It was last Friday night and I had just dropped off the crew from Wisconsin at Red Rocks when I got a ride from two young women in Southwest Littleton. It was obvious they were longtime friends and they were headed to the Grizzly Rose for a night of kicking up their heels. We were driving down Jewell Street when one of them said “I can’t believe they’re going to close the White Fence Farm!” For those of you not familiar with this area, the White Fence Farm sits on about 10 acres in suburbia. For years it has been known for its fried chicken, corn fritters, red bean salad, cornbread, mashed potatoes and gravy, and about every kind of pie ever made. Meals are always served family style, in dining rooms that look like the Waltons should be sitting at the next table.
I had the privilege this past year to go once again to Israel. There is a Tel there, overlooking the valley of Megiddo. You can see that there were 23 different civilizations that made this place with a great view, their home. Local icons come and go. When I was a kid it was a great adventure to come to Denver and go to the Denver Drumstick restaurant, where model trains circled you as you licked your fingers. We would often then go to Celebrity Sports, which was on Colorado Boulevard. It was the early 60’s equivalent of an indoor theme park. And if we were able to pull off the trifecta, we would head to the Yum Yum Tree, which had about 17 different dining stations. Sometimes you had to wait an hour to get into any one of those places and those too, are long gone. One of the gals said “If I win Powerball I’m gonna buy that place and keep it going”. I appreciated the sentiment and her commitment to hanging onto those places and traditions that connect us. The fact is that nothing is very permanent. Four years ago you could find literally thousands of taxicabs roaming around Denver. Because of rideshare and companies like LYFT, soon taxis will be like phone booths.
We continued on our 30-minute drive to the Grizzly Rose, which is a country western dance hall right off of I-25 and I-70. As we pulled up people were piling into the place, and one of the young ladies said, “I wonder how long it’ll be before this place is no more…” I said, “Ladies go have a great time tonight because in the end all we have is memories and relationships anyway”.
Onward and Upward
Mark
Lyfting Me Up 