims to: 7 /,3&!" -/"!& 1 &)&15 +! &*-/,3"! "/1 &+15 ,# 1%" !"3"),-*"+1 -/, "00 +! ,21 ,*"0 7 &)&1 1" +! !&/" 1 $/,41% 1, --/,-/& 1" /" 0 7 *-/,3" 1%" /"3&"4 -/, "00 7 /1& 2) 1" )" / !"3"),-*"+1 01 +! /!0 7 1/" *)&+" 1%" !"3"),-*"+1 -/, "00 7 /,1" 1 +! /"0-" 1 1%" ,2+1580 *,01 3 )2"! 00"10 7 &+&*&6" 0-/ 4) Join us for Planning Commission hearings – and provide your comments – on the Draft Land Use Code from 6-8 p.m. July 23 ,&+ 3&

,,* ,/ &+ -"/0,+ 0, & ) !&01 + &+$ +! * 0(0 /".2&/"! 1 1%" ,2+15 !*&+&01/ 1&,+ 2&)!&+$ +! 3" 2/ +$, ,,* )&+( %11-0 20 4" 6,,* 20 '

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16 n July 23, 2020

telegraph