Columns

Nothing makes you appreciate someone like their absence, and over the past month almost everyone at The Sopris Sun has taken some time away.
I actually started the trend myself by taking off for Canadian Thanksgiving with my family in Windsor, Ontario. I skipped town right after Potato Day and missed almost a week of newspapering, including the big internet outage and some important breaking news. Didn’t notice my absence? That’s all thanks to Trina Ortega, The Sun’s original editor. Few people in my position have ever had access to such a talented substitute. I am immensely grateful.

When I heard that rock icon Tom Petty passed away, it hit me harder than I expected. He somehow felt like a friend who helped me get through some tough times. I know, that’s totally ridiculous because I never even met the dude. But his music brought me comfort through the prickly years of adolescence and solace during the anxious years when I found myself living away from home for the first time.

I see through the local papers that the proposed Crystal Valley trail is still being considered for placement on the east side of the Crystal River. This controversial placement has been discussed and rejected by the public, local governments, local environmental organizations and the state Colorado Parks and Wildlife Division (CPW).

“You’re not special enough to overcome a bad marriage.” That line, from the 1983 film “Terms of Endearment,” set my teeth on edge when I first heard it.
Decades later, I think that Shirley MacLaine’s character, Aurora Greenway, had a point. It flies in the face of my feminist credentials to say so, but marrying the wrong man is probably the worst mistake a young woman can make.

Did you know that the Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District, answers more than 1,200 emergency 911 calls annually? Seems like a lot of fires, right? On average, Carbondale Fire responds to 420 emergency fire calls and nearly 800 emergency medical calls annually. How does that work, you might ask?

Don’t forget! Humans vs. Vampires begins Friday the 13th. Get your ribbons at Bonfire Coffee or Dandelion Market. You can still sign up after the official start, but your chances of winning decrease the more you delay. Start as a human with a yellow ribbon clearly displayed around your wrist. Vampires can’t tag you when you’re actively holding a copy of The Sopris Sun. If you put it down or stash it in your back pocket, one little tag and you’re one of them. Surrender your human ribbon to your sire, don the red one and begin seeking out your prey.

The ringing of a cell phone, that ubiquitous irritation, interrupts Thunder River Theatre Company’s funny new production almost from the get-go. But it’s not an audience transgression this time; it’s the play itself. Jean, played by TRTC newcomer Sonya Meyer, occupies a café with a lone stranger, and it’s his phone that’s ringing, ringing, ringing… Jean prompts him: “Your phone is ringing…
“Aren’t you going to answer… Answer the damn phone!”