The Durango Telegraph, June 2, 2022

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June 2, 2022 Vol. XXI, No. 27 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

Loved to death

Popping tags

Homegrown

As visitation grows, fees, permits coming to more public lands p7

Thrift stores boom as shoppers look to save money, planet p8

From restaurants to markets, how local farmers do it p10

The sun is shining and the grass is greener!

Let us keep your smile going all summer!

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The Alter native Resource 2 n June 2, 2022

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lineup

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4 La Vida Local

The invisible Indian Word by word, story by story reclaiming indigenous dignity and humanity

by Kirbie Bennett

4 Thumbin’ It 5 Word on the Street 6 Soapbox

8

7 State News

Goodwill hunting

8 Top Story

Inflation, supply chain sends folks flocking to thrift, consignment stores

by Jonathan Romeo

10 Let’s Dig In 11 Murder Ink 12-13 Stuff to Do

10

Putting down roots How small farmers make a go of the growing life in Durango

13 Ask Rachel 14 Free Will Astrology

by Sinjin Eberle

15 Classifieds 15 Haiku Movie Review

11

On the cover: A boater takes the plunge in the infamous No Name Rapid on the Upper Animas. Despite decidedly tamer flows on the lower stretch, the Upper was said to be at a prime level last weekend. / Photo by Stephen Eginoire

The top floor Gripping tale of storage-unit existence reaches new heights in fiction

by Jeffrey Mannix

boilerplate

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel missy@durangotelegraph.com ADVERTISING SALES: Meleana Young ads@durangotelegraph.com STAFF REPORTER: Jonathan Romeo jonathan@durangotelegraph.com

T

he Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, beckoning singletrack or monster powder days. We are wholly owned and operated independently by the Durango Telegraph LLC and

STAR-STUDDED CAST: Kirbie Bennett, Sinjin Eberle, Jeffrey Mannix, Lainie Maxson, Rob Brezsny, Jesse Anderson and Clint Reid

REAL WORLD ADDRESS: 679 E. 2nd Ave., Ste E2 Durango, CO 81301 PHONE: 970-259-0133

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 332, Durango, CO 81302 VIRTUAL ADDRESS: www.durangotelegraph.com

E-MAIL: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com MAIL DELIVERY AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: $3.50/issue, $150/year

distributed in the finest and most discerning locations throughout the greater Durango area.

We’re only human. If, by chance, we defame someone’s good name or that of their family, neighbor, best

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.

telegraph

Ear to the ground: “It’s not novel anymore.”

– Local on the somewhat ubiquitous state of the so-called novel coronavirus.

The straight poop

thepole

RegularOccurrences

Looks like recent upgrades at the Santa Rita Water Reclamation Facility have made significant improvements to the treated water sent downstream in the Animas River, according to a new report from Mountain Studies Institute.

In 2014, the City of Durango launched a nearly $60 million improvement project at the facility to address population growth, meet future regulatory requirements and protect the quality of the Animas River. That project, including a brand-spanking new wastewater treatment plant, was completed in the past few years. Soon after, the city partnered with MSI and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to test whether the upgrades had any measurable improvement to downstream water quality.

According to MSI, water samples were taken before the improvements (to establish a baseline) and after at various locations downstream of the facility a couple times throughout the year.

The results are in, with water quality showing large reductions of nutrient and bacteria concentrations including: • 93% reduction in phosphorus • 59% reduction in nitrogen • 90% reduction of E. coli To put it simply, the water being released back into the Animas after treatment at the Santa Rita facility showed levels similar to the water quality in the Animas upstream of the facility.

“The improvements were successful at meeting water quality regulation requirements,” MSI said in a statement. “In addition, the improved treatment of excess nutrients and harmful bacteria improve the downstream water quality of the Animas River by protecting aquatic life and maintaining safe water quality for human recreation, domestic water supply, irrigation and other uses.”

In addition to local kayakers and others who tend to spend a lot of time upside down in the river, we’re sure our friends (both people and aquatic life) in Aztec and Farmington are happy about this, too.

Quick update Last Thursday night, the Durango City Council adopted a new ordinance in response to a citizen-led petition that now requires a more robust public process, including hearings, for any proposed police or fire station within city limits.

This petition was in response to Durango Fire Protection District’s ongoing plan to relocate its downtown station to the old 9-R Administration Building at 201 E. 12th St. Many residents who oppose the project say the process has not been transparent.

The petition received enough signatures, forcing city councilors to decide whether to adopt the petition as written or instead hold a special election, likely in August. The Durango City Council approved the ordinance on a 4-1 vote.

It remains unclear where DFPD is with its relocation plan. Recently, the Durango City Council passed a directive to explore what it would take for DFPD to stay and upgrade its current location at River City Hall near the Powerhouse Science Center.

June 2, 2022 n

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opinion

LaVidaLocal Being the invisible Indian Sometimes I become the vanishing Indian without even trying. It usually happens when the ego of whiteness insists on speaking for my people’s history and experiences.

Recently, I was in a crowded room where people gathered to hear a celebrated white author promote his latest book of adventures in the Southwest. For inspiration, he often leans on Indigenous cultures and stories. During the Q&A, some audience members asked him how he rationalizes such cultural appropriation in his work. “Even though I’m not from those communities, I’m still from this land,” he said while standing on stolen land. If that wasn’t curiously crude enough, he then applied this strange analogy: “I’m not a mathematician, but that doesn’t stop me from learning about math.”

To hear Indigenous peoples’ cultures and stories compared to something as standard as math left me speechless. In that moment, my presence was omitted in just a few words. Disenchanted, I sighed and vanished during the thunderous applause for him.

That strange and upsetting experience brought to mind other uncomfortable moments. Once I had the opportunity to meet a historian I fairly admired. This Finnish scholar often devoted his research to Indigenous history, which, at the time, I found intriguing.

One night his publisher invited me and some colleagues to dinner, and as gifts we were given copies of his latest book, focusing on the Lakota. Out of curiosity, I asked him what Indigenous Nation he planned to write about next. “Well, it’s hard being a white historian now,” he replied in a pitiful tone. “People from these cultures want to write their own histories.” For a second, our table went silent as everyone waited for my response. An army of words demanded to leap out of me, and I sort of wanted to flip the table over. But knowing I was outnumbered and out of place, I retreated and responded with, “OK.” To everyone’s relief, someone sitting a few seats away redirected the conversation. I sat there and looked for my reflection in a glass of water to make sure I returned from that vanishing act.

