On July 4, I stood beside Twin Lakes weeping. Mourning for our verdant Roaring Fork Valley, for friends, for the future of coming generations. The smoke signals pouring over Independence Pass were a harbinger of global warming, of the desertification of the American West. From the Whitestar campground (40 miles away as the DC-10s fly), […]
Nicolette Toussaint
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Hoist a beer to cheer Thunder River Theatre’s ‘Yankee Tavern’
If one were going to finger the culprit most responsible for conspiring to create a compelling theatrical evening, Thunder River Theatre Company (TRTC) veteran Bob Moore would be the guilty party. As Ray, the resident conspiracy theorist at a down-at-the-heel New York bar, he’s the driving force behind TRTC’s latest play, Yankee Tavern. That’s not […]
Posted inColumns, Uncategorized
Seeking Higher Ground: Mama said, Mama said
“If all the other kids jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?” “If you keep making that face, it will freeze that way!” “Were you born in a barn?” Every mom seems to know these phrases. They’re passed down through the ages: Grandma said them to mom. Mom used them on us. The same […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Local teachers rally for improved school funding
On April 16, two Roaring Fork Valley teachers trekked to Denver, each on her own time and own dime, to join around 300 other public school teachers in delivering a message to the Colorado State Legislature: schools are underfunded and lawmakers need to ante up. Lisa Dameron, who lives in Carbondale and teaches at Basalt […]
Posted inColumns, Uncategorized
Seeking Higher Ground: Amy Barr loved the hell out of this world
If I awakened to find that my older husband had died during the night, I was supposed to call Amy Barr. Those were her instructions, and I knew that she could glue the pieces of me back together again. Dawn Mulally, a friend and a former United Way board member, had the same confidence. “If […]
Posted inColumns, Uncategorized
Seeking Higher Ground: What I didn't know
“Financial planning would be far simpler if we came stamped with an expiration date on the bottom.” Thus saith my financial planner. True, that. I have planned for my “golden years” with the goal of living until 90. But recently, I learned that I have a rare, fatal and untreatable ailment. It means that my […]
Posted inOpinion, Uncategorized
Thunder River Theatre’s ‘The Price’ proves a powerhouse
“The Price” has been the least staged of playwright Arthur Miller’s plays. The current production at Thunder River Theatre Company (TRTC) reveals it as Miller’s most underrated play. TRTC’s production is a powerhouse, as good as any live theatre this reviewer has seen. (Reviewer’s Note: While living in San Francisco, I regularly attended both ACT […]
Posted inColumns, Uncategorized
Seeking Higher Ground: Unplugging from the 24/7 news cycle
When I give people my cell phone number, it’s always with the caveat that they shouldn’t expect to reach me 24/7. “I check this voicemail box about once a month,” my message warns. “If you need to reach me, call my landline.” Call me a Luddite, call me an introvert, but I crave untethered time. […]