The Durango Telegraph, Oct. 7, 2021

Sober since Sunday

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FREE Oct. 7, 2021 Vol. XX, No. 39 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

&

B E Y O N D

Return to normal

Snowdown is back!

Burritos and burgers

FLC works to address barriers faced by Native students p8

Cancelled in 2021 due to COVID, winter debauchery returns p9

Foodie fanboy busts myths about local restaurant scene p10

2 n Oct. 7, 2021

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lineup

4

4 La Vida Local

Tensions flare over masks on flight back to the home country

4 Thumbin’ It

Mile high mayhem

Let the games begin

by Missy Votel

5 Word on the Street 6 Soapbox

8

8 Local News

Back to class

Pandemic created especially difficult circumstasnces for Native students

9 Top Story

by Charlotte West and Monica Baine/ Colorado Public Radio

10 Let’s Dig In

9

12-13 Stuff to Do

Cabin fever reliever

13 Ask Rachel

Snowdown makes a comeback in 2022

by Jonathan Romeo

14 Free Will Astrology 15 Classifieds

10

15 Haiku Movie Review

Let’s dig in

On the cover: Leaf peeing around the La Plata Mountains, where snow was a welcome sight this fall after a dry summer./ Photo

by Alex Krebs

New Tele columnists seeks to uplift and shed light on local food scene

boilerplate

by Sinjin Eberle

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Sinjin Eberle, Jeffrey Mannix, Lainie Maxson, Rob Brezsny 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

Ear to the ground: “Why’re you getting another drink?”

“Because I’m not blacked out yet.”

– Just a simple answer to a simple question

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.

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thepole

RegularOccurrences

Next weekend, Fort Lewis College mountain bikers are going to party like it’s 1990. From Oct. 14-17, the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships descend, quite literally, on Purgatory, home to the fabled 1990 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.

“We are excited to bring collegiate athletes from all over the country to see what is so special about Durango, Purgatory and the community,” Dave Hagen, director of cycling operations at FLC and technical director for the event, said.

FLC cyclists will be riding for their 25th team title but will have stiff competition from Colorado Mesa University, Indiana’s Marian University, and Brevard and Lees-McRae colleges, both from North Carolina.

Racing begins Thurs., Oct. 14, with Dual Slalom qualifiers. Friday will be a full day of action with cross-country racing followed by Dual Slalom finals. Downhill seedings and Short Track will take place Saturday, and racing will conclude Sunday with Downhill finals and the ultimate decider, the Team Relay.

Hagen said racers will be riding on “sprucedup versions” of the courses at Purgatory, including the 1990 Worlds as well as the World Cup Downhill course from 2001. “The courses will be very challenging as the National Championship course should be,” he said. The Friday CrossCountry race, which will take place on the 1990 Worlds course that local legend Ned Overend won, is 5.2 miles in length and climbs 1,100 feet per lap. Sunday’s Downhill will be on the 2001 World Cup course, which Hagen said is still revered in the gravity world for its “steep and rowdy” lines.

In addition, there will be great spectating opportunities, with the majority of the action viewable from the base area, he said.

This is the third time the Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals have been planned in Durango.

They were planned in 2019, which had to be cancelled due to fires, and 2020, which were canceled due to COVID. FLC Cycling has had a great season thus far, Hagen said, but only the top female and male riders will represent the Skyhawks on race weekend. Female downhiller Fiona Dougherty has been on fire for the Skyhawks and will have strong backup with teammates McKenna Merten, Kaia Jensen and Barb Edwards. For the men’s downhill, Will Farmer and Cole Fiene have won downhill races this year and are considered top contenders. Guy Leshem and Durango native Cobe Freeburn will anchor the men’s CrossCountry team with Micheala Thompson, Madelyn Roberson, Natalie Quinn, and Durango native Ruth Holcomb rounding out the women’s cross-country field.

“It’s really exciting to race at home,” Holcomb said. “To be on a home course with home fans is super special. The course has a lot of history, and it’s one of the hardest courses we’ll race this season. It has a super steep climb and feels like a level up from the other courses we’ve been on this fall.”

Volunteers are still needed for the event. To sing up, go to: tinyurl.com/3wc32xax.

You can follow all the action @USACycling and #CollNats.

Oct. 7, 2021 n

3

opinion

LaVidaLocal Not-so friendly skies It didn’t take long to size up the situation as we awaited the boarding call. I had been in her shoes before and recognized the telltale signs: a young, bedraggled mother, toddler in tow. The battle over shoes had long been lost, as the sock-clad tot twirled around his mother’s legs. She tried to clasp onto his hot, tiny hand to keep him from darting out into the crowd. From her exhausted look, it was apparent it had been a long day, and by now, she had zero, uh, fudges, to give.

We boarded the plane and the mother and child took a seat in the row in front of me, across the aisle. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little relieved. C’mon – let’s face it. Many times when you’re seated next to a small child on a plane, by default you become the flying nanny. And while I am happy to accept this duty – kind of like being seated in the exit row – and make funny faces and find jingly things in my purse to entertain, I am also happy to sit back, zone out to a podcast and peruse the latest Sky Mall (RIP).

As I settled into my seat, I noticed a flight attendant stop at the row in front of me. I couldn’t make out the words but deduced that the mother had forgotten something. The flight attendant cheerily agreed to supply whatever it was the mother was lacking and soon returned with the item.

Fast forward mid-flight. The tot seemed content, and other than some turbulence, everything was copacetic in the neighborhood. Little did I know the real turbulence was about to begin.

On her rounds, the same flight attendant stopped again across the way. Words were exchanged, and it was then that I realized what the flight attendant had brought to the mother earlier. Being over the age of 2, the child was required, by airline regulations as well as federal law, to wear a facemask.

Again, I couldn’t quite make out the conversation, but I could hear the mother pleading. I presume it was something along the lines of how trying to keep a mask on a 2year-old is like trying to mask a wild hyena. How her efforts to ply him with Goldfish, gummies and iPhone games had fallen woefully short. How she had been pushed to the brink of maternal insanity.

I felt her pain.

But the flight attendant, who from here on out I shall refer to by her WWE name, the Masked Crusader, stood her ground. I’m sure she’d heard it before; probably thousands of times that day. She sympathized, saying she had her own young children at home, but it was the law, and she had a duty to protect all the other passengers.

I, too, felt her pain.

The exchange grew heated – and louder. Those of us in the vicinity shuffled uncomfortably in our seats and pretended to ignore the kerfuffle unfolding before us.

Eventually, the Masked Crusader had enough of the bickering. She curtly told the disgruntled mother, who I’ll refer to by her WWE name, the Flying Avenger, to put the mask on the child. End of subject.

Except it wasn’t. As the Crusader later made her way back up the aisle, the Avenger – as easy as it would have been to put the mask on the child and let us finish our $12 chardonnay in peace – poked the bear. As the Crusader went by, the

Avenger demanded her name so she could report her to the powers that be.