To this day, in my library, that historian’s book remains unopened and buried under books by Indigenous writers.

In his 1969 classic “Custer Died for Your Sins,” the Lakota scholar Vine Deloria Jr. took white explorers to task, writing, “Indians have been cursed above all other people in history. Indians have anthropologists.” Deloria goes on to note that, “The massive volume of useless knowledge produced by anthropologists attempting to capture real Indians has contributed substantially to the invisibility of Indian people today.”

Sometimes I become the vanishing Indian when white folks “play Indian.” I was once again in a crowded room, outnumbered as white folks gathered to hear a west-

ern writer promote her latest detective novel set on the Navajo Nation. I’ve always shrugged off this franchise, likening it to the Chuck Norris series “Walker, Texas Ranger” – sensationalistic, overly dramatic and cringingly comedic. Yet the longer I stared at her books, which frequently incorporate Diné cultural symbols and aesthetics (more so than what any actual Diné writer would use), the more uncomfortable I felt. And that was compounded by how comfortable she felt speaking for my people’s culture and history. What concerned me the most was the confidence in her whitewashed generalizations and inaccuracies. I felt myself turning into a dehumanized prop, like some sort of grotesque Indian statue pointing to a downtown art gallery. It’s in these moments, when faced with the overwhelming normalization of appropriating Indigenous cultures, that I truly wish to disappear.

The Palestinian scholar Edward Said often reflected on similar experiences regarding the erasure and invisibility of his people at the hands of Israelis. “Perhaps the greatest battle Palestinians have waged as a people has been over the right to a remembered presence and, with that presence, the right to possess and reclaim a collective historical reality,” Said wrote. “A similar battle has been fought by all colonized peoples whose past and present were dominated by outside powers who had first conquered the land and then rewrote history so as to appear in that history as the true owners of that land.”

It all comes down to power. The ego of whiteness and colonization holds the pen as it writes the narrative of Indigenous peoples, erasing our complex autonomy and humanity in the process.

As long as the settler state exists, I know there will be more times I experience the dehumanization of vanishing. But my friend Kali FajardoAnstine often reminds me of the power of our stories and the importance of persevering. An immensely talented writer, giving voice to the Indigenous Chicano in the Southwest, Kali can spin the room with the wave of her pen. And her new novel, “Woman of Light,” will make the world spin in a better direction. Recently, we had a conversation about the Santa Rita neighborhood – a predominantly Hispanic community Durango’s southside forcibly made invisible in the late 1960s when the highway department expanded 550.

Though the community’s gone, it left behind a trove of letters, poetry and stories. “They all seem so happy/ And I hope we never part./ For now they plan to build a road/ Directly across my heart,” goes one poem. Kali wrote to me: “Seeing these poems, and knowing so many will try to make us even more invisible – this really reminds me why I’m writing.”

Guided by my ancestors, supported by my elders and allies, we’re taking the pen back and writing our own stories. Word by word, story by story we reclaim our dignity and humanity, all the while giving way to the vanishing colonizer.

SignoftheDownfall:

Thumbin’It Flor Rodriguez reopening her Durango Tortilleria La Flor just weeks after being hospitalized with serious injuries after an accident in the kitchen. Get over there and enjoy some delicious, local tortillas!

Colorado passing stricter fentanyl laws that make it a felony to possess more than 1 gram of the drug or any substance containing it, in an effort to cut down on overdoses.

For the first time, the Colorado Water Congress voted to expand its board to include Native American tribes, including the Southwest’s Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes.

Better late than never?

4 n June 2, 2022

– Kirbie Bennett

Colorado Parks and Wildlife reporting that there have been eight drownings in Colorado this year, including four since May 25. Wear your PFDs! News that a man disguised himself as an elderly lady disabled in a wheelchair so he could get close enough to the famed Mona Lisa painting to smear cake on it. I mean, that’s dedication (and luckily the painting wasn’t damaged).

Reports that Taco Bell is running out of the Mexican pizza. Dear god, what next?

telegraph

Little No-Show Peep Thomas Ramsey, of Mississippi, recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of being reunited with his pet rooster “Peep,” who was lost in a Cracker Barrel parking lot after a Civil War reenactment. Ramsey had left Peep’s leash tied to the truck like always, but Peep got away and spent a day on the lam before being returned by someone literally named “Farmer John.” Sure, this story has a happy ending, but it also has a moral: if you’re dumb enough to glorify the Civil War, you might lose your cock.

WordontheStreet

Q

With second-hand store biz booming, The Telegraph asked: “What’s the best score you’ve found at a thrift store?”

Megan

"Active wear – or decorations are fun."

Fran

"Really everything is wonderful. You never know what you’re going to find next."

Joanne

"I found my sister’s bike at a garage sale 40 years later in Albuquerque."

Tim

"A perfectly good lawnmower for 5 bucks at the old VOA thrift store."

TJ

"I’ve found some pretty cool skis. I also found a snow skate at a thrift shop."

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June 2, 2022

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SoapBox

D-Tooned/by Rob Pudim

Common sense on guns

Disaffiliating from Bobo

Let’s face it: We live in a country that cares more about its guns than its children; where the right to life includes a fetus but not school children; where the 2nd Amendment has taken on a religious fervor; and where unstable young men have easy access to weapons of war.

Guns are the No. 1 cause of death among children, yet we do nothing. Republicans claim mental health is the issue, yet they do nothing to provide mental health services. They claim expansion of background checks would infringe on fundamental freedoms and reject common sense solutions favored by a huge majority, including minimum age limits, red flag laws and domestic violence prohibitions.

Banning assault-type weapons is anathema to Republicans, but is there really a reason for anyone, especially an 18-year-old, to have such a weapon? For the 10-year period our ban was in place, it was highly effective at reducing mass murders. If New Zealand could quickly ban these weapons after one terrible mass shooting, why can’t we?

President Biden recently approved restrictions to get untraceable weapons off the streets and crack down on those who sell and manufacture them, but of course, Gun Owners of America quickly vowed to oppose the new rules. We must do something to prevent the carnage. Please vote for candidates who share our concerns.

– Carol Cure, Durango

The 3rd congressional district needs to make a change this year. If you are drinking the Boebert Kool Aid you don’t need to read further. But, if you are a responsible Republican or unaffiliated voter, you have a great choice with moderate Don Coram.

