Valentine’s Day is an interesting holiday.  It’s a day for love and romance that has it’s origins in martyrs and really weird pagan rituals.  Throw in the St Valentines Day Massacre and it’s a wonder there’s anything romantic about the day at all!  It’s also one of those confusing days for guys who wonder, “Is a card and flowers enough?”  “Is dinner and jewelry clever enough?”  “Is a home-cooked dinner and a bottle of wine sweet, or cheap?”  Lets face it, most guys really want to do the right thing, we just have trouble every now and then knowing what the right thing is.  They didn’t teach us much in middle school about what women think, and what they like.  We did learn a lot about what a wet towel can do to someones backside in the shower and how to make body sounds with your armpit.  So, consider this an appeal from a middle-aged adolescent who needs your help.  What is the appropriate gift for Valentines Day?  Is a gift necessary at all, or do you women think like most men that Valentines Day is a conspiracy created by greeting card companys and flower shops to reduce inventory?  Please, post your thoughts and help us all.  Seems like every day should be Valentines Day if you’re in love, not just one day a year.  But don’t take my word for it.

It’s been three-and-a-half years now since the Crandall world was turned upside down when Diane suffered a stroke, followed by surgery to repair the hole in her heart that led to the stroke. With time, and Diane’s near complete recovery, I don’t always think about August 6, 2006 when the stroke happened. But it is very much a part of my every day routine. Before I leave in the morning I kiss Diane on the forehead and linger long enough to make sure I hear her breathing. If I don’t get a cellphone call by 10a I start to worry just a little bit. When I ask a question, and don’t get a quick answer, I look to make sure she’s not confused or having trouble the way she did the morning the stroke occurred. We were blessed the first time because we had an immediate sense of what was happening and acted quickly. Thank God for all the doctors that have been on the radio station over the years sharing warning signs! Do you know the signs?
February is Heart Month and you can read more about Diane’s experience on the front page of our website. If you have questions about what she went through as a stroke survivor, and what I learned as a care-giver, please ask. The rest of this month we’ll answer those questions as honestly as we can. I also encourage you to visit the American Heart Association and Stroke Association websites. They have wonderful info there. Lets begin the conversation. You never know when you’ll need it.

“Should Old Acquaintence Be Forgot…”  Many of us started the New Year with the familiar strains of Auld Lang Syne.  Just doesn’t seem like it would officially be a New Year if that didn’t play.  For some reason the song struck me differently this year thean it has in the past.  Seems to me many an old acquaintence has been forgot.  I was surprised when I stopped to think about the number of people I haven’t heard from in months, and years.  Once great friends and avid listeners who I haven’t shared a word with in a long, long time.  That makes me sad.  Had I known the last time I saw them, or talked with them it would be the last, I would have said thanks for the friendship, or good luck in the future.  I might have even asked them to stay in touch.  So many people are responsible for who I am today, and the success I’ve enjoyed, and the tragedy’s I’ve overcome and I’m sure I didn’t get a chance to properly thank them.  Maybe that’ll be my 2010 resolution.  Always acknowledge a kidnness, always be grateful and never let an old acquaintence be forgot.

It’s the day after Halloween and already the pumpkins are gone and the Christmas Trees are up. Toys R Us has its Biggest Gift Book ever in today’s newspaper and Christmas decorations are already half off at the hobby store. WHAT DID THEY DO WITH THANKSGIVING??? It’s time to take back our holidays and …celebrate them in order. No Christmas music before Labor Day. Stop wearing green before Valentines Day. Independence Day is the 4th of July, not the 4th of April. Let’s reclaim our holidays, together, starrting with Thanksgiving. Want to join me? Become a member of this group and share Thanksgiving recipes, reasons to be thankful and prayers for the Thanksgiving table. We don’t celebrate Christmas until Santa shows up at the Macy’s Parade!!! Let all your friends who feel like they have lots to be thankful for know, they can join us right here and be thankful with us. Christmas will be next!

