This is really fun!

I pulled myself out of bed at 5:20am, it was still dark...a sign fall is creeping on in minute by minute. Walking downtown was peaceful, as I finally headed out the door at 6:15am, I did see some of the preparation behind the scenes. Sheriff Department Buses idled quietly behind the state capital building, ready just in case. A few roadways were blocked, but it business as usual until I reached the 16th Street Mall. Then it was clear something big was waking up with the morning sun. If the last few days were about establishing a police presence, today was about the street merchant setting up shop, everywhere there was an open space.

I headed to the Big Tent and arrived on time to the first day excitement and chaos which quickly settled down. I was moved from compost to kitchen, there I "cut the cheese" with Johan from South Africa, who looked much like John Kennedy and now resides in Boulder, Dave who lived in New York, retired and lives in Santa Fe with his wife, who also volunteered and Mary, the Realtor from northwest Denver. We all talked about priorities for the party, what we would do and how much we enjoyed helping out in some small way.

If you have a moment, check out the agenda @ www.bigtentdenver.org. An impressive array of speakers awaits you as you check out the topics, which I found to be forward, exact and quite compelling. After I was switched back to compost detail, I made it up the speakers tent and heard these very eloquent experts:


Van Jones is the founder and president of Green For All
Dave McCurdy , president and CEO of The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

Panel Discussion on reducing the gasoline usage in America, by actions such as filling vehicles' tires properly, getting engines tuned, replacing air filters and avoiding speeding. EcoDriving is dedicated to help all Americans learn how to take simple steps to increase their mileage and reduce their carbon footprint immediately. Green For All is dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.

A familiar point was made that many of you might that maybe we should just give the money directly to people who need it. Van Jones spoke of the Vulture Culture, move from burning dead things to using living resources like wind and solar. Not a big fan of let's consider all sources of power, he likened that strategy to going to the doctor seeking treatment and being told you can have all treatments at the same time. He believes that anything that burns carbon has to go soon. Beware of dirty green tactics....those who say their green, but not...New

Celebrity sightings: Rev.Dr. Michael Beckwith, from movie/book: The Secret and Darryl Hannah,who looked great.

New Belgium Beer bought a bunch of the free bikes around town, so drink up! Love that Fat Tire Ale!!

The SWAT guys were flashing peace signs today much less tense. The protesters came in waves down the mall, but not a problem. Although, a friend said folks in her apartment complex had their tires slashed, if you had an SUV you had all four tires slashed.

I find I am drawn to the excitement, lingering downtown as long as I felt I could without totally ignoring the rest of my life. My intention is to spend as much time downtown as I can.

Look forward to hearing Ted Kennedy tonight, hope to see him on Wednesday at the disability forum.

There is so much discussion and information, access to everyone is secure and open. I know a few ladies who attended a forum on Women's issues with Nancy Pelossi, so access to folks is much greater than I expected. Speaking of access, at the Big Tent, I met Gerry, who is visually impaired and has his own business as a coffee roaster, the name of his Boulder based business, The Unseen Bean. Very cool.

Very cool times, still hope to have pictures up later.

Paradox lives and breathes in Denver

The city welcomed DNC delegates with tornadoes to the south and Bronco orange sunsets to the west. The protesters missed about 18,000 of their projected numbers, fears of violence with the 2,000 that did march brought out the military helicopters, gun doors open and national guard soldiers taking a long view. Nothing but peace to report at the moment. People of all kinds where smiling, driving with the windows down, two guys from California talked to me for a block, asking for directions and just smiling big and broad happy to be here.

The large contingency of officers, SWAT teams, medics on bikes all seemed to relax a bit today. Smiles could be seen peaking out from under motorcycle helmets, even the SWAT swagger seemed more toned down. Up near Civic Center Park on Colfax, under the plum trees by one of the state buildings, young semi-hippy men climbed trees to get the just ripe fruit throwing it down to the small crowd below. The numbers were small, but present mostly antiwar protesters.

The bars and restaurants seemed busier today, but not full. You could still find parking and a table near the front if you wanted it. That will most likely change later on tonight.

I head to the Big Tent at 7am. It is sponsored by: The Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado, Progess Now and Daily Koz, which has 600,000 hits per day. Google has a large presence there. It is non-partisan and we are there to be helpful and my particular job is on the green team, composting, I believe.

I have to say, I am unexpectedly drawn to the palpable excitement. It isn't just knowing history is in the making, it is feeling it. Wow.

Bye for now, have to be up and out by 6am.

Men in Black

This afternoon. after facilitating a board retreat for the Colorado Author's League, I headed downtown to my favorite little coffee shop on the 16th Street mall. There, my most favorite barista of all time was steaming coffee, stretching the milk precisely and expertly. Did you know that you stretch the milk to bring out the sweetness? When I looked at her behind the bar, I wasn't sure if the steam rising was just coming from the coffee or not. Perhaps, the milk wasn't the only thing being stretched.

Finding parking was not as difficult as expected, many stores were not filled with customers but were actually sporting handmade signs announcing large discounts on merchandise. I am sure large bands of heavily armored muscled men might have a some effect on impulse purchases, restaurants were steady, but not rushed. A few drunk kids found themselves escorted to the paddy wagon headed down to detox at Denver Health, where my friend Bert, the former Judo champion works and will be waiting tomorrow for a few more guests.

I wore my cute, colorful skirt, little heels and my giant silver peace necklace and just kind of held court as folks came by to share the latest rumors on protests and fears. Looking on the mall, I noticed the usual benches where folks typically gathered that were not anchored down had been removed, trash cans had been replaced with disposable cardboard boxes.