And if you are a Democrat, as I am, you can change your party affiliation to unaffiliated. You will receive ballots for both parties and you can vote for Coram. I just made the change. It takes 10 minutes, just Google sos.state.co.us. You need to do it

by June 6. And you can switch back to Democrat after the primary.

If Coram wins the general election, so be it. The 3rd District will still be light years from where we are now. Are you tired of reading Bobo signs when you drive north? Let the liberal haters ignorantly push ahead for more amateur hour game show hosting from Shooter’s Grill.

We can turn the tide and send her back to washing dishes.

Here’s is the easy to-do list. 1) Please register to vote; 2) Register as unaffiliated and 3) Vote for Don Coram. Apathy could lead to another term for Bazooka Barb.

– Carl Darnell, Durango

Wolves of Wall Street Every two years, we elect lawmakers to represent us in Washington D.C. We put our trust in them and expect them to fight

for what’s best for our communities.

What we don’t expect is for our elected representatives to abuse their office for personal financial gain. Unfortunately, we can’t trust members of Congress to keep themselves honest when it comes to stock trading. In fact, members of Congress have traded more than $630 million in stocks just in the last year.

We need stronger laws to prevent lawmakers from using information they’re

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6 n June 2, 2022

telegraph

privy to to increase the value of their stock. An overwhelming majority of Americans agree that members of Congress should not be allowed to buy or sell stocks while in office.

Congress must listen to the American people and pass legislation making it illegal for any sitting member of the House or Senate to trade individual stocks.

– Nadeen Nissley, Durango

StateNews

Loved to death Balancing skyrocketing public use with conservation on public lands

by Stina Sieg Colorado Public Radio

T

he image is iconic: Two gigantic, jagged peaks come to fine points, covered in slabs of snow. Below them, a stunning, blue-green lake is surrounded by bald aspens and a carpet of evergreens.

Welcome to the Maroon Bells, the most photographed place in all of Colorado – and one of many beloved natural wonders in the state where visitors are now being limited.

Mike and Margaret Simmons, both in their 80s, believe officials needed to step in to preserve these places. They actually stopped coming for years, because it was just too crowded.

“Well, look around, you see why people love it,” Mike said. “That’s why they come.”

Margaret added, “The claim is they’re loving it to death.”

The Basalt couple now volunteer here with the Forest Conservancy. They connect with visitors and walk the trails and are basically extra eyes and ears for park rangers. The couple said things now are so different than when they first visited in the mid-1960s.

“You could just drive up here and park and go hiking,” Mike said.

There were no regulations then, not even for camping. But in the decades since, Maroon Bells has been discovered.

More than 300,000 people visit every year – double the number from just a few years ago. To cope with the popularity, a reservation system was put in place in 2020, capping the number of people who drive in or take the shuttle each day.

At the Bells, a local woman said she has made 40 reservations for the season, just to be sure she doesn’t miss out. But there are plenty of others who decided to buck the system entirely and bike in, which does not yet require a reservation.

On opening day in mid-May, there were actually more bicycles on the road than cars.

But even though it all looked fairly empty, the computer system that holds the reservations said otherwise. Rangers turned away car after car that didn’t have a reservation.

That happened to Leena O’Connell’s family, so they decided to park outside the gate and walk in – four uphill miles.

O’Connell, in her early 50s, was on vacation from Atlanta, only in town for the day.

She and her family were determined to see

A shuttle bus lets off visitors at the Maroon Bells. With more than 300,000 visitors a year, a reservation system was put in place in 2020, capping the number of people who drive in or take the shuttle each day./ Photo by Colorado Public Radio the Maroon Bells no matter what, but she worried the reservation system would make it too difficult for many visitors passing through.

“Since it’s new and there are a lot of people who want to come in, I think it could be disappointing a lot of people,” she said.

That’s the kind of story Scott Fitzwilliams hates to hear. He’s the supervisor of the White River National Forest, home to the Maroon Bells and many other well-known spots.

“It’s gonna be hard for that person to leave with that great of an experience,” he said. “And that’s not what we’re after.”

Instead, he’s trying to balance access with conservation in the most visited national forest in the country. It attracts more than 14 million people each year – more than Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon combined.

Fitzwilliams explained that the Forest Service is still learning how to best implement restrictions on its most famous spots,

including Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs and Vail Pass Recreation Area. Public feedback is important, as are partnerships with other entities (the Maroon Bells shuttle, for example, is made possible with the help of the local transit authority). Fitzwilliams hopes the money from the federal Great American Outdoors Act, which earmarks billions of dollars for projects on public land, will continue to help move all of this forward.

He imagines a day not too far off when people will be able to look up the status of these natural gems online before they arrive.

“I don’t think that’s getting-to-Mars type of thinking,” he said. “I think that’s right around the corner.”

But for now, many of Colorado’s most visited natural places are going through growing pains as the public and land managers alike get used to the new restrictions. There’s a delicate balance to be struck: In addition to preservation, the future of these lands also depends on people experiencing them,

telling others and raising awareness of the need to protect them.

Several hours west of the Maroon Bells, dirt bikes rumbled through a wide-open swath of rolling desert hills known as Rabbit Valley. Just a few miles from the Utah border, it’s wildly popular with off-roaders and RVers. For years, they could just show up and park wherever they liked. Starting this season, however, they have to camp in designated spots and fill out a form for a permit.

Fees are coming next year.

Zack Kelley, an outdoor recreation planner with the Bureau of Land Management, thinks it’s for the best.

A little more than a decade ago when he was in high school, he used to camp out here pretty frequently, so he bets that some people will see these changes as a bummer.

“But also having a background in natural resources and caring about the multitude of resources here, it’s kind of the best compromise we can make,” he said.

Visitors generally agree. Kari Prassack, on a car camping trip from Arizona, was happy to see the designated camping sites. For her, it felt good to know that her presence wasn’t harming the very land she came to enjoy.

“Maybe there’s something really important around that hill. Maybe there’s an owl nesting site or there’s some really fragile vegetation,” she said. “And you know that you’re not impacting it, because you’re camping where they’re telling you you can camp.”

She had her pick of sites, all with new picnic tables and fire rings. But by the time Ohio resident George Brandt rolled in with his RV, all the quaint, tucked-away spots were taken.

So he had to opt for a large, graveled group site, surrounded by other RVs. “This out here is so wide open, I wish you could use more of it for camping,” he said.

He understood, though, and worried that without some kind of controls, these special places would be trashed. As a veteran, he said he’d hate to see that happen to his beautiful country.