Those of us within earshot cringed as it appeared things were about to get really weird. The bell for round 2 of the “Real Housewives of Flight 354” sounded as the Crusader relished the request, even spelling her name out. More words were exchanged, of which I could only make out snippets but clearly we had a situation on our hands. Again, the Crusader sternly laid down the law and excused herself.

For the remainder of the flight, things seemed to de-escalate – which is good, because cocktail service soon got cut off. But, as we landed and began to file toward the door, the bell for round 3 sounded.

The Avenger, a few feet in front of me, took a piece of paper – possibly the comment card – and threw it at the Crusader’s face. Now I can see slyly flipping the bird or stink eye to someone with whom you had a disagreement but will never see again, but this seemed ill-advised. Especially with small child in tow.

The Crusader was not having any of it, yelled something about respect – possibly in tongues – and reached out to grab the Avenger’s arm. It was at this point that the Avenger, despite a distinct height disadvantage, attempted to deliver a left hook to the Crusader’s head.

There was a collective gasp from the peanut gallery of “Oh no you didn’t” as the Crusader screamed for security. The pilot – a small man with white hair – jumped out of the cockpit prepared to enter the fray. However, he sized up the competition and instead scurried down the flight ramp for back up.

Of course, if I was a savvy social media user, I would’ve whipped out my phone and tik tokked the entire melee. But seeing as how finding my phone can take several hours, the brawl would have been over by the time I fished it out of the bottomless abyss of my purse. Plus, this was the first time I had seen two grown women throw punches outside the hockey rink; I was way too engrossed to think about my phone.

Thus, we are relegated to a somewhat fuzzy retelling, which at least makes for good reading. I watched in utter shock as the two women tussled and eventually fell over onto the floor in the galley. Meanwhile, the child waled as the two women exchanged shrieks, fists and unpleasantries. A woman in front of me scooped the child up and promised him ice cream when this was over. I knew it probably wasn’t true, but it seemed a lot better than “mommy might be going to jail.”

Eventually, the Crusader got the upper hand and managed to subdue the Avenger until security arrived to put her in a modified head lock. All in a day’s work, the Crusader straightened her skirt, brushed the hair out of her face and in her most professional seat-belt voice, told us we could all leave the plane. Nothing to see here.

Nothing but adults behaving very badly. But maybe that’s all part of this “new normal.” Now, along with warnings about tampering with lavatory smoke detectors, passengers will also be warned that slugging a flight attendant is a federal offense.

Could the Avenger have taken into consideration the realities of masking a small child before she boarded the plan? Sure. And could the Crusader have possibly looked in the other direction? Maybe. But one thing’s for sure. If this is the new form of in-flight entertainment, I think I’ll stick to Sky Mall.

Sign of the Downfall:

Thumbin’It Facebook and Instagram crashing earlier this week, forcing us to insult each other in person and revert to investigating our exes by calling them and hanging up.

Hey, did anyone notice there’s a Spirit Halloween at the Durango Mall this year?

Maybe the suspected zombies that haunt the empty corridors of that vacant building might finally find some work.

Women’s marches across the country in response to Texas’ abortion ban. Durango held its own march this past Sunday, with hundreds of people showing up to support reproductive rights.

4 n Oct. 7, 2021

– Missy Votel

Deceptional Art Arnold Schwarzenegger coming out with comments that seemingly support the Jan. 6 insurrection and claims of election fraud. Really, Arnold? You’re going to ruin “Kindergarten Cop” for us?

Durango residents likely subject to increased rates for trash and recycling, as if living here wasn’t expensive enough.

A new report showing the U.S. has a stockpile of 3,750 nuclear weapons, a totally necessary amount of catastrophic bombs that definitely won’t destroy the only planet we have. (At one point, the U.S. had nearly 32,000 nukes, FYI)

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The Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark, paid conceptional artist Jens Haaning over $80K to recreate two pieces he’d made a decade ago. The original pieces, “An Average Danish Annual Income” and “An Average Australian Annual Income,” were made from legal tender, so the museum supplied Jens cash to use, which he pocketed alongside his commission. The new pieces, titled “Take the Money and Run,” were completely blank, and, according to Jens, they were worth it because, “blah-blah-blah, breaking social norms,” and, “everyone would like to have more money.”

WordontheStreet

Q

With recent mountain lion sightings on local trails, The Telegraph asked: “What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever seen on the trail?”

Andy

“I saw someone had just taken a dump in the middle of a trail.”

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Misty

“A sketchy guy asking for a ride because his van broke down way up in the mountains.”

Ricky

“I found an abandoned food truck on top of Grand Mesa. I looked in and there was nothing in it.”

Diana

“I once saw a guy on the Appalachian Trail with a hammer and that’s it. No backpack.”

Justin

“A group of naked people hiking.”

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Oct. 7, 2021 n 5

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim

SoapBox Vote for common sense, experience I support incumbents Erika Brown and Andrea Parmenter, as well as newcomer Rick Petersen, for the 9-R School Board.

The incumbents have dedicated thousands of hours in classrooms, committees and the Board. Peterson has a 20-year management career, tackling difficult subjects with diverse groups. He serves youth as a Boy Scout leader. He is running to continue level-headed leadership with his experience, moral compass and respect for elected public officials. The candidates have students in 9-R schools and have been endorsed by Durango teachers and support staff associations.

A misunderstanding is afoot that the Board sets curriculum and participates in teacher evaluation and day-to-day management. This is out of the realm of the Board. The Board’s role is policy making, giving the superintendent authority to choose the best resources, teachers and curriculum. Brown and Parmenter were instrumental in hiring Superintendent Dr. Karen Cheser, a proven outstanding district leader. The Board’s role is to hold Cheser responsible for best practices, learning environments, selection and management of academic programs.

During this time of upheaval, learning is heavily impacted. Science and public health practices are being ridiculed and ig-

nored by some. More than ever, we need experienced leaders who understand their role and work side by side with the professional educators without interference. The trickle down of best practices, experience and common sense lands with the students, our children, our most precious citizens of the future.

– Kathleen Adams, Durango

Make voting fair for all No matter where we live or our background, Americans want fair elections, where we all have the freedom to vote and make our voices heard on important issues such as providing affordable health care, creating good jobs and ensuring quality education. For months, the American people have been calling for national standards to protect our freedom to vote, ensure fair representation and get big money out of politics, and the announcement of The Freedom To Vote Act is proof that our voices have power in the halls of the U.S. Senate.

The Freedom to Vote Act is essential for fair redistricting: it bans partisan gerrymandering and ensures that all communities get the representation they deserve for the next 10 years and beyond. Importantly, it would also require every state’s map-drawers to hold public hearings, take input from voters and explain how the maps they create are fair to both political parties and communities of color.