YEP, WE’RE OLD
Over my almost 19-years at KEZW I’ve heard more than once how we’re the “Old Station.” Competitors have sold against us saying, “Only old people listen to that station, their listeners don’t spend money.” Kids have told their parents while they were being driven to school, “Turn the radio, you listen to the old station.” Even the name for the type of music we play, Nostalgia, is old. It used to bother me a lot. But the longer I’ve been here, the more I like it. Being old means something entirely different to me now than it did in 1991 when I began here.
If taking off your cap and putting your hand over your heart during the National Anthem is old, then yep, we’re old…
If keeping the rabbit ears handy, just in case real TV makes a comeback, is old, Yep, we’re old…
If driving 20-miles to use a buy one-get one free coupon is old, Yep, we’re old….
If wanting to eat dinner before 5p so you can have the dishes done before the news makes you old, then yes, we’re old…
If remembering the names of everyone in our high school graduating class, because there were only 20, is old…you’re on to us, we’re old…
If failing to send a thank you note for a gift would keep you up at night makes a person old, then yep, we’re old…
If wearing your pants above your hips is old, thank goodness we’re old….
If it’s old to say please and thank you before give me and I want, we are very, very old…
If shedding a tear on Memorial Day because you know the terrible cost of our freedom makes you old, then we must be ancient.
If telling the same story over, and over maybe because we forgot, but mostly because it means so much to us is old, Yep, we’re old.
If knowing that life is a wonderful journey that is filled with all kinds of sad and happy but in the end it’s the happy you remember most makes you old, Yep, we’re old, and we’re grateful for the wisdom that comes with it.

In Estes Park there’s a real nice place called Lakeshore Lodge. Sandy runs the place and is a wonderful character. She lost her twin brother in Vietnam and to this day thinks of him every day. The Lodge looks out over Lake Estes and in the distance Longs Peak rises right above the town of Estes Park. This time of year all the tree’s are yellow, or red and the Elk have made their way into town. In fact, it’s the Elk that draw most people to Estes Park this time of year. Most people.
Back at Lakeshore Lodge last weekend while this was going on 29 Moms gathered to share membership in a club not a one of them wanted to belong to. They have all lost sons in Iraq and Afghanistan during the current war on terror and this weekend they were together to share their grief, tell stories of their heroes, cry, laugh, cry some more and make friends who will help them get through this. Gathered here were the only people in the world who truly do know how they feel, other Gold Star moms, and Sandy.
Some lost sons 6-years ago, others just this year. They are all on different parts of the journey, but they are all on the same journey. When the gathering starts on Saturday night the “new moms” sit apart, afraid to let anyone in. By the end of the night they have been welcomed to the Gold Star family with hugs and hand holding and finally they feel free to be themselves. It is an amzing thing to witness. A sad, emotional, heartwarming, painful, necessary thing that will make them better…eventually. For the past five-years I’ve been asked to MC the event on Sunday that concludes their Gold Star weekend. It’s a ceremony that honors all Colorado veterans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Moms present light candles in honor of their fallen sons. This year a couple shared stories of their journey from the time the knock on the door came. Nothing I will ever do compares with the experience of this weekend. The Blue Star Mothers of Durango put this event on, driving the 8-hours from their part of the state to be in Estes Park. They are angels and this event has become a life-saver for many of the Moms who are drowning in grief. And all the while people drive by on the other side of the lake unaware this going on and that’s ok. The Moms, and their fallen heroes would want you to enjoy the fall colors and the freedom you enjoy to drive around on a Sunday afternoon and see the sights. But at the end of the day if you’d be kind enough to remember them in your prayers, and ask God to bless those Gold Star Moms that would be a great way to say thanks. And the next time you’re in Estes Park be sure to drop by the Lakeshore Lodge, and say hi to Sandy. You’ll be better for it!!