“There’s only one United States of America,” he said. “We need to take care of it properly.”

What that looks like for public land across Colorado and beyond is still very much a work in process.

For more from Colorado Public Radio, go to www.cpr.org

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June 2, 2022 n 7

TopStory

Durango’s Goodwill on a recent weekday morning. The store, a national chain, has been bustling pretty much nonstop since the pandemic, with both shoppers and donations, according to employees./ Photo by Missy Votel

Popping tags Thrift stores boom as folks flock to help pocketbook, planet

by Jonathan Romeo

W

ith the increasing cost of, well, everything these days, one bright spot has emerged in and around Durango – the rising popularity of shopping at local thrift stores.

Whether you’re buying groceries, filling up the tank or trying to pay the rent, inflation and the increasing cost of living has put serious pressure on Coloradoans’ budgets. Add on supply chain issues brought on

by COVID-19, and you’ll find saving money while trying to live in Durango is no easy task.

Just this week, the Colorado Health Foundation released a report that said Colorado residents believe the rising cost of living is the top problem facing the state. And in April, inflation remained near a 40-year high.

We could go on, but we think you get the picture.

To help ease the strain, people are increasingly turning to an old favorite – thrifting.

According to one research study, the secondhand market is projected to double in the next five years and become a $77 billion industry (mind you, this was from Resale Report, which advocates for thrift shops).

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n June 2, 2022

Shoppers combing the racks Tuesday at the United Methodist Thrift Store downtown./ Photo by Missy Votel Luckily for us here in Durango, we have plenty of secondhand and consignment options that not only save you money but also ease the toll that production of new items takes on the environment. And local resale stores are seeing the surge.

“We have had an uptick in sales,” Georgia Stillwell, director of First United Methodist Thrift Shop, said. “And it just makes sense.”

Goodwill, a nationwide nonprofit, reported its highest revenues ever in 2021.

telegraph

Chris Romero, a manager at Goodwill in Durango, said that spending fervor was felt here, too.

“We’ve been getting good business since things started opening back up (from the pandemic),” Romero said. “And we’ve also had a solid stream of donations. We’ve just been very busy.”

It seems every consignment shop in Durango has its own niche. The First United Methodist Thrift Shop, Goodwill and La Plata County Humane Society’s Thrift Store (which did not respond for comment) sell the standard array of everything from clothing and random decorations to dishware, Carpenters albums and old frames with pictures of families long gone.

“We’ve always been happy to be of service to lower income families (who are particularly impacted by things like inflation),” Stillwell said. “But increasingly, we’re seeing more people from that middle class bracket, too.”

Joanna Tucker, who owns children’s consignment store Sprout, has been in business on College Drive since 2005. She said the business always experiences ebbs and flows, but since the pandemic, Sprout has seen business increase in multiple ways.

For one, people had more time at home during shutdowns, which allowed them to clear out all the stuff they’ve accumulated over the years. As a result, Sprout has seen customers bringing in more items to sell. On the flip side, customers want to cut costs across the board.

And, it became apparent after the pandemic people wanted to spend their money more on experiences than buying stuff.

Sprout is uniquely positioned, Tucker said, because the store sells to kids, who obviously go through clothing quickly.

“This new generation has a mindset of conserving their money… and also being more sustainable and ecofriendly,” Tucker said. “I think thrifting and consignment have become more in the front of their mind, and they’re considering it now more so than in the past.”

Down the street at Reruns, which has both a clothing boutique and home furnishing store, it’s much of the same, said owner Laura Rickard.

“Right after the pandemic hell, there was definitely a lot of people coming in saying, ‘We’re so glad you made it through’ and wanting to support our local business,” Rickard said.

Reruns also rode the wave of people wanting to spend more time outside, which translated into more outdoor furniture sales, Rickard said. That may have tempered slightly, with the spring’s horrendous winds, dust bowls and wildfire smoke.

“That fervor maybe died off, but yes, people are wanting to support local, small town,” she said.

At ReLove Consign & Design, which sells furniture and décor downtown, owner Paige DeNier said the store has been incredibly busy with all the new people moving to Durango looking for furniture. With supply chain issues, which can delay orders up to a year, more people are looking for secondhand items in the meantime.

“A lot of the time, people will cancel their orders if they want what they’re looking for here, or they’ll consign it back to us,” DeNier said. “So it’s been really great for us.”

And we’d of course be remiss to not mention what every Durangoan is obsessed with – outdoor gear. Driven by unprecedented demand with the outdoor craze brought on by the pandemic, and further exacerbated by supply chain issues, outdoor gear prices have reached record highs.

Just for example, Chase LaCroix, a manager at Durango Outdoor Exchange, said raw material for tent poles has been in short supply, leading to shortages. And, he said DOE’s paddleboard company (which makes new paddleboards) took five months to receive a shipment.

All this, of course, has turned people toward secondhand items.

“It has been our biggest year ever,” LaCroix said.

LaCroix added that a big part of that growth has been younger people wanting to buy used to lessen their impact on the environment. But also, a lot of people were out of work during the pandemic, and wages haven’t caught up with the cost of living in Durango, so quality, pre-owned gear is a good economical choice as well.

“The duality of that dynamic is what’s attracting so many people to shop used,” he said.

But in addition to saving pennies, buying used can reduce carbon emissions, save resources like water and energy, and also prevent perfectly good items from ending up in the landfill. Not to mention that some new items come from factories with, let’s say, less than ideal conditions.

“Part of the reason why I love this job so much is the sustainability aspect,” United Methodist’s Stillwell said.

“We’re recycling used items for people in the community and getting those items to people who still have use for them.” ■ * Full disclosure: The Durango Telegraph contacted just about every consignment shop and thrift store in town for this story, and the ones who responded were included. Further, this reporter has no allegiance to any one store. It’s been well-documented his fashion is dictated by what clothes his mother – I mean “Santa” – buys for him at Christmas, as well as whatever clothing is left behind by visiting friends.

In addition to saving money and the environment, thrifting also offers a chance to score that one-of-akind suede-and-leather bedazzled cowboy coat./ Photo by Missy Votel

Summer shopping Jimmy’s, aren’t you?

