September 15th, 2004 - Farewell
to A Storm Well Rode
Well, the leaves are
starting to turn now as they lean over the river. Though the air and
sun has a feel on an Indian Summer, Old Woman Fall still creeps in as
the colors of the leaves reveals her hidden arrival.
I took a dip yesterday in
the river and as I washed my hair and lay back to rinse it, many
golden leaves floated by and became entangled within my hair. I looked
as if I were decorated for a fair with large flakes of Aspens gold
wound about. How I love the beauty in all that touches me.
Just as the beauty of Storm Mountain has
touched my spirit as the mountain folk upon. Though I have been in
this canyon many years it is just now I get to know all of you so
well.
I now sit in the shop quiet with echo's of
ancient times past. About me filled with many things, fossils, rocks
and wood they lay upon the ground many years ago.
I Kind of feel mellow as I
dust some of the old bones and fossils on my shelves. I still look
upon them in wonder as I knew once the spear head I hold within my
palm once was in some strong braves hands. I have some scraping
tools used to skin seals off some Island up in the North
Country near the whispers of Ocean songs. I even have a tooth from
some Indian from hundreds of years ago, ground down and polished as
he chewed his food with sand in it. It truly amazes me all these
things I have in the shop that was used or belonged to
someone or an animal, some hundreds of years ago. Tools used to
hunt, platters and vases to hold food and water. Knives and needles
to mend and clean. Over the passage of time they all made their way
to me and I now hold them in the palm of my hand. I am in true
wonder of it all. I want so to feel what they did, the pain and
labors of their harvest or kill. I wonder what they were thinking
and such. Sometimes if I hold it long enough I can almost hear the
roar of fires and dances to the music shared. The glee in a shout of
a kill for the peoples winter cache of food. The acknowledgment of
blessings bestowed.
I truly enjoyed my walks upon your
mountain and picking so many beautiful herbs and flowers for the
shop. This walk is a walk I will truly hold close.
With sale of the River Forks I am now in
the position to close.
I am dismantling the
shop now. And will be gone by the 20th. So many people of the
mountain have come by to wish me a farewell. It's a bit sad
as I leave so many of the mountain folk behind. But I must embrace
this hard walk once again and move forward with excitement and
wonder in what new adventure lies ahead. I am sure it is to be a
hum dingier as it always is. But I do feel deep within my depth
something new there, my fingers held out just barely brushing it
yet, knowing it is there.
Yes, Brand New Dead Things will soon
be gone but the echo of it still will linger.
As I drive these mountain
roads I at times feel so at home with you all and my
thoughts go back to days of old, and I embrace what once was.
I feel if I keep walking,
one day my path will cross here again and all will be what could,
what once was, what truly is. But alas I awaken from my vision and I
am still driving down a mountain road alone, but I smile and I can
still hear the whisper of the children early morn as they play
and laugh about the porch of the shop waiting for the school bus.
I will miss the little arms of babies that
got to know me, their little hands reaching out to a new found
Auntie.
I would like to thank you all for your
support and kindness during mine and Sunshine's short stay
here upon your mountain, we feel ever so blessed to have known all of
you.
So we say good-bye for now to a Storm Well
Rode
Sunshine and Peg
Brand New Dead Things
August 19th, 2004 - by Darrell
Spangler
(In regards to the contamination to
my property)
Today I sit and I wonder...
What do people think about my situation? Do they consider me trouble
maker? Am I looked at as the guy against the rest of the community? Am I
seen as a concerned father and homeowner looking out for his family's
health and interests?
I would imagine it's a mix of each in
reality... The truth is that I am sincerely concerned about the
chemicals I know are in the sludge that ran into my property from the
road... I am also concerned for my children's health and the main
investment I have, my property and home...
The facts are:
(1) I have spent hundreds of dollars
of my own money to have the sludge tested and to determine if it was
harmless or a concern...
(2) Testing by a lab specializing in
environmental contaminates and related substances indicated that the
sludge contained Arsenic (224ppm), Barium (958ppm), and Chromium
(25.4ppm)...
(3) The majority of the trees and
shrubs in the path of this contamination's flow through my property are
dead or dying...
(4) This same type off run-off
contamination is flowing into the streams of the National Forest and
ultimately the North Fork and Big Thompson Rivers...
(5) I have asked both the Road
Maintenance Corporation as well as the