Boulder News

I spent 90 minutes with my sister yesterday.  Her chemotherapy has been hitting her hard, and she has very little energy and is now completely bald.  I first saw her and her husband near the bus stop when I arrived to walk the dogs yesterday.  We spoke for a minute or two, and then they proceeded on, while I continued to gather Rosie and Tess. It was a bright, warm day (we had a high temperature of 73 degrees), and I had walked the perimeter of the yard with both dogs to be certain there was no coyote presence.  SO I sat up my chair, and was tossing the bone for Rosie and the tennis ball for Tess, when Kathy came out and joined me.  We sat in the sun and chatted, recalling places we had lived and old friends and neighbors.  I was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, while my sister was wearing two sweatsuits, a scarf, a knitted hat, and a shovel-brimmed sun cap over the hat.  She is having difficulty with the regulation of her body temperature, poor thing.  I'll take both dogs over to Kathy's again today, and I hope she'll feel up to joining us in the sun again.
  The Denver National Western Stock Show ended up with the second-largest attendance number in it's history this year - 682,539 people visited the Show during it's 16 days of exhibits and showing.  That's almost 42,659 per day - and that's part of the reason I did not attend this year.  I am not fond of large crowds.
   A small box was left on the top step of the Main Post Office here in Boulder (at the corner of 15th and Walnut) yesterday morning.  When I walked to the bakery yesterday morning for my bagel, I noted a helicopter hovering over the downtown area.  As I walked back, I started guessing where, exactly, it was hovering.  I decided it was over Central Park or the Public Library, and wondered what was happening.  Upon returning to my apartment, and turning on the local news, I heard the bomb squad had closed down four square blocks of downtown Boulder, and had evacuated several buildings, including the RTD bus terminal at 14th and Walnut.  Less than 30 minutes later, an "all clear" had been sent out, with an announcement that the box was empty.  I guess the bomb squad needed some practice.
   I am looking forward to the Super Bowl commercials Sunday.  I have not looked at any of the early releases, which, I think, spoils the fun and surprise.  I will be half-heartedly rooting for the Seattle Seahawks, because I like their quarterback;  I will be rooting against the Patriots because I've never liked them, and I never will - especially while Kraft is the owner, Belichick is the coach and Brady is their quarterback.  What a trio of ogres!