Hours: mon - Fri 11-6 & Sat 11-5: www.jimmysmusic.supply 1239 Main Ave • 970-764-4577

telegraph

June 2, 2022 n

9

Let’sDigIn

Local food, local farms How Southwest Colorado farms make it happen

by Sinjin Eberle

F

rom my perspective, Durango is one of the most vibrant, committed and encouraging local farm and food scenes in Colorado, with maybe only the Grand Valley (Grand Junction and Palisade) and Boulder County giving our area a run for its money. Certainly, there are pockets of growers and restaurants committed to them outside of these three areas, like Paonia/Hotchkiss, Steamboat Springs and maybe the extended Vail Valley, but in terms of the diversity of farms and restaurants that support them, it is hard to argue that the Bayfield/Durango/Mancos local food zone is not one of the best.

We have the gift of a community ethic that supports these farmers. Layer on organizations like Local First coordinating and promoting events such as the fall Harvest Dinner; Durango’s highly anticipated weekly farmers market and the community social scene that goes along with it; and Southwest Farm Fresh, with both an online farmers market and wholesale distribution network between producers and local restaurants across an even broader swath of Southwest Colorado. With all those elements combined, it is no wonder that the availability and sustainability of both a local food culture and vibrant farm scene is the norm around here, rather than the exception.

But with all this great local meat and produce heading into the hands of citizens across our area, as well as supplying restaurants across the region, I have wondered about the benefits to the farmers and ranchers, and how much our community’s focus on buying local really impacts and sustains them. Is there a significant economic value to the farmer, or is it just lip service that benefits only the people who choose to shop this way?

While pondering this question, I ran into Jack Leggett, farm director at Twin Buttes Farm, just west of Durango (full transparency here, I was picking up eggs and Leggett happened to be there…don’t @ me). I asked him about their business model and how selling into the local restaurant scene specifically benefits the farm. He explained that Twin Buttes does about 70-80% of its business as wholesale with local restaurants like Zia, the Ore House, El Moro, Bread, Eolus, Durango Natural Foods and the James Ranch Market.

“While selling at wholesale is a much lower margin financially, it is the consistency of the income stream across the entire growing season that is a huge benefit to us,” he said.

He starts meeting with restaurants in February while the snow is still piled high (yeah, right) to sketch out what they will plant and the rhythm of the growing sea-

10 n June 2, 2022

Twin Buttes Farm in full production mode./ Photo by Sinjin Eberle son ahead. In some ways, Leggett and his team have a pretty good sense of how much support they are going to have for the coming year before they put the first start in the ground.

Once temperatures warm and the sprouts are coming (we just exited ramps season and are now leaning into spring lettuce and edible flower time!), Leggett explained that knowing they will be delivering 20 pounds of salad every week to a specific restaurant is a real benefit. “We can count on that reliability to be able to harvest a larger volume of produce, and the restaurants can plan their menu around what will be coming in,” he said.

That kind of accuracy and predictability helps reduce food waste as well. Then, the farm can leverage retail sales, whether through the Farmers Market, their online store or the Twin Buttes Farm Stand, which will be open every Tuesday from 36:30 p.m. beginning June 14.

“If we didn’t have the wholesale support from the restaurant community, the retail side would be much riskier across the board,” Leggett told me. “Imagine having a week’s worth of produce, freshly harvested and ready to sell, and there is a big rainstorm that basically shuts down the Farmers Market.” That would take out an entire week of profit in a season that may realistically be only about 22 weeks long, not to mention create a scramble over what to do with all the produce that was just picked.

One aspect of this entire local food ecosystem I never considered was the challenge of a small farm, maybe a one- or two-

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person operation on a small plot of land, being able to scale up and provide enough produce to become a consistent source over the course of an entire season. Leggett walked me through an example of how a backyard operation must be completely on top of things to be able to reliably provide the volume a typical restaurant might need every week. It’s even harder to make the leap to invest in land, equipment and labor to get to the level where the farm can support increased demand.

“Unless you want to be the scallions guy or someone specializing in a very narrow market like microgreens, it’s tricky to ramp up and stay sustainable,” Leggett said. However, Twin Buttes, along with a number of other farms in the area, have found that sweet spot of being relevant and reliable for restaurants while maintaining a retail presence and viability over time.

This whole conversation led me back to the realization that like so many other examples around us every day, it is the circular nature of the food ecosystem and flow of cash through the community that makes it all work. The relationships between consumers, restaurants or markets, and the farmers themselves is how that cash flow stays home and benefits everyone across the community.

As the old adage says, “The fondest memories are made when gathered around the table,” and when that table is a tapestry of all our neighbors involved in creating that meal, those experiences can be even more significant and the memories that much more cherished. Now, let’s dig in.

MurderInk

Truly spectacular B.A. Shapiro’s ‘Metropolis’ as close to perfect as it gets

by Jeffrey Mannix

L

et’s get right to where the rubber meets the road this time and not pussyfoot around like you always do when it comes to laying out cash for a hardcover book.

You’ll drop 40 bucks for dinner in a restaurant or $8 for a glass of wine, but you get hesitant to spend $28 on a hardcover book that’ll relieve your anxiety and psychic pain for many blissful hours while dinner is forgotten even before you get home.

I’m here for you today, as I am the first week of every month, to help make you smarter and happier. I don’t want to embarrass you or make you feel guilty, but I’m nearly certain that even the most dedicated readers of Murder Ink do not always buy the most outstanding crime fiction books published and reviewed each month in this column. But, I won’t let you mix up your priorities this go-round and forego a truly spectacular book.

Two weeks ago, on May 17, Algonquin Books released B.A. Shapiro’s 10th novel, “Metropolis.” Shapiro hit the charts with “The Collector’s Apprentice” and “The Art Forger,” but “Metropolis” is in a class of its own, and stunning. “Metropolis” – and this is a long throw for me – may just be the most captivating book I’ve read in years. Now I don’t want to depreciate the excellence or engrossing reading experience of any of the preeminent books I’ve shared with you, but “Metropolis,” in my opinion, is as close to perfect as it gets. It had me reading at stoplights.

Metropolis Storage Warehouse is the name of a 123-year-old public storage building in Cambridge, Shapiro Mass. It is 480 feet long, 90 feet wide, six stories high and contains 400 storage units of various sizes and configurations. Up until page one of this book, the warehouse had been owned for the past 10 years by Zach Davidson, who we now join as an auctioneer barks out the rules for viewing and bid-

ding on the contents in each storage space as locks are cut and doors opened.

Besides Zach, a likable, fringy guy we all know somebody like – in wrinkled shirts, in need of a haircut and a dog or wife – has been in various bunko schemes and obtained the Metropolis mostly by being in the wrong place at the right time in the hustle of street drugs. “Metropolis” follows the lives of six very unordinary, lovable characters who live or work in their storage units.