We now need to rise up to demand that our senators pass this bill that sets national standards for us to safely and freely cast our ballots, ensure every vote is counted, and elect people who will deliver for us.

Join me in supporting The Freedom to Vote Act and in urging our state’s senators to do the same.

– Tracy Sabel, Durango

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6 n Oct. 7, 2021

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The cost of progress In The Durango Herald on Fri., Oct. 1, Dick White did not mention the cost associated with water from the Animas River going uphill to Lake Nighthorse.

Once this water project was passed a few decades ago, I called to find out how much the cost of electricity was to send water uphill. I was told $60,000 per day.

My electric bill is four times higher these days, so it’s a no-brainier it costs close to a quarter million per day to fill this lake.

There were plenty of pros and cons about sending water uphill to a manmade lake for the sake of satisfying tribal commitments. But not many Native Americans benefit from this water supply.

At least a law was passed recently that allows homeowners in Colorado to legally capture water from their roof into a 55-gallon drum when it rains. How special, that law finally came into effect at a time during years and years of drought.

You can’t fix stupid.

– Sally Florence, Durango

Candidates hide agenda There is an ultra-conservative movement around the country to take over local school boards. The movement is fueled by anger over mask mandates as well as a belief in a crackpot conspiracy theory that public schools are somehow teaching white children to hate themselves. In some school districts these conservative candidates are open about their beliefs. In districts where such extreme views are not supported by the general public, these candidates are not so forthcoming.

Here in Durango, there is a slate of conservative candidates – Donna Gulec, Richard Hill and Kristina Paslay – who fall into the not-so-forthcoming category. All three candidates have a single website and advertise their names on the same yard sign. While they have been careful so far not to share their opinions regarding vaccinations, mask mandates and education-related conspiracy theories, their orientation is not difficult to discern.

For one, they are supported by the same people who disrupted recent school board meetings with their un-

civil behavior and their refusal to wear masks. For another, their registered agent for campaign reporting was the former campaign manager for Lauren Boebert.

Citizens running for office should be applauded for their willingness to serve but not if they are running on a hidden agenda. All three of these conservative-slate candidates should let the voters know what their opinions truly are. They should inform the voters of their real reasons for running. The 9-R School Board election is Nov. 2. It is more important than ever that people turn out to vote and they know as much as possible about the people for whom they are voting.

– Herb Bowman, Durango

Get your facts straight Ouch! Reading a simple spreadsheet can be challenging, and I am unsure where Jackie O’Karma (in The Durango Herald last week) got her graduation rates for Durango School District 9-R, but the official site at Colorado Department of Education states that for 2019-20, Durango High School’s graduation rate was a sterling 92.3%, not 74%. Big Picture’s rate was 50%, but BP kids frequently overcome challenges to succeed that might knock Ms. O’Karma on her fanny. Go BP students! Colorado Connections Academy has a rate of 55%, and those students are all online and not taught by our extraordinary local teachers, aides and other critical support staff.

As a retired teacher of 40 years, an administrator and a former 9-R School Board member, I am deeply committed to getting significant facts correct. Misinformation, intentional or accidental, highlights the need to keep success in front of us as a community and use accurate data to bolster our choices for the school board.

Erica Brown, Andrea Parmenter and Rick Petersen believe in our students, our teachers and our “earned ex-

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perts” in the scientific realm to keep 9-R on the right track. They all have significant experience in our schools and/or with young people, and they know that developing critical thinking skills means more than parroting slogans and yelling at their opponents.

Please vote for all of them. Our future thanks you.

– Stephanie Moran

Vote Brown, Parmenter, Petersen

I’m writing to support the three candidates running for the Durango School District 9-R School Board. They are Rick Petersen, Andrea Parmenter and Erika Brown.

These candidates are committed to our public schools and will work hard to make them even better. All three have children in our Durango schools and are ready to roll up their sleeves and work with our new superintendent to tackle the many issues the district faces. They believe our public schools are a community responsibility dependent on committed, supportive teachers, staff, administrators and families, and they will work with our entire community to make sure that every child has the opportunity to succeed.

As continuing board members, Andrea and Erika helped to hire our outstanding new superintendent, Dr. Karen Cheser, and are looking forward to continuing to work with her to improve teacher pay, increase school funding and improve performance in our schools. Both were instrumental in helping to pass the 2020 school bond issue, which will provide additional funding for the district’s needs.

Rick is a long-time Scout leader who has worked with Durango’s young people in scouting and as a soccer coach, and has been actively involved with his children’s school. This is an important election and these great candidates – Brown, Parmenter and Petersen – need your vote.

– Philip Riffe, Hesperus

Oct. 7, 2021 n 7

LocalNews

Return to normal?

FLC works to address additional barriers faced by Native American students

by Charlotte West and Monica Braine Colorado Public Radio

A

fter the pandemic sabotaged her senior year of high school lacrosse, Nina Polk was determined not to miss another season.

Although her mom was hesitant to let her go away to college, the family piled into their car in August 2020 to make the 20-plus hour drive from their home in Shakopee, Minn., to Durango where Polk had been recruited to play women’s lacrosse at Fort Lewis College.

The liberal arts college, a former Native American boarding school that today offers free tuition to Native students, was Polk’s dream school. In addition to the tuition waiver, it had everything she was looking for: a Division II sports program, a fine arts major and gorgeous natural surroundings.

“It was kind of a package deal for me,” said Polk, who is Diné (Navajo), Sicangu Lakota, San Carlos Apache and Quechan.

“The first few weeks, it was kind of hard to adjust, because of just being away from home. But with everyone here, and my teammates, they just made it a whole lot easier. And the Native community here, too, I don’t feel alone.”

Simply by getting to college, Polk, now 19, stood out from many of her peers. Only around a quarter of 18- to 24-year-old American Indian and Alaska Native people were enrolled in college in 2019 according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Native American students are also more likely to drop out of college during or after their freshman year and more likely to transfer to a different institution.

Then the pandemic hit, throwing up additional obstacles. Last fall, the share of Native American students enrolled in college for the first time plummeted by almost a quarter, more than for any other racial or ethnic group, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

The barriers that can derail Native Americans in their pursuit of a college degree are numerous. These students are more likely to face financial difficulties or experience racism than many other student groups, according to higher education experts. Research shows that finding professors, peers and mentors who understand them and can help them create a sense of belonging on campus can be crucial to helping Native students succeed on campus.

Fort Lewis was the first school Polk at-

8 n Oct. 7, 2021

FLC student Nina Polk, like many students across the country, was impacted by the pandemic in the past year./ Photo by Jeremy Wade Shockley/CPR News tended where she felt like she belonged, and college officials say that sense of community is intentional. The college runs programs such as Native Skyway to Success, a pre-orientation for incoming first-year and transfer students that allows them to connect with other Native students and staff at the college.

In fall 2020, Fort Lewis was able to buck national enrollment trends, increasing the number of first-year Native students by 11%.

