In 1955 my parents built a home in Belmont. It was in the middle of a long block at the top of a spacious hill, on Alexander Circle. I can still remember moving in and the smell of brand new everything. It was a two story ‘Cape Cod’ house that became the ‘hub of the wheel’ for fifty years of Pumphreys and innumerable folk who were welcomed with the gift of hospitality. The backyard of our house faced East. You could see all the way to Kansas (almost). It was what we called The Prairie, which was a dream playground for a young boy. It was there that we built forts, caught lizards, bull snakes and tarantulas. Each morning you could watch a sunrise the way God intended without one structure on the horizon. In 1962 the dream ended—roll out the houses.
When we moved to the edge of Northwest Arvada it reminded me a bit of 60 + years ago. This time I was the interloper who was so happy we had a little but fun “West Mountain” View. If I sat just right at our dining room table or outside on the North Patio, there were the mountains. Well, goodbye View. The few acres between us and Indiana Street are being turned into a strip mall with two story slabs. I can’t wait…not!!! I had hopes that it would be an irritant but not block the view. No such luck. So, for the second time in my life the wheels of progress have run over open space.
As I sat out on the patio yesterday with my cup of coffee, watching them erect I-beams directly in my line of sight, I took pictures with my heart. I still have the ones from my childhood, they can’t be erased, destroyed or ruined. Progress…not perfection.
Onward and Upward,
Mark
Lyfting Me Up 