There is Serge, an unstable but brilliant street photographer, who lives in his darkroom with hundreds of undeveloped rolls of film; Marta, an immigrant from Venezuela who overstayed her visa and is finishing a dissertation for an advanced degree at Boston University; Jason, a disillusioned corporate lawyer making his office in one of the storage units; and Liddy, tormented wife of a rich and ruthless real estate developer who recreates her preteenage bedroom in her unit while her kids are forced to attend boarding school in Switzerland. And there’s Rose, the tenured office manager, who keeps the surcharge from illegal residents to augment her husband, Vince’s, job, feed her two young daughters and incentivize a

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better life than her teenage son Michael is pursuing on the street.

Shapiro uses short chapters alternating between these characters as a timeline to tell the tension-filled stories that present a dismal but always promising – or maybe just hopeful – future for selfexiled castaways. And this tension among the characters and their circumstances is calculated foreshadowing for the reader; we know there will not be a happy ending for anyone, including us.

But the characters we come to know so well just cannot come to a worse ending than the worse beginning they’ve found themselves deteriorating in and have drawn us into. And the reader can’t read fast enough. Shapiro is a damn fine tease.

And that’s all you get to know about “Metropolis.”

Well, maybe one more thing, encroaching dangerously close to a plot spoiler: Shapiro has created a gauzy, lovely and thoroughly tenable love interest among two of the protagonists that’s heartwarming and a delight to witness.

But I do need to remind you not to forget to ask for your 15% Murder Ink discount at Maria’s Bookshop.

June 2, 2022 n 11

StufftoDo

Thursday02

Animas River Days Kick-Off Party, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Bingo Night, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse and Bar, 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. Maddy & Kev play, 6 p.m., James Ranch Grill, 33846 Highway 550.

Jeff Solon Jazz Duo plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. The McCurry Organ Trio plays, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Powerhouse Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio. Merely Players present “Buyer and Cellar,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. Ben Gibson plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th Street Station.

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

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

Friday03

Animas River Days, thru June 5, more info at animasriverdays.com LPCHS Adopt-A-Thon, June 3-4, Humane Society.

More info at lpchumanesociety.org Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave. First Friday Art Show, 5 p.m., Create Art & Tea, 1015 Main Ave.

Carute Roma plays, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave. Ru Paul’s Drag Race Watch Party, every Friday, 68 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave. Flashback plays, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Merely Players present “Buyer and Cellar,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. The Jelly Bellys play, 7-10 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Friday Night Laughs, June 3, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. Ecstatic Dance with Steven Newman, 7:30-9:30 p.m., American Legion Hall, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Saturday04

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m.–12 noon, live music by Mark Allen, TBK Bank parking lot, across from the Transit Center.

Noxious Weed Workshop, 9-11:30 a.m., featuring speakers on pollinator biology and beneficial native plants. Register at lposc.org/events Pete Giuliani plays, 1-4 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Animas River Days Parade, 4:30 p.m., Santa Rita Park. nd

Live music, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers, 701 E. 2 Ave. Carute Roma plays, 5 p.m., Mancos Brewing Co.

Live music, 5 p.m., Fur Trappers Steakhouse, 701 E. 2nd Ave. Four Corners Alliance For Diversity First Friday Happy Hour, 5:30 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Foggy Memory Boys, 5:30 p.m., Mancos Brewing Jack Ellis & Larry Carver play, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Durango Flea Market, 8 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave. Veterans Benefit Breakfast, 9 a.m., VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave. Dave Mensch plays, 12 noon, Hillcrest Golf Club, 2300 Rim Dr. Randy Crumbaugh plays, 1-4 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Joseph & the Amazing Tehcnicolor Dreamcoat, 2 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.

Presented by Durango Theatreworks Merely Players present “Buyer and Cellar,” 2 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. Open Mic Night, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Ben Gibson plays, 6 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Devin Scott plays, 6:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Monday06

Forest and Fire Learning Series, 5-7 p.m., Outdoorsy Outpost, 934 Main Ave. Hosted by Mountain Studies Institute.

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

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

Rob Webster plays, 6 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

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

Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd., C-201. Donations accepted.

Tuesday07

Ben Gibson & Larry Carver play, 6 p.m., Derailed Pour House, 725 Main Ave. Merely Players present “Buyer and Cellar,” 7 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. Vintage Brew plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th Street Station.

“Poltergeist” movie screening and Q&A with co-writer Michael Grais, showings at 7 p.m. & 10 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

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

Joseph & the Amazing Tehcnicolor Dreamcoat, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Presented by Durango Theatreworks

Freestyle Friday, weekly, 5:30 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

Animas River Days Late Night Party, 9 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave.

12 n June 2, 2022

Durango Chamber Music Festival, June 5-10. To view a full line-up of events, visit DurangoChamber Music.com

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

th

20 Anniversary Celebration, 5 p.m., Sorrel Sky Gallery, 828 Main Ave.

Sunday05

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Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Live music, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave. Jeff Solon Jazz Duo plays, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave. Rob Webster plays, 6-9 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Durango Elks Lodge Pub Trivia, 6:30 p.m., Durango Elks Lodge, 901 E. 2nd Ave. Non-members welcome.

Open Mic Night, weekly 7:30-9:30 p.m., Moe’s Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave. Comedy Open Mic, weekly, 8 p.m., 11th St. Station.

AskRachel

Cats away, lost in translation & real talk Interesting fact: Durango.org has an entire section on visiting town with your dog, but no mention of hiking with your cat or visiting the 5-acre cat park.

Dear Rachel, I was walking on the river trail in Durango and, to my surprise, a woman was walking her cat on a leash. Cool. Great outing for the cat.

But I wonder, does she need a leash or no leash?

Cat under command. Leash law for cats? I did see her pick up the cat scat and put it in green bags. What a nice lady. And she was even talking on her smart phone at the time.

– Cool Cat and Dog Lover Dear Cat Scat Fever, Are you a lover of cool cats and dogs? Or a cool lover of cats and dogs? The modifier isn’t clear, and English syntax isn’t particularly helpful. More likely, it seems you are a lover of the green bags. I’ve had a plethora of letters the past few months having to do with those little verdant pooper scoopers. I love that they’re free at every park. I keep a bundle at home for storing my leftovers. Guarantees no one else will touch them.