First-year enrollment of Native (and all) students has continued to increase for fall 2021, with Fort Lewis admitting its largest freshman class ever, said provost Cheryl Nixon.

She attributes some of the boost to 2020 high school graduates coming back to college this fall after taking a year off.

In its communications to students during the pandemic, the college also tried to be inclusive, designing a safety campaign around the Diné, or Navajo, concept of K’é, which broadly means kinship and mutual respect.

“When our Native American students talk about a community of care, they mean their Fort Lewis community, but they really mean their home community,” Nixon said. “What we’ve learned at Fort Lewis is we really need to do outreach to the students that respects

their connection to their family … And that has not been done well by higher ed.”

Still, having a lot of Native students on campus doesn’t eliminate prejudice, Polk said. At Fort Lewis, she overheard students complaining that Native students don’t deserve to “get in for free,” she said. It’s the kind of derogatory comment about Native people she’s heard her whole life, she said.

In middle school, Polk had almost abandoned athletics after some of her basketball teammates bullied her for her culture and physique at 6 feet, 1 inch, despite its advantages for the sport. (In a TikTok video on frequent questions she gets, Polk explained “the Creator wanted me to be closer to my ancestors” when asked why she was so tall.)

It wasn’t until she picked up a lacrosse stick in seventh grade that Polk finally found her sport. She first played modern lacrosse when she tried out for her high school team as a ninth-grader. Lacrosse quickly became a driving force as she started to look at colleges.

And while she was able to experience campus life for a few months in 2020, Polk’s fall semester at Fort Lewis was cut short. In early November, the lacrosse coach called an urgent team meeting. An on-campus party

telegraph

had been the source of a coronavirus outbreak. The team, gathered on the field, fell silent as their coach told them practice was suspended for the rest of the fall.

Then, the college announced all instruction would be remote until Christmas break. Polk made the decision to return to Minnesota and finish out the semester there.

At Fort Lewis, Nixon says that the challenges of last year are showing up in the college’s retention rate – the number of first-year students who return for a second year. In fall 2019, the college retained 62% of all students and 57% of Native American students. In fall 2021, the numbers were 54% and 49% , respectively – meaning that fewer than half of Fort Lewis’ Native American freshmen in fall 2020 came back to campus the next year, according to data from the college.

That’s in line with national trends. Native Americans were the most likely group to withdraw or take a leave of absence from college due to the pandemic, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Nixon said that all freshmen were affected by the disruptions of the pandemic, but Native students tended to be hit the hardest.

“That ‘COVID class’ is not coming back for their second year, because they had just such a crazy first year — completely disrupted, shifting online,” she said. “So many of our Native American students … wanted to go take care of a family member, or just felt that draw back home.”

This fall, that includes Polk, who decided to take the fall semester off to heal from a knee injury, spend time with her family and take care of her mental health.

To encourage students taking time off to return, Fort Lewis will be launching a “circle back” program in the next month, Nixon said. The college plans to hire two additional advisors who will stay in touch with students and help connect them with resources when they are ready to come back, she said.

Polk, for one, says she is certain she’ll return to Fort Lewis. When she does, she intends to switch her major from studio art to Native American and Indigenous studies “to learn more about my culture, my people” and find new ways to advocate for the sport she loves.

For more from Colorado Public Radio, go to www.cpr.org. This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization.

TopStory

Snowdown is back Wacky and wild winter celebration returns after 2021 cancellation

by Jonathan Romeo

A

fter a year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Durango’s notorious and celebrated Snowdown winter bash is back on.

“We’re going for it,” Chip Lile, president of the Snowdown board, said. “We’re going to have Snowdown.”

Snowdown was about to celebrate its 43rd year in winter 2021, but with the pandemic surging across the world, event organizers were forced to cancel it for obvious reasons, which we no longer have to rehash here.

Still, it was an eerie feeling this past year with no wild Snowdown antics to light up the town in the dull of winter – no light parade down Main Ave., no Follies, no mattress races down a flight of stairs. In fact, it was the first time in the winter celebration’s more than four-decade run that it ever had to be canceled.

But distance, as they say (we don’t know who “they” are), makes the heart grow fonder, and Snowdown is expected to come back better and weirder this upcoming January.

“The community missed out on that fun together,” Lile said. “So this could be one of the most attended Snowdowns in history. There’s pent up desire to get out there.”

Before getting too far in, we here at the Telegraph realize there may be a couple new residents in town who may be asking, “What’s a Snowdown?” Well, we asked some longtime Snowdowners to try and sum it up: “It’s a five-day costume-birthday party with all your best friends in town,” Peg Ochsenreiter, who serves on the Snowdown Board of Directors, said.

“It’s a winter carnival to shake off the winter blues, and dress up and have fun with your friends and neighbors,” Linda Mannix, one of the event founders, said. “I like to think of it as a cabin fever reliever.”

As the Durango lore goes, in fall 1978, people were look-

ing for ways to liven up the town’s winter economy, while at the same time break up the tedium of the long, cold months. Purgatory Resort had opened in 1966, of course, but businesses were still looking for that economic jolt and draw to town.

One Sunday afternoon, a Durango Herald salesman, John Murrah, went over to the house of Terry Fielder and Mannix (who were married at the time), and as the three watched a Broncos game together, they bounced possible ideas around.

“I was there with a Budweiser in my hand … when we said, ‘Let’s throw a winter festival,’” Mannix said. “And we picked the last weekend of January.”

Get ready for a magical and mystical Snowdown in January 2022 as the popular winter celebration returns after having to be cancelled in 2021 for the COVID-19 pandemic./ File art With a $2,000 loan from Morley Ballantine, who owned the Herald, organizers were able to make some posters and advertise around town. And they started dreaming up crazy event ideas – a ski instructor vs. ski patrol softball game on snow (which still exists today), a K-9 fashion show, a light parade with torches down the slopes of Purgatory. And in just a few months, the first Snowdown roared through town.

“We were stunned at the turnout,” Mannix said. “People came out of the woodwork. It just took off.”

In just a few years, Snowdown grew to a multi-day annual event, bringing in a notable financial boost and visitors from all over. And in doing so, the winter party caught the eye of big players that wanted to take it over. But its founders never wavered or sold out, turning the event into a nonprofit run mostly by volunteers, which is the existing model to this day.

“Everyone was just stubborn enough to say ‘no,’” Mannix said. “And thank heaven they did.”

Every Snowdown has a theme, and over the years, there have been some doozies – “Hot Fun in the Wintertime,” “Roman Around” (think togas) and “Yabba Dabba Doorango.” One year, there was even a “No Theme!” theme. (Just FYI, themes are chosen two years in advance, so your brilliant ideas will have to wait till 2024.)

But the true draw, for many, is the dizzying array of events around town from Wednesday to Sunday, ranging from family fun to the debauched. You could find yourself treating your body right during Cat Yoga on a Saturday morning, and later that night, running around El Rancho with a dart in your butt.

