How It All Began...

1/7/12

Today, I wanted to write about something that happened 13 years ago, that I don’t think I ever told anyone about. I didn’t keep it a secret on purpose or anything. But you’ll see below that even the smallest of things can have an impact on life.

I was 19, it was wintertime, just before Christmas, and I was shopping at the King Soopers by my house. I even remember what I was wearing. I was wearing a pair of jeans, with these flowers embroidered on the front. A white long-sleeved shirt and a maroon fleece vest over it. I looked good, but not spectacular. I struck up a conversation with the young man at the checkout. Is it wrong for all the things I do remember in this story, I can’t remember his name? Let’s say his name is Chris. Chris was good looking, although, he hadn’t entirely left the grunge era yet. He had that haircut with the shaved sides, and the long skater do on top. He had an absolutely terribly drawn Taurus tattoo on his arm. We just talked for a few minutes, and before he left, he asked for my number. He was pretty nice and so I obliged.

That could have been the end of the story, but he called. I learned a lot more about him. He was 21, had already been married and divorced with a kid. I can’t help but thinking now, how he had definitely been through a lot of tough, scary times, and I was just a naïve little kid. He had been down in Arvada to see his son, but he lived in Fairplay with his parents. We agreed to go see a movie next time he was in town, which was a week later.

We went and saw a movie at the Olde Town Theater. After the movie, we went out for coffee, and he asked me what I was doing on Christmas. It was the year that I was working at the bank in the 24-hour call center. Of course, they scheduled me Christmas day until 6 pm, which was well after all the family festivities. He invited me to stay at his parent’s house in Fairplay, as we could go snowboarding the next day at Breckenridge. I didn’t have to work the next few days after, so I agreed.

It was a clear, cold night that I drove down 285. I drove past all the little towns along the way and imagined what they must be like. It’s not too often I took this road. Past Turkey Creek, where there was nothing but a small town tucked in a valley. Past Conifer, which in comparison was a huge city. Past Bailey, and the roadside coffee stand I would come to know as the coffee stand Chris’ mother owned. And just before Fairplay, Chris was waiting by the side of the road in his red Acura Integra to show me the way to his house.

When we got there, it was a simple kind of house, but nice in a way. It was a three-bedroom cabin, with a loft to house overnight guests. It had a wood-burning stove that we used that night, though it’s hard to imagine this solely heated the house. I stayed the night in their loft with a sleeping bag. I remember getting up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, and in the hallway, I came across Chris’ wedding pictures that were hung up on the wall. It was amazing; they looked all like they were going to the high school prom, how young they looked. All the men in matching tuxedos, the bride of course wearing white, but the rest of the girls all wearing different styled dresses of the same color. One might not have known that it was a wedding photo, except for the church-themed backdrop. I realized there that we were two different people that crossed paths unexpectedly, but we were on two completely different journeys.

The next day, we went to a restaurant for breakfast in Fairplay and then went snowboarding. I had a great time snowboarding. I was never very good at snowboarding, though I tried to go at least a few times a year. It felt like we stayed there all day, though I know that can’t be right, because we drove back to Fairplay, as the sun was getting high in the sky. I remember driving into that valley, and just seeing the most amazing expanse of snow-covered valleys. I remember the huge wooden fences lined up along the highway to keep the snow from blowing onto the road. And most of all, I remember how beautifully desolate the place really was. It was a romantic moment I had with this open land.

We went to one of the only other few restaurants in town for dinner, an Italian restaurant, where I indulged on as many carbs as I could. After that, I loaded my gear back into my little blue Ford Escort, and drove back to Denver.

The funny thing was, Chris and I never spoke again after that mini-vacation. But the memory remains. What remains most is that drive through that snow-covered valley. I was just a kid from the suburbs. At night, we had things to entertain us. We could hang out at the 24-hour Safeway, or we could go cruising at the mall. We had a movie theater nearby, and several coffee shops. Out there, it was hard to imagine what one would do, with nothing but their closest of family and friends to entertain them. Well that and their thoughts. But in some ways I kind of yearned for that type of quiet and simplicity.

It’s something that I still have never done, but maybe would like to know what it’s like someday. I’ve lived in Tokyo, one of the biggest cities in the world. I’ve come to know life as a semi-urban city dweller in Denver. But every time I take a drive through a quiet mountain valley, a long expanse of prairie, or even a drive down county roads that include rolling hills of corn fields, I can’t help but wonder if I would have that kind of inner peace with so much quiet around me. And that's how my love affair with wide open spaces began.

1,059 words complete for today