– Also on my smart phone, Rachel

Dear Rachel, I understand the technology gap between young people and less-young people. It even goes both ways! Young people did not grow up with rotary phones or answering machines, so why

Wednesday08

CSU Extension Gardening Webinar: Dry Shade Gardening, 12 noon. More info at laplataextension.org Forest and Fire Learning Series, 5-7 p.m., Outdoorsy Outpost, 934 Main Ave. Hosted by Mountain Studies Institute.

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

should we expect them to understand them? But there are certain tech things that I can’t understand how old people even mess up in the first place. Like when they try to email a photo, and they swear it just won’t send, and you want to call them crazy, but yet you also aren’t receiving the picture. Do you understand it?

– Obsolete Tech Support Dear Customer Representative, You should know the customer is always, always right. If a picture won’t send, it doesn’t matter if they’re emailing from the computer but storing the picture on the phone. It’s your job to assure them you will pass the issue to the proper authorities, give them a false name and your direct line with two numbers transposed, and get on to the next one.

– Unplugged like an MTV special, Rachel Dear Rachel, You are a young lady that might know the answer. Why do young men want to kill so many people of all ages? Is it religion, color? What has happened to the USA? This didn’t happen in the ‘50-‘60s. So sad. I guess we older folks remember WWII and Korea. What the hell is going on? Free thinkers, think about your fellow humans.

– Nuns Not Guns Dear Penguins Not AR-15s, Welp, there goes my weekly allotment of snark and mayhem. You say this didn’t happen in your earlier

“Sled Dogs of America” by Veryl Goodnight, art exhibit runs through June 30, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Upcoming

Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass Festival, June 10-12, more info at ksutpresents.org/ folknbluegrass Merely Players present “The Children,” June 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 at 7 p.m. and June 12 & 19 at 2 p.m. Located at Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr. More info at merelyplayers.org

Bob Hemenger plays, 7-10 p.m., 11th Street Station.

Free legal clinic, June 10, 4-5 p.m., Ignacio Library.

Ongoing

Adult Game Night, June 10, 5:30-8 p.m., Singletrack Coffee & Tea, 100 Jenkins Ranch Road.

Storytelling & Songwriting night, every second and fourth Thursday, 6-8 p.m., Mountain Monk Coffee, 558 Main Ave. More info at iAMmusic.us The Hive Indoor Skate Park is open, offering open skate and skate lessons.

Waivers required. For schedule and online waiver, go to www.thehivedgo.org

decades. You know when else this doesn’t happen?

Today. Literally everywhere in the world but this country. Of course it’s a mental health issue, but that detracts from what it really is: a gun issue, in a land where white men are free to act on their belief they’re superior to the rest of us. You can either get rid of the guns designed to kill lots of people, or you can get rid of the white men. If only those things weren’t equally unlikely, politically speaking.

– A poorly regulated militia, Rachel

Shock Wave Drag Night, first and third Friday of every month, 9 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave. 18+

Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District Primary Candidate Virtual Forum, 6-7:30 p.m., more info at https://bit.ly/3lJ4Fqp

Durango Fiesta Days & Carnival, thru June 6, La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Email questions to telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

Peter Kater & R. Carlos Nakai play, June 10, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.

Men Who Grill, June 11, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Buckley Park.

Tim Sullivan Band plays, June 12, 5:308 p.m., 5-8 p.m., River Bend Ranch, 27846 Highway 550. Part of the 8th annual Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering Outdoor Concert

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June 2, 2022 n 13

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Who loves the truth better than you, Aries? Who has the greatest potential to speak the real story in every situation, even when it requires extra courage?

Who has more fun than you in discovering and defining and expressing the raw facts? In my Book of Life, you Rams are radiant beacons of candor – the people I go to when I need accuracy and honesty. And all I’m saying here will be especially crucial in the coming weeks. The whole world needs concentrated doses of your authenticity. Now read this pep talk from Aries philosopher St. Catherine of Siena: “Let the truth be your delight; let it always be in your mouth, and proclaim it when it is needed. Proclaim it lovingly and to everyone, especially those you love with a special love – but with a certain congeniality.”

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Before the 20th century, you couldn’t buy a loaf of bread that was already sliced into thin pieces. Then, in 1912, the American inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedder developed a slicing machine. But all his work, including the blueprints and the machine prototypes, was destroyed in a fire. He had to seek new funding and begin again. Sixteen years later, his innovation was finally ready for broad public use. Within five years, most of the bread in the U.S. was sold sliced. What does this have to do with you? I am picking up a Rohwedder vibe when I turn my visions to you, Taurus. I suspect that in the coming months, you, too, will fulfill a postponed dream.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A blogger named Sweetlikeacherry reminds us, “Some epiphanies are only possible when you put away your phone and go completely offline for a while.” She adds that sometimes you also need to at least partially avoid your phone and the internet if you hope to incubate new visions of the future and unlock important discoveries in your creative work and summon your untamed genius. According to my astrological analysis, all these possibilities are especially likely and necessary for you in the coming weeks. I trust you will carry out the necessary liberations to take full advantage.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Poet Carolyn Kizer (1925– 2014) won a Pulitzer Prize for her poetry. She was smart! But when she was young and still studying her craft in college, a professor objected to one of her poems. He said, “You have pigs in this poem; pigs are not poetic.” Kizer was incensed at such ignorance. She testified, “I got up and walked out of that class and never went back.”

Judging from the astrological omens, I suspect you may have comparable show-

14 n June 2, 2022

downs headed your way. I advise you to be like Kizer. You are the only one who truly knows the proper subjects of your quest.

No one else has the right or the insight to tell you what your work (or play) should be about.

will be a favorable time to correct those trends. As for the positive changes that you and your allies have stimulated in each other: I hope you will name them and pledge to keep doing more of that good work.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo author James Baldwin said it wasn’t often “that two people can laugh and make love, too – make love because they are laughing and laugh because they’re making love. The love and the laughter come from the same place: but not many people go there.” Your assignment, Leo, is to be the exception to Baldwin’s rule during the coming weeks. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, there’s a high possibility that interesting eros can converge with humorous fun in a glorious synergy. You will have a knack for conjuring up ribald encounters and jovial orgasms. Your intuition will guide you to shed the solemnity from your bliss and replace it with sunny, carefree cheer.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): “I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other,” wrote Sagittarian novelist Jane Austen. Sagittarian politician Stacey Abrams said, “From the moment I enter a room, I am clear about how I intend to be treated and how I intend to engage.”