I’m happy to report our band of merry travelers has returned safely home after our 8-day journey through New England. We came back with tons of photos and memories and some anxious moments at the airport hoping our luggage wasn’t overweight with souveniers. We weren’t all so lucky!! This group of KEZW listeners really got along well and enjoyed each others company so much. That’s the cool part of being on a Breakfast Club trip. We all have so much in common to begin with and feel like friends from the start.
As for the trip itself, it was near perfect. The weather was beautiful, the people were kind and our guide, Melanie, was the best we’ve ever had. Jozef, our coach driver, was pretty special too. The food was wonderful, and I’m not sure we left much seafood in the ocean!
I really enjoyed my first visit to Plimouth Plantation. To see what it must have been like for the Pilgrims was eye-opening and you come away with a whole new appreciation for what they overcame to start this new nation. Plimouth should be on your bucket list. I also fell in love with Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and the whole of Cape Cod. Now if I can figure out how to get a million dollar a year pay raise I’ll be all set!! Boston remains one of my favorite cities in the world with its rich history and beautiful downtown and I never tire of Quincy Marketplace and Legal Seafood!!! I really hope you liked following along with the pictures and stories. It was kind of fun to bring you along this way and I’m sure we’ll do it again next year when the Breakfast Club hits the road for other exciting destinations!!!

Of all the things I’ll miss when we leave New England and return to Denver, I’ll miss the American Flags the most. Sure the clam chowder is the best in the world, the scenery is amazing and I can never get enough of the ocean, that’s all true. But seeing the American flag displayed on home after rustic home is inspiring. It seems every house has a flagpole, or porch flag, or banner, or bunting. Flags are on shirts and hats and bags and hang in windows and from trees. The unabashed patriotism of the people of New England should be a lesson to us all. No wonder they call their team the Patriots. It’s displayed in every day life. I’ll miss that when I’m home. We have a flag, or two in Denver but not the display you see here. I guess it was a Fall colors tour after all. Red, White and Blue!!

There are ferry’s that run between the islands in Cape Cod. One goes from Hyannis Port to Nantucket. Another from Hyannis to Martha’s Vineyard. One of those ferry’s is run by Hy-Line Cruise Line and the crew is made of largely by a group of older guys. Guys who work a couple shifts a week as a retirement job. On our ferry ride to and from Nantucket we meet Michael who works the snack bar and tells stories during quiet times at the counter. He’s from Lafayette. Yep, just north of Denver. He moved out here about 8-years ago looking for a change in scenery when he retired and boy did he find it. Two or three times a week he boards the ship and makes new friends as he serves coffee and pastries. He lived in Lafayette 30-years before he moved and he misses it some, but thinks he’s found the perfect retirement job. He keeps busy, he gets to meet new people and the views are spectacular. Sailing past the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis and eventually into the harbor at Nantucket is pretty good duty for a 60-something year old who just doesn’t want to sit at home and watch tv all week. Michael says he misses Colorado, but only a little. I can’t blame him. Three days a week he’s got his own yacht in the most expensive ports in the world. Pretty lucky guy!!

One of the things you must do when you come to Cape Cod is have a Lobster Dinner. It’s like seeing Pikes Peak in the Springs, or the Coors Brewery in Golden. It’s just what you do. But this isn’t ordering a Lobster for Dinner, this is participating in the Lobster Dinner. And there we were, all 45 of us, minus four who don’t like seafood, dressed in bibs and armed with crackers and small forks ready for the challenge of eating Lobster. Our guide had even shown us a video on our bus on how to properly open a Lobster. This is serious business! After much anticipation, and some nervous laughter, the kitchen doors opened and our came plate after plate of Lobster, corn on the cob, red potatoes and mussels. I watched as most of our group ate the potatoes and corn first, then some ate the mussels and finally all that was left was the Lobster. Cautiously one, then the other picked the beautifully red-colored creature up, closed their eyes and started cracking. Most of you know this becomes a treasure hunt. Cracking and prying and peeling in search of claw meat and tail meat followed by screams of joy when a piece was found! Now Lobster juice was flying everywhere as KEZW listeners encouraged one another and lobster after lobster was cleaned of its treasured meat. The smiles told you the group had survived, and actually had a little fun. It was a great time and one of those experiences that keep bringing people back on our trips. We still have work to do as several of the group left the restaurant and walked on the bus with their bibs still securely fastened around their necks! I did ask if anyone wanted another and didn’t get a single yes. Some experiences are meant to be shared only once!!