(We are referring to, of course, butt darts, where teams have to carry quarters around in their butt cheeks – which we presume are clothed – and drop them into buckets. For the record, one Telegraph editorialista claims to have played butt darts years before it became trendy, in a faraway placed called Boulder, where it was called “butt quarters.”

telegraph

We have yet to fact check this information.)

All this to say, Snowdown offers something for everyone, whether you’re looking to help volunteer and fundraise for a good cause or let off a little steam for a couple of days in the dead of winter. Or a healthy mix of both.

This upcoming year’s theme (which was delayed from 2021) is “A Magical, Mystical Snowdown.” As Ochsenreiter puts it, think whimsical, wizards, unicorns, happy things.

Snowdown organizers will never tell you what to wear, but Ochsenreiter suggested costumes veer on the light, happy side of life.

“We don’t want a lot of dark, scary things,” she said.

“We’ve had enough of that from the last year and a half.

But, you know, as usual in Snowdown, people are so creative with their costumes, I’m sure we’ll see some interesting takes.”

While Snowdown is expected to return in full force, it may look just a little different with some necessary changes because of the pandemic, namely due to capacity issues.

Also, a couple of venues that hosted events – like the Henry Strater Theatre and Irish Embassy – have closed. But like most things in the past year, a lot will be decided on the fly.

“Looking into a crystal ball is hard to do,” Lile said. “But I see very few scenarios where Snowdown has to be canceled, it would be a dark day in the COVID world to have to cancel again. But we may have to alter how some events are pulled off.”

For the meantime, people can start to get in the mystical and magical spirit by going to the Snowdown kickoff party Oct. 14 at Fur Trappers Steakhouse & Bar, 701 E. 2nd Ave. There, you can learn how to submit your ideas for possible events.

“When we dreamed this up, we had no idea it would be so popular,” Mannix said. “The whole goal was to throw a party and get everyone in the community out to enjoy it and have fun, and that’s what it’s still about.”

Oct. 7, 2021 n

9

Let’sDigIn

Beyond burritos and burgers New Tele columnist vows to debunk myths, uplift Durango’s food scene

by Sinjin Eberle

S

ince moving to Durango from Denver in 2013, I have often overheard comments like “the only good food you can get in Durango is either a burrito or a burger,” which has always surprised me, since from where I sit, Durango has quite the vibrant restaurant and local food scene.

Even through the turmoil of the past 18 months, it continues to thrive and grow and evolve, especially when factoring in the challenges of shutdowns, social distancing and the increasingly difficult struggle to find and retain employees. These shifts have impacted both tourists and locals alike, and the restaurants have far and away taken the brunt of these impacts.

When I left Denver, the city’s restaurant and cocktail scene was bustling. I was fortunate to have had abundant Eberle knowledge of classic cocktails and spirits from people like Sean Kenyon, of Williams & Graham; Bryan Dayton, of Oak at Fourteenth in Boulder; Randy Layman, of Steubens; and Kevin Burke, of Colt & Gray. Through their patient guidance, I learned about cocktail history, flavor combinations, spirits profiles and the best techniques to make better cocktails. I understood how fewer yet higher-quality ingredients make a better drink, and most importantly, how being grounded in the basics behind drinks like the Manhattan or daiquiri can be a launching pad to new and interesting creations.

But maybe the most important lesson was about balance, which relates to the food side of hospitality as well. In recipes, if something is too sweet, balance it with a bit

of acid. If something is too spicy, cool it with a cream or fat like sour cream or yogurt. If a steak or vegetables hit too salty, tone down the briny punch with a savory pesto. This is what makes food exciting – unexpected combinations that are more than piles on a plate, but a framed, composed, well-executed meal that brings joy and excitement from the first bite to the last. And let’s not overlook the pairings. A well-chosen cocktail is a perfect prelude with a round of appetizers; the right wine assists and supports a main dish; and a dessert sipper or amaro to finish rounds out all the elements.

Now that may all sound a bit highbrow, but what is also in balance is the blend of restaurants across Durango – from cheap to chic. I have often heard that Durango has more restaurants per capita than San Francisco. So no doubt, we got options for burgers and burritos (and let’s not forget the brews, with how many local breweries now? Six? Seven?) We also have at least a half dozen sit-down breakfast spots, foods from Asia and the Far East, multiple pizza joints, a selection of Mexican and taco places, handmade pasta at extremely reasonable prices, multiple sushi options, a speakeasy behind a barber shop, an old gas station packed with food trucks, and fine dining that provides upscale choices for celebrations or a fancy date night. Does Telluride have this much diversity? Not a chance.

While the restaurant industry was hammered in the depths of shutdowns, with federal aid lagging, most Durango restaurateurs – with some creativity and support from the city and locals – figured out a path forward. In some ways, it forced new thinking about restaurants and created opportunities for what people seek from the local food scene. We should be proud of this triumph and lift the people who worked hard to make that happen.

Consider this new column a new take on Durango’s food and restaurant scene. As a

Durango’s restaurant scene has a lot to offer, and the new column “Let’s Dig In” plans to tell you why./ Photo by Sinjin Eberle fanboy for the Durango culinary scene, where this column goes is anybody’s guess.

But I can certainly tell you what it won’t be – it won’t be condescendingly critical of individual establishments or chefs. It won’t have recipes or detailed instruction, unless given as an example of what some place is doing that is new or different to advance our food culture. It might be critical now and then of opportunities we might be missing, or a gap in our food and drink culture, but this column is intended to elevate and spotlight the restaurant community that works so hard and gives back so much to help make Durango the best place ever.

In my day job, I am the communications director with American Rivers, a nonprofit river conservation organization. While based in Washington, D.C., we have quite a presence in the West, most notably work-

ing to protect big rivers like the Colorado and the Rio Grande, but also tributaries like the Gila and Chama. I am also a mountain biker, rafter, hiker, backpacker, and yes, a bit of a food, wine and cocktail junkie. Hence my enthusiasm for this new column.

Join me in exploring our community through these pages, and tell me what interests you, what is missing, what you wish we had, and who is doing it better. How do we stack up against other cities and mountain towns? All of that is fair game in my mind. I am stoked about where Durango is headed, the trends and what is coming along with what everyone around here knows is a growing and evolving Durango.

You can bet your Bellini on that.

We have so much to talk about, so let’s pull up a chair, shake out our napkins, take a sip of wine and dig in. ■

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10 n Oct. 7, 2021

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MurderInk

A twisty Swedish mystery Alsterdal’s American debut novel ‘We Know You Remember’ does not disappoint

by Jeffrey Mannix

I

ts been 23 years since Olof Hagström left his childhood home in rural Sweden after being found guilty in 1996 at age 14 of raping and killing 16-year-old Lina Stavred. The body was never found. A confession was sweated out of a frightened and somewhat dimwitted kid. And because Olof was a minor, there was no trial. A conviction was never entered, the case was sealed and his name was never published anywhere.