Probably the most disturbing moment happened when my African American friend handed me a brochure espousing that freedom for Negroes was a mistake and how Christians might want to rethink slavery....that was pretty darn weird among other adjectives I could use. Flyers were distributed by young and some times awkward men and women noting dates and times for protests.


While sipping my chai, talk of fear and hope floated in the air. It can be tempting to talk up the drama of the moment, excitement mixed with anxiety intoxicating, but in my opinion, discipline will be required of us not to feed the fear monster. My thought is to starve the beast and feed the future with hope and optimism, even in spite of or because of the men in black.

And, what do you believe? Not sure, what about a check-up?

If there is a center to our universe, it lies in what we believe. Thus, whatever transpires in our minds, materializes in our lives. Believing in the power to transform lives, to seek peace and to achieve goals all require two things:

1. Making a choice.
2. Giving ourselves permission to move past our insecurities and doubts. My grandson called those doubts, the "Cranking Noise". He just tells the Noise to go take a nap! It must work his knows all of US Presidents, in order. Just got his orange belt and best of the best in Tae Kwon Do. Like my grandson, we can tell our fears to take a nap and we can learn to invite, allow and accept, peace of mind into our circle of beliefs. Then we can dwell comfortably in the house of abundance, rather than the house of pain.

The Six Questions

Most of us have never asked ourselves these questions. We don’t necessarily learn the questions, or for that matter, the answers from our parents, teachers or friends. These questions take some time to really answer. So, go over them at least six times—going deeper each time. Ask yourself, how do you know what you believe is true? Ask yourself is that the way you really want to believe? Could you have it your way, how would it be if you were running the show? Also, ask yourself—am I willing to let go of any of these beliefs and perceptions, if they are not longer working for me?

1. What do you believe about trust??? When do you give it? When do others begin to trust you?
2. How do you measure success? Do you believe there is never a failure or do you believe there is rarely a success?
3. Does work have to be hard? Can it be fun? Can it be effortless?
4. What do you believe about time?? Is there never enough? Will you always have just what you need to get the job done?
5. Think about what you believe about relationships. Is there such a thing as a lifelong relationship? Is life a solitary event or something in between?
6. What role do play and relaxation have in your life? Is it important to start taking care of yourself first or should you be last on your list?

I have recently been doing this inventory. Like a check-up at the Doctor's office, I think we need to regular schedule time to conduct a beliefs check-up ans see how we spend our time and money...that usually tells us what we believe and gives us clues on what we need to change! Happy check-up. Keep in mind, the larger the gap between what we believe and how we act the more stress we experience!!

Ebb and Flow of Community

Still, I am capable of surprise. Still, I find myself intrigued by how communities form, change and ultimately evolve.

My daughter Mikelle's community changes and evolves we have discovered, growing and strengthening with each incarnation. Mikelle has a physical disability, she uses a wheelchair, a communication device known as Dynavox and lives on her own, with the support of her community, which as I have said evolves and changes in interesting and sometimes unanticipated ways.

Surprising to me is how organic communities are, even when planned and intended. People change in ways not expected, mostly for the good in our case, but not always. People fall in love, lose interest, gain commitment, need adventure, come back and ultimately everyone grows.

Some folks play a central role, like myself, although I see a day when my role will be left of center, on the fringes and other people with move into the middle of my daughter's life.

Right now, we are in a letting go and growing phase. A few people are leaving for short adventures, some moving on entirely and others just entering. It has a magical alchemical element, this community building. And, I love the view from this point in life, where I still can be surprised and intrigued.

Victory Gardens

So today the price of oil continues to escalate, driving up the price of food, driving and purchased goods. This rise shows no sign up stopping, if anything getting worse. As a concerned citizen how do you respond to this?

Well I will show you how some have chosen to combat the problem and turned it into an amazing solution. One that helps save money, increase health and potentially build community. Gardens, simple solution, yeah. During WWII they were called Victory Gardens, now they are called community gardens or just food gardens. They have begun springing up in yards, vacant lots and hopefully soon a rooftop near you.

What I love about community gardening is that the person growing the food, is out and about meeting the neighbors and friends and the kids are running around having a great time playing in the dirt or a nearby playground.



As a previous job I worked for Denver Urban Gardens (DUG), there I worked as an intern for two summers. While in the job I was greeted daily by people less fortunate having a hand in harvesting their dinner, children playing with worms and even an old man who because of his wheelchair had not been able to garden for ten years (until DUG built him a raised bed).

I know that gardens are nothing new or innovative, yet there is something awe inspiring in watching a community come together, especially because the one we fight we help build everyday driving through our daily lives.

I highly recommend checking out DUG's website: www.dug.org and in addition here is a great article from this weekends Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_9544778

What's Love?

To dovetail on to your piece on families, I find that we are growing and changing into new family structures connected through common interests in an uncommon way. Friendships like ours that span generations feel more comfortable than more traditional groupings.

What draws people together to form some unlikely families of choice? I think it things like common interests and activities but, I think it is much more. It is a new vision with inspires people to be there best selves.

While I am still an undecided in the Democratic race for President. I can't help but admire Barack Obama's ability to bring people together that until recently might not have even shared a cup of coffee. What are the common denominators? Being valued and recognized for individual and collective contributions, perhaps the focus on making the world a better place and having a voice. Clearly imagination and inspiration are the fuels that feed and energize communities allowing them the opportunity of possibility. Love of purpose and love of each other is the result. We do our best work, be our best self when we are part of a supportive community. I am fortunate to belong to such a community---new rules for a new world.