City Park and Jo Anne Fanganello bd - February, 2015
photos by May Chou
photos by May Chou
SERIOUS PROBLEM AVERTED Dear Neighbors: As I was dressing for work yesterday morning, I became very concerned at a growing gathering of people on the street below, near the 17th Avenue Parkway. The numbers kept increasing. Were they rummaging through cars parked on Eudora? Some had dogs pulling at leashes, with an occasional “bark”. It was enough of an anxiety to me that I was about to open the second floor casement window and holler “Hey you kids, what are you doing down there, get away from those cars. Go on back home!” but I hesitated. Normally, our street and neighborhood is quiet; some decades ago we had problems with teenagers gathering near the intersection, possibly with contraband, possibly expanding out from earlier celebrations in adjacent houses, or an occasional lost motorist stopping to check their GPS looking for Aurora, or a late night racing motorist hitting a tree. But, this bunch was something different, and maybe dangerous. Some of the group had obvious bulges visible under jackets, and possible gang colored scarves, gloves. And earmuffs. Was it a gathering protest against increased RTD fares? Were commercial activities in City Park being extended eastward? Was fracking threatened on the parkway? Or more onerous restrictions on composting? Most seemed older than adolescents. I looked for some of those short buses and the presence of supervisors or chaperones and saw none. I am not saying it was frightening but it certainly caused angst to a neighborhood-watch-type guy, Ok? Then a movement occurred to ease the tension and to explain it all: Sigrid Freese, with a high grade graphite walking stick in each hand strode forward in military deliberation toward the parkway, heading west. The assortment ambled after her in a less orderly fashion and then moved con allegro e spiritoso ma non veloce following casually to the left, on the parkway moving toward City Park. It was the Lumpers. On the move. Joseph M. Fanganello, Esq |