Olof was sent to a youth rehabilitation facility while his family, law enforcement and his community turned the other way and imagined, with no proof but a forced confession, that the specter of a child monster would forevermore fester an abscess in their happiness.

Olof is now 37 years old and pulling up to his old home for the first time in more than two decades. He checks the mailbox to confirm it’s still the Hagström home, finds the front door key under the rock where it’s always kept, opens the door to the outrushing stench of feces and the panicked escape of a black dog. Further inside, water has spread along the floor from the ceiling above. Olof walks the familiar staircase to the second floor and finds his father, Sven, in an overflowing bathtub, long dead.

Olof turns around, goes down the stairs, leaves the house, gets into his car and begins to drive away before his father’s dog stands in the way. He stops for the dog when Patrik Nydalen, a summer resident one house over, greets him and slowly remembers who he is after

Olof tells him that Sven is dead in the bathtub. Patrik calls the police as Olof pulls his car over and calmly waits.

Detective Eira Sjödin answers the call.

She was nine years old when Olof was charged with raping and murdering Lena Stavred and grew up with the whispered legend of Olof Hagström the monster. Now at 32 years old, Eira has been with the police department for long enough to see how police coerce confessions from frightened, bullied suspects. And, she has personally experienced the tacit, ongoing bullying just for being a woman, which makes alarms go off in her head. And here calmly sits Olof Hagström, again dumb to the consequences but now with a begrudging yet stalwart advocate.

With her mother slipping into dementia, Eira doesn’t need to reopen a 20year-old case, nor does she want to protect Olof from being conveniently charged with another murder. But she must challenge the backcountry sham justice now that she wears a badge, and especially since Olof obviously didn’t kill his father and then wait around for the police to show up.

“We Know You Remember” is Tove Alsterdal’s American debut. She was awarded Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year in 2014 for “The Disappeared,” and turned

heads with her 2009 debut novel, “The Forgotten Dead.” In “We Know You Remember” is a stunning crime fiction drama, with all the convincing characters, the elements of plot and place, and suspense we seek in the genre. In addition, Alsterdal displays what can only be called masterful wordsmithing. I stress in all my correspondence with publicists that I am seeking only literary crime fiction for Murder Ink reviews. “We Know You Remember” is exactly that, and will always be worthy of rereading and lending to only trustworthy friends who leave collateral for its return.

The genre here is Swedish noir, but be advised to read with a pencil in hand to make notes of character names as they appear. Swedish is nothing like the Romance languages, so the names of people and places are difficult to remember and keep track of. And be forewarned, according to my margin annotations, the first 50 or so pages leaves one wanting Alsterdal to shift into a higher gear, which she does again and again until the ride is spectacularly dizzying and leading to a destination wholly unexpected.

Don’t forget to ask Maria’s Bookshop for your Murder Ink 15% discount. ■

The golden hour has arrived.

Issue 17 of The Gulch is out NOW! Wherever you find the Telegraph or at www.gulchmag.com.

To find out about advertising opportunities or get a subscription to The Gulch, email: steve@gulchmag.com

telegraph

Oct. 7, 2021 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday07 Cafe au Play free outdoor baby group, 10 a.m.12 p.m., 495 Florida Road (behind Christ the King church). 970-749-9607 for info.

Mancos Farmers Market, 4 p.m., 145 Grand Ave., Mancos.

SkaBQ, featuring music by Thee Fearless Peasants, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing headquarters, 225 Girard St. Terry Rickard plays, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave. Live music, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. “Men on Boats: A Grand Canyon Adventure,” presented by Merely Players, runs through select days in October. Full schedule can be viewed at merelyplayers.org Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Trivia night 6:30-8:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino Del Rio. Beam Me Up Starlight Trivia, weekly 7:30-9:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

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

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 8-10 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr.

Friday08 Cancer Coalition Jewelry Fundraiser, 12 noon, VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave. Ben Gibson plays, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Apple Days are here again. Join the Good Food Collective at the Durango Farmers Market this Saturday from 9 a.m. - 12 noon for the 13th annual Apple Days Festival. The festival celebrates the region’s apple abundance while helping feed the community, reduce waste and save the bears. This year’s festivities include pressing apples into fresh juice to take home, tasty treats, an apple pie-eating contest and other family friendly activities. Volunteers are still needed to help press and pour juice. To sign up, visit the Apple Days Facebook page.

13th annual Apple Days, 9 a.m. – 12 noon, Durango Farmers Market.

Virtual tour of Animas City, 1 p.m., register at animasmuseum.org/events/html.

29th annual Toy Run for Kids in Need, 10 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave. Open Mic, 1 p.m., Mancos Brewery.

Spooky Silent Sunday with Adam Swanson, pianist, 2 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

“Under the Lights” a short film showing starring Durango’s Pearce Joza, 3:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., The Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Southwest Movement for Black Lives Rally, 4 p.m., Buckley Park.

A Spooky Night at the Pumpkin Patch, 6-9 p.m., Falfa Pumpkin Patch, 54 County Road 221.

Bentley Monk play, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider in Mancos.

Smelter Mountain Boys play, 7-10 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Jack Ellis Band plays, 6 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave.

Ignacio Friday Night Market, 5 p.m., 115 Ute St. in Ignacio.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30-6:15 p.m.

Online at: www.durangodharmacenter.org

Friday Nights at Fire Fox Farms, 6-9 p.m., 5513 CR 321, Ignacio.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Tuesday12

Ill. Gates, Ahee, MTN Menace, Slowform play, 9:30 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

Kirk James Band plays, 6 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill in Vallecito.

Saturday09 Durango Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., featuring music by DJ Calvin, TBK Parking Lot, 259 W. 9th St.

12 n Oct. 7, 2021

Sunday10 Indigenous Peoples Day March, meeting at 10 a.m., Durango Transit parking lot, 250 West 8th St.

telegraph

Open Mic night, 4 p.m. every Sunday, Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Dustin Burley plays, 6 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave. Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon and Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Monday11

Card Making, 10 a.m., all supplies included, Pine River Library. Register at prlibrary.org Author Ruth Chou Simons speaks, 4-5:30 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. Bingo night, 5 p.m. every Tuesday, Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

AskRachel Woeful wipers, book bandits & space junk spangle Interesting fact: A recent study estimates between 4,000 and 7,000 tons of space dust falls to Earth every year. This despite other studies estimating it’s more like 40,000 tons. Although if you want to get very technical, the entire planet is made of space dust, so there’s that.

Dear Rachel, I do not understand cleaning cars, so I choose not to. It feels like a huge waste of water in a time we need to be conserving our resources.

Plus, it’s literally going to get dirty again right away, with all the dirt roads I have to traverse, and with a dog in back to boot. But I just got guilt-tripped by a dear friend I gave a lift to, who said my car was embarrassing inside and out. Is there some good reason to clean I haven’t considered?

