Desperately Seeking Focus

It's been a rough week.

This morning at the kitchen table with the usual day off breakfast (which means I get to sit quietly and eat it) of Cheerios, orange juice, and a yogurt, I was looking over some scribbles that I made on random pieces of paper and tucked away for the time when I would be able to sit down quietly and expand upon them. As it happens, even that was deferred until evening.

It's been difficult to focus this past week. Fatigue, frustration, and maybe a little bit of fear have clouded things over for the last few days. I got a fair amount of sleep last night, and thought I'd try to get a few things off my chest, if for nothing else than to try to move on.

April 19-20

These two days kind of represent a lightning rod for those who would seek to make a point by engaging in senselessly violent behavior or political uprising. Consider the examples:

April 19 -
Lexington and Concord
OKC Bombing
Waco
Warsaw Ghetto uprising

April 20 -
The Ludlow Massacre
Hitler's Birthday
Columbine

I was aware of most of these significant dates, save for the Warsaw ghetto uprising, which may bear some significance to our family. My late wife was descended from Polish Jews centered around Warsaw, so it's quite possible that some of her ancestors lived in that ghetto during World War II.

The only incident possibly related to these events that I'm aware of was a prison riot that was reported to have been initiated by white supremacist inmates in honor of Hitler's birthday.
Sounds like we were fortunate this year.

Avalon Theatre

I contribute to Cinema at the Avalon, and have enjoyed some wonderful and unique film entertainment there so this year. Most recently was the collection of Oscar-Nominated live action short subjects for this year. It's a wonderful venue with great potential.

The recently reported price tag to renovate the Avalon to achieve its' full potential was
kind of shocking, and the comments on this article were less than complimentary. Included in one of these comments was a reference to an earlier Sentinel story which appeared over two weeks prior to the one linked above, which contained very similar information but didn't generate any of the interest that this past Saturday's story did. I wonder why...

I believe that a public-private fundraising partnership will need to happen in earnest to raise anywhere near the funds necessary to make the Avalon reach its' potential as a classic entertainment venue.

One idea I had that perhaps could be investigated now is trying to get A Prairie Home Companion to come here to do a show, with some of the proceeds to benefit the renovation project. Garrison Keillor has brought the show to other cities to support theater restoration projects, and the show's base of operations is itself the beneficiary of such an effort.

Perhaps Colorado Public Radio can be persuaded to use its' influence to help plead the case for a benefit performance here.

Senate Bill 192 (Limits on picketing in residential areas)

The Sentinel's excellent editorial opposing this legislation was well-written and thoughtful.
Kudos are also in order for all of our state representatives who are also opposing it, especially for Rep. Steve King, who reversed his position from an earlier committee vote.

As an ACLU member, I was very concerned about this group's conspicuous silence on the issue, so much so that I e-mailed one of the ACLU Colorado Chapter staff today to gain some clarification. I received a reply from the Executive Director, which I am reviewing and will have more about tomorrow.

Iraq Deployment, Part Deux

The Free Press had an excellent article on Page One this morning about a local mother of three being deployed to Iraq for a second time with the Army Reserve.

I know Rich Acree personally, and have always been impressed by his professionalism and determination through his work in one of the more difficult specialty areas at the Sheriff's Department. It's no surprise that this carries over into his personal life.

As his wife Carrie prepares for another deployment overseas, I wish all of them Godspeed in their travels and safe conduct in the war zone.


Time to finish the laundry and get ready for bed.