The idea of aging has been on my mind lately. I'm not really sure why. Perhaps the impending half-century celebration of my birth is it. Yes, pretty sure that's it. I will be so in December. When I was 12, I was pretty darn sure I didn't want to be so. I felt so was the "ancient" age. I didn't have to ask for help with anything at 35 so why would I want to ask for help at nearly so? That's admitting that I am older and in need of help. Goodness knows, as does anyone who knows me, that the word HELP really doesn't exist in my vocabulary, unless I am helping someone else. We are blessed that we live in Ouray County for more reasons than the beautiful scenery and decadent weather. We are blessed to live in a community filled with older fo lks who are full of life and fully invested in the belief that age is just a number. Perhaps that is where my thoughts should go. Age is just a number and 50 is a good number, for now. So, if my thoughts are firmly detoured to the belief that so is just a number, when wiU my mind convince my body to "get on board"?

The coronavirus is now a household word and we are all wearing masks and social distancing to protect ourselves from what has become a world-wide pandemic. Thanks to P. Balaram, Emeriti Professor of Biochemistry, The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India, we have learned that one of the original mid 1960s discoverers of the corona family of viruses, Dorothy Hamre Brownlee, spent the last 21 years of her life living in Ouray.

Many lawmen in the old west had short careers. Some served for a couple of years, or a few months. One southwestern Colorado lawman served his communities for more than 30 years, mostly in Ouray. He was fearless, a superb marksman, and steadfast in was also a successful businessman and a devoted family man. In his time and place he was a legend; today he is largely forgotten. His name was Jesse Benton.

50 YEARS AGO

50 YEARS AGO

Heading south on U.S. 550 toward Red Mountain Pass, a few weather-beaten houses sit across from the Idarado viewpoint. As you’re navigating those switchbacks, do you wonder who, what, how, and why this little residential cluster exists high above Ouray? Let’s venture back.

Don’t spit into the wind. Don’t tug on Superman’s cape. Don’t mess with the comics.

Editor’s note: Ouray Police ChiefJeff Wood was invited to write a guest column detailing his thoughts and the Police Department’s policies on use offorce in light of the killing of George Floyd and protests conducted across the country, including in Ouray last week

A beautiful, early summer day has begun on the ranch. Well, to tell the truth, every day on the ranch is beautiful — and an early one. It doesn’t matter if it is a work day or not. The Cowboy is out of bed by 4:30 a.m. and he doesn’t do anything quietly once he is up. The sun hasn’t even risen, yet, but the Cowboy doesn’t waste any daylight at all. I grab my pillow to cover my head to keep the sounds of making coffee and breakfast from coming down the stairs and into the bedroom. The real problem is that the wood floor upstairs is the ceiling of the bedroom downstairs. I can hear every single step he takes. One might imagine that he would consider that when deciding every trip from the living room to the kitchen. He takes A LOT of trips fora man who drinks coffee for an hour and watches the Weather Channel without any volume. He, at least, considers the TV loud at 5 a.m. but doesn’t rate the footsteps as a problem. For the love of Pete, it’s still dark out. Anyway, it should be a beautiful day and I can’t wait to get out in it.

My column this week was going to review the work we were doing at the Capitol as we rejoined with other Legislators after so many weeks of working at home. But, instead, it is about my heart.