– Au Naturel Dear Dirt Cheap, The best reason is the one your friend gave you: it’s embarrassing. You want to ever get laid again? I mean, by someone with standards? Because let me tell you, I have seen some cars (and some bathrooms) that belong to couples who are clearly procreating despite the muck.

I’d say no judgment, but I’m totally judging: if you can’t even wipe your windshield, what hope is there that you’re wiping anywhere else?

– Scrub that thought, Rachel Dear Rachel, I used to be a real friendly guy. I’d share the

Ignacio School Board Virtual Candidate Forum, 6-7:30 p.m., sponsored by the League of Women Voters. More info at lwvlaplata.org.

Acoustic Music Jam, 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays, Rotary Park, all instruments and singers welcome. For info: 970-259-3408.

Wednesday13 Green Business Roundtable, featuring speakers from Mantell-Hecathorn Builders, 12 noon, Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino Del Rio.

shirt off my back. But then my friends started returning my books I’d loaned them (if they returned them at all) with the spines broken and the pages creased and sometimes even water damaged. It’s enough to make me lock up my worldly possessions. Who destroys a book? I’m not insane for wanting my books returned intact, am I? – Dog Eared Dear Public Library, You need to flip your script while flipping your frown. Those books are well loved! I, too, understand the joy of a pristine book. I keep mine that way. But I also have books I’ve read the pages clean out of. If you’re going to be so butthurt about friends actually returning your books, then I might recommend buying yourself a keeper copy of every book you want on your shelf. Or else finding more illiterate friends.

– Read my lips, Rachel Dear Rachel, I just learned about space dust, all the little pieces of outer space that come down to earth every year and settle on all my picture frames.

I already hate dusting. But now I think it’s more considerate if I don’t dust. If I had moon rocks, I’d want to display them. So why shouldn’t I want to display my microscopic moon rocks?

– Nitty Gritty

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com Dear Moon Shot, We need to get you together with the dirty car guy.

(Man or woman, doesn’t matter.) Don’t let the word slip that it’s drops of Jupiter in our cars and bookshelves in addition to our hair, or no one will ever clean again, and I’ll have to use my snow shovel just to clear a path in my living room.

– Back in the atmosphere, Rachel

Upcoming Durango 9R School Board Virtual Candidate Forum, Oct. 14, 6-7:30 p.m., sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

More info at lwvlaplata.org.

The Badly Bent play, Oct. 14, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

US Cycling Collegiate National Championships, Oct. 14-17, Purgatory Resort. www.purgatoryresort.com.

Downtown Balloon Glow, Fri., Oct. 15, 6 p.m., 5th and Main.

Book Discussion, featuring The Haunting of Hill House, 2-3:30 p.m., Pine River Library, 395 Bayfield Center Drive.

Alex Blocker plays, Oct. 15, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Trivia night, 6 p.m., every Wednesday, Mancos Brewery.

Hermosa Valley Balloon Glow, Sat., Oct. 16, 6:30 p.m., Hermosa Meadows Rd.

“Violence and Conflict in the American Southwest: A Biocultural Perspective of Mimbres and Mogollon Communities,” 7 p.m., hosted by San Juan Archaeological Society. SJBAS.org.

“Gothla: The Dark Side of Belly Dance,” Halloween show and dance party, Fri., Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m. Elks Lodge, 901 E. Second Ave. Tickets: $15 at the door or available at Animas Trading Co.

Deadline to submit items for “Stuff to Do” is Monday at noon.

E-mail your stuff to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

telegraph

Telegraph classified ads can be placed online at www.durangotelegraph.com and cost a mere 10 cents a character.

(We don’t know how to say this, but it’s kind of a big deal.)

To place them the 1990s way: classifieds@durangotelegraph.com To place them the 1970s way: call 970-259-0133 Oct. 7 , 2021 n 13

What Kate & Nate wear on their day off

FreeWillAstrology well up when you’re tired or lounging around.)

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries poet Anna Kamieńska said her soul didn’t emanate light. It was filled with “bright darkness.” I suspect that description may apply to you in the coming weeks. Bright darkness will be one of your primary qualities. And that’s a good thing!

You may not be a beacon of shiny cheer, but you will illuminate the shadows and secrets. You will bring deeper awareness to hidden agendas and sins of omission. You will see, and help others to see, what has been missing in situations that lack transparency. Congratulations in advance!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “There is something truly restorative, finally comforting, in coming to the end of an illusion – a false hope.” So declared author Sue Miller, and now I’m sharing it with you, Taurus – just in time for the end of at least one of your illusions (could be two, even three). I hope your misconceptions or misaligned fantasies will serve you well as they decay and dissolve. I trust they will be excellent fertilizer, helping you grow inspired visions that guide your future success. My prediction: You will soon know more about what isn’t real, which will boost your ability to evaluate what is real.

... and you can too.

(Even if your name isn’t McKinnon. Or MacKinnon.)

In a variety of sizes for all your exploits on and off the red carpet.

(Also available in muscle T to show off your pipes.)

T-shirts: $15 Tanks: $12 Hats: $20 (plus shipping and handling)

Order yours today at: durangotelegraph.com or email telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

14 n Oct. 7, 2021

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Afghan-American novelist Khaled Hosseini writes, “People mostly have it backward.

They think they live by what they want. But really what guides them is what they’re afraid of – what they don’t want.” Is that true for you, Gemini? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to meditate on that question. And if you find you’re motivated to live your life more out of fear than out of love, I urge you to take strenuous action to change that situation!

Make sure love is at least 51% and fear no more than 49%. I believe you can do much better than that, though. Aim for 75% love!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking.” Oglala Lakota medicine man Black Elk said that, and now I’m passing it on to you. It’s not always the case that dreams are wiser than waking, of course, but I suspect they will be for you in the coming weeks. The adventures you experience while you’re sleeping could provide crucial clues to inform your waking-life decisions. They should help you tune into resources and influences that will guide you during the coming months. And now I will make a bold prediction: that your dreams will change your brain chemistry in ways that enable you to see truths that until now have been invisible or unavailable. (PS: I encourage you to also be alert for intriguing insights and fantasies that

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “Don’t hope more than you’re willing to work,” advises author Rita Mae Brown. So let me ask you, Leo: How hard are you willing to work to make your dreams come true, create your ideal life, and become the person you’d love to be?