You’ll be wise to cultivate those attitudes in the next seven weeks, Sagittarius. It’s high time for you to raise your self-respect in ways that inspire others to elevate their appreciation and regard for you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I’m worried you will overindulge in your pursuit of perfection during the coming weeks. It’s fine to be exquisitely skillful and masterful; I hope you do that. But if you get obsessed with flawlessness, you will risk undoing your good intentions. As an antidote, I offer you two pieces of advice. The first is from actor and activist Jane Fonda. She said, “We are not meant to be perfect; we are meant to be whole.” The second counsel is from philosopher and psychologist William James, who wrote, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Mustafa Mahmoud described the signs of love between two people: 1. feeling a comfortable familiarity; 2. having no urge or need to lie; 3. being natural, not trying to be different from who one is; 4. having little or no possibility of being embarrassed in front of the other person; 5. experiencing silence as delicious, not alienating; and 6. enjoying the act of listening to the other person. I bring these pointers to your attention, Libra, because the coming months will be a favorable time to define and redefine your understandings about the signs of love.

How do you feel about Mahmoud’s ideas?

Are there any more you would like to add?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “We do not love each other without changing each other,” wrote author Madeleine L’Engle. Meditate on that gem, Scorpio. Now is a perfect time for you and your loved ones to acknowledge, honor and celebrate the ways your love has changed each other. It may be true that some transformations have been less than ideal. If that’s the case, the coming weeks

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1963, Jim Munro and Alice Munro founded Munro’s Books, a store in Victoria, British Columbia. After being on the job for a few months, Alice found she was not impressed with many of the products they sold. “I can write better books than this,” she told Jim. Five years later, she published her first collection of short stories, “Dance of the Happy Shades.” Fourteen books later, she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Will the coming months bring your equivalent of Alice Munro’s pivotal resolution? I suspect they could.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “True love for whatever you are doing is the answer to everything,” proclaimed performance artist Marina Abramovic. Amen to that righteous attitude! I hope you will embrace it in the coming weeks. I hope your heart and imagination will reveal all you need to know to bring tender fresh streams of true love to the essential activities of your life.

Now is an excellent time to redefine the meaning of the word “love,” so it applies to all your relationships and pursuits.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): A homeless woman in a wheelchair stopped where I was sitting outside a café. She was pushing her belongings in a small shopping cart. “Would you like to go dancing?” she said to me. “There’s a nearby park that has a great grassy dance floor.” “Maybe another day,” I told her.

“My energy is low. I’ve had a lot of personal challenges lately.” I’m sure the expression on my face was less-than-ebullient. “Cheer up, mister,” she told me. “I’m psychic, and I can tell you for sure that you will live a long life and have many more fine adventures. I’ll be in the park if you change your mind.” My mood instantly brightened. “Thanks!” I yelled toward her as she rolled away. Now I predict that you, Pisces, will have comparable experiences in the coming days. Are you willing to welcome uplifting surprises?

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

Announcements New!! Fishing/Paddlesports Shop Rentals [SUP, kayaks, canoe] grab and go and on-site at Twilight Lake Fishing (fly and spinner) gear for rent, guided service, lessons and more. Just south of Purg, come check us out!

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.

Classes/Workshops Learn to Letter!

Improve your handwriting, learn brush lettering and more! Visit The ArtRoom or bit.ly/letsletterinperson West Coast Swing Dance 6-week class starts June 8. Learn the basics of West Coast Swing. Registration is required at www.westslopewesties.com.

HelpWanted Dental Lab Immediate opening for a full-time entry level dental lab technician. Competitive pay, vacation, sick leave and 401K. 970-749-2256 Wildland Firefighters Wanted!

We are looking for Type 1 and 2 Wildland Firefighters (FFT1s and FFT2s) to staff a locally based water tender for wildland fires. If you have a CDL-B with no restrictions, that is a huge plus! The tender goes out as both a support tender (crew of 1), or a tactical tender (crew of 2), and typically goes out on wildfire incidents for 14 days at a time. Pay depends on ex-

perience, please call for more details!

(970) 769-3941 (text preferred) Walking Softer, an environmental nonprofit, is seeking a full-time Program Manager. Our mission is to inspire, connect, and support changemakers to take bold and immediate action in the conservation and regeneration of our planet.

Apply at www.Walkingsofter.org/careers Tree Climbers Wanted Swing through the canopy, spend your summer in the forest. Fell trees in remote backcountry settings. Paid drive time.

Paid on-the-job training. All necessary equipment supplied. Please send your work history in an email to info@dead woodcontracting.com Creative Sales Help Wanted!

Beads & Beyond is seeking professional, driven & fun sales associates. Previous beading exp a plus. Apply in store at 840 Main Avenue.

Environmental Professional Durango-based environmental consulting firm seeks qualified environmental professional for PT position (possibly FT for right person). Applicant must have at least two years of consulting experience in CWA, ESA, NEPA or hazmat compliance work. BS/BA min. in biology, botany, geology, soil science, or related field is required. Must have good written/verbal communication skills and GIS experience is a plus. Please send resume and salary history to: smoore@smeenv.com. No phone calls please.

your home and would rather sell to people who have been here long enough to know what the Arc of History is, contact us at San.Juaner1122@gmail.com Cash for Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. at RJ Metal Recycle. Also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

HaikuMovieReview ‘Old’ While Night makes valid statements on morality this gets well, old, fast – Lainie Maxson

Services Marketing Small & Local Businesses Media, website building and content editing, copywriting and editing, newsletters, blogs, etc. for small, local, independent or startup businesses. Visit our website at www.forwardpedal.com or email jnderge@gmail.com

and Bayfield. 10-x-20, $130. Outside spots: $65, with discounts available. RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494.

BodyWork

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

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.

Lowest Prices on Storage!

Inside/outside storage near Durango

Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.

NewspaperOrigami

ForSale Reruns Home Furnishings New inventory including lots of patio and bistro sets, garden pots, trellises, vintage Drexel dresser and nightstand, several mid-century tables and lots more …

Come in today! 572 E. 6th Ave. Open Mon.-Sat. 385-7336.

Wanted We are in hell!

We’re a young couple who has lived and been gainfully employed in Durango since 2015, but decided now was the perfect time to start looking to buy a home because we’re idiots. But, if you are selling

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June 2, 2022 n 15

16 n June 2, 2022

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