Red Rocks Night Two, Colorado Gardening, Introducing Jack, Hail YES!

“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”
— Bill Hicks

Good morning, how are you? I’m fine; I appreciate your asking.  It’s Saturday morning, and I have a story to tell.  But before I do, how about a check-in?  On a scale of 1 to 10, how are you faring?  I’m at 11; I live a blissful life, but how are you? It is reasonable to take time to self-reflect now and then, do yourself a favor, rate your life, and then work on one key area to make small incremental change.

Two years ago, the day Elon put that car in space, I had a conversation with a man in Texas.  It was a LinkedIn request; the man had found my writing and was intrigued; he wanted to learn more.   As with most first chats, I shared we live 20 minutes from Red Rocks, and if he’s ever out, we could hit a show.  Jack would occasionally check in, but about three months ago reached out and said I’d like to take you up on your offer.

My wife and I zoomed in with Jack to confirm that my friend was not an ax murderer, satan worshiper, or ate babies and deemed him a good man. Then, we bought tickets to Tedeschi Trucks and invited a local friend to join us.   Jack arrived Thursday night; he spent the night in our Condo, took a truck we had left for him, and headed out yesterday morning.

At 10:00, we had an appointment and decided to move forward with adding some solar panels to our home to help offset our carbon footprint.  We are moving forward with a site inspection and should have massive credits when back at our Indiana home; we will generate a lot of power and give it back to the grid.  As that meeting was wrapping, Jack showed up.  After introducing PVHT, Jack and his gear headed to the suite, and I made sure he got settled.  Jack is a corporate attorney who lives in Texas; he has offices in Boulder, so he will hang with us until tomorrow and then spend a few days in the Republic of Boulder.

My friend and neighbor called and said he had four three-foot marijuana volunteer plants. Would I want them? I thought, what a great experience for my TX friend to do some Colorado gardening. So we headed over and dug up the plants at lunchtime, put them in pots, and now we have an excellent science project for the end of summer and fall.

I spent my afternoon working, meditating, and about 3:30 headed to meet our friend Allie for a drink so she and Jack could meet for the first time.  Allie is our single friend, Jack is single, and I deemed it a good fit.  We headed to Brooks Place Tavern and ordered some food for the show, had a drink, and left for our second night in a row of the most fantastic live music venue in the world.

We arrived, and the upper south lot was packed; we tailgated in the lower south lot.  We met a lovely young couple Jeff and Jessica, and they wanted to hang out with the “old fun people,” their words, not ours. So then we made the long trek up to the ramp.   My friend the Wizard and his girlfriend were ahead of us and snagged six seats on row 20 center stage. So 2nd night in a row with primo seats, thanks to some good friends.  The show started; Susan Tedeschi is a beast, pipes, guitar skills, and her husband Derek Trucks is maybe one of the best living guitarists on the planet. They had two drummers, a keyboardist, a bassist, and another vocalist that looked lite Johnny Mathis.

When attending Red Rocks, it’s essential to keep an eye on the weather. So about an hour in, the wind kicked up, then the rain kicked up, and then it began hailing like it was the end of times. So we packed up and walked to our car, getting pelted with hail and walking through at times 4 inches of water; it was flash flooding.  We made it back to the car soaking wet and took some time to gather our thoughts.  My thought as I sat there trying to get warm was something my Uncle Hunter once said:
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

It was Jacks’ first time at Red Rocks, Allies’ first musical experience; it was a show we will never forget, an hour set capped with one of the most brutal storms I’ve experienced in 52 years. Finally, we got home; Jack was not aware of the Avett Brothers, so we watched Judd Apatow’s film introducing him to his next favorite band.  We hit the bed about 10:30; Red Rocks is a workout, and after two days of up, down, up, up, down, my body needed some rest. So I slept in, and now at 8:32 am, recounting a great day with a new friend.  Jack just left to head to our local CrossFit gym; he wants to cross-fit at 8000 feet above sea level.  Thank God he’s not vegan.

Allie and Jack want to hang out, they enjoyed each other, and I’ve got another friend from Indy in Denver that wants to connect.   Trying to shuffle that in might be a task; I’m working on a plan but getting some kickback. So I asked the group if they might want to head to Denver for lunch, and one reply was, “Denver, why Denver!?”  Moutain people like the mountains, not big fans of the city, I now understand this concept. 

I anticipate a fun-packed day; we will take Jack to his first dispensary, eat, hike, and find some live music.   Tomorrow we will get brunch, get our toes “did,” and relax and prepare for the upcoming week.  I live a blessed and fantastic life, thus my 11 rankings.  If you are not living your best life, ask yourself why?  What is one little thing you can do today to get your life on the track of your dreams?  I did, and for me, it made all the difference.  Cheers – I need to go garden.

“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”
— Bill Hicks