When you answer that question honestly, you’ll know exactly how much hope you have earned the right to foster. I’m pleased to inform you that the coming weeks will be a favorable time to upgrade your commitment to the work and therefore deepen your right to hope.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “To be truly visionary, we have to root our imagination in our concrete reality while simultaneously imagining possibilities beyond that reality.” This shrewd advice comes from author bell hooks (who doesn’t capitalize her name). I think it should be at the heart of your process in the coming days. Why? Because you now have an extraordinary potential to dream up creative innovations that acknowledge your limitations but also transcend those limitations. You have extra power available to harness your fantasies and instigate practical changes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Some people are crazy drunk on rotgut sobriety,” wrote aphorist Daniel Liebert. I trust you’re not one of them. But if you are, I beg you to change your habits during the next three weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you have a heavenly mandate to seek more than the usual amounts of whimsical ebullience, sweet diversions, uplifting obsessions, and holy amusements. Your health and success in the coming months require you to enjoy a period of concentrated joy and fun now. Be imaginative and innovative in your quest for zest.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scottish Poet Laureate Jackie Kay, born under the sign of Scorpio, writes, “It used to be that privacy came naturally to everybody and that we understood implicitly what kind of things a person might like to keep private. Now somebody has torn up the rule book on privacy and there’s a kind of free fall and free for all and few people naturally know how to guard this precious thing, privacy.” The coming weeks will be a good time for you to investigate this subject, Scorpio – to take it more seriously than you have before. In the process, I hope you will identify what’s truly important for you to keep confidential and protected, and then initiate the necessary adjustments. (PS: Please feel no guilt or embarrassment about your desire to have secrets!)

telegraph

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): “All our Western thought is founded on this repulsive pretense that pain is the proper price of any good thing,” wrote feisty author Rebecca West (1892–1983). I am very happy to report that your current torrent of good things will NOT require you to pay the price of pain. On the contrary, I expect that your phase of grace and luck will teach you how to cultivate even more grace and luck; it will inspire you to be generous in ways that bring generosity coming back your way. As articulated by ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, here’s the operative principle: “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no,” declares author Nora Roberts. In that spirit and in accordance with astrological omens, I urge you to be bold and lucid about asking for what you want in the coming weeks. In addition, I encourage you to ask many probing questions so as to ferret out the best ways to get what you want. If you are skilled in carrying out this strategy, you will be a winsome blend of receptivity and aggressiveness, innocent humility and understated confidence. And that will be crucial in your campaign to get exactly what you want.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Few persons enjoy real liberty,” wrote poet Alfred de Musset. “We are all slaves to ideas or habits.” That’s the bad news. The good news is that October is Supercharge Your Freedom Month for you Aquarians. I invite you to use all your ingenuity to deepen, augment and refine your drive for liberation. What could you do to escape the numbness of the routine?

How might you diminish the hold of limiting beliefs and inhibiting patterns? What shrunken expectations are impinging on your motivational verve? Life is blessing you with the opportunity to celebrate and cultivate what novelist Tim Tharp calls “the spectacular now.” Be a cheerful, magnanimous freedom fighter.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The brilliant Piscean composer Frédéric Chopin (1810–49) wrote, “I wish I could throw off the thoughts that poison my happiness, but I take a kind of pleasure in indulging them.” What?! That’s crazy! If he had been brave enough and willful enough to stop taking pleasure in indulging his toxic thoughts, they might have lost their power to demoralize him.

With this in mind, I’m asking you to investigate whether you, like Chopin, ever get a bit of secret excitement from undermining your own joy and success. The coming weeks will be a favorable time to dissolve that bad habit.

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 www.durangotelegraph.com n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 679 E. 2nd Ave., #E2

970-309-5966 or visit www.espanolahora.net

Approximate office hours: Mon: 9ish - 5ish Tues: 9ish - 5ish Wed: 9ish - 3ish Thurs: On delivery Fri: Gone fishing; call first

Drew Gunn Personal Trainer Endurance, strength, and mobility training for all ability levels. Specializing in training for trail running and mountain sports. ACSM certified. drewgunn training@gmail.com

Announcements 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.

HelpWanted Bookseller - Maria’s Bookshop Now hiring avid readers for full time position w/ fun, hard-working team.

Must enjoy some evening & weekend shifts. Applications available in store and at mariasbookshop.com. Deadline: Oct 20.

Team Members Needed ASAP! Team Members needed for construction job. Experience helpful but willing to train! Pay 38k+, 80hrs PTO 1st Year, 40hrs, Paid Working Interview! Call or text 970-759-8026.

PT Art and Jewelry Salesperson.

Must have sales experience in the field.

Drop off resume Thurs. - Sun., noon - 6, 680 C, Main Ave., Durango, or send to kgabaldon@rmi.net. No phone calls please.

Classes/Workshops Local Neurobiology Trainings Neurobiology of Self Compassion online training: Oct. 20. Post Traumatic Growth Somatic Therapy Certification Series: One weekend a month Nov-Feb. rubyjowalker.com Spanish Classes Now accepting students for in-person beginner thru advanced Spanish. Call

Friendly Carpentry and Painting Stucco repair, 707-806-3456.

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

Harmony Cleaning and Organizing Residential, offices, commercial and vacation rentals, 970-403-6192.

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.

kitchenwares and lots of décor to warm up your space. Come in today! 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

HaikuMovieReview ‘Every Breath You Take’ So painfully bad you’ll wish the psycho killer was coming for you – Lainie Maxson

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

CommunityService In-person GED and ESL Classes Nov. 1 The Adult Education Center in Durango and Cortez kicks off in-person winter GED (high school equivalent) and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. All classes are free and begin Nov. 1. On-site child care for evening classes.

Registration is required and runs October

18 – 28. Visit www.durangoadulted.org or call 970.385.4354 for more information.

SJBPH Vaccine Clinics Free vaccine mobile clinic provided by San Juan Basin Public Health. No ID or insurance required. Walk-ins welcome. Call 970-247-5702 or visit https://sjbpublichealth.org/covid-19-vaccine/ for more information. SJBPH is also hosting a winter clothing and blanket drive during October.

NewspaperOrigami

A maple leaf

BodyWork Massage Independent massage therapist at Durango Sports Club, 1600 Florida Rd. Call Vicki direct at 505-486-9076 $75 for 60 minutes, $112 for 90 minutes. Schedule an appointment to feel better Lotus Path Healing Arts Now accepting new clients. Offering a unique, intuitive fusion of Esalen massage, deep tissue & Acutonics, 24 years of experience. To schedule call Kathryn, 970-201-3373.

Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199. massageintervention.life Voted best massage in Durango 18/19/20. Couples, cupping, local CBD. Reviews on FB + Yelp. 970-903-2984

ForSale Reruns Home Furnishings Modern and retro desks, nightstands, barstools, lamps, chairs, tall bookcase, West Elm rugs, side tables, dressers,

telegraph

Oct. 7, 2021 n 15

Need to light your fire?

The Telegraph stocks old issues to burn on the lower racks at these locations: • Durango Post Office • Peerless Tire • Mayer Building, 679 E. 2nd Ave. • Bayfield Post Office • Star Liquors plaza *Just try not to set the night on fire. And please do not take the current issue or leave a big mess.

It makes Jim sad.

16 n Oct. 7, 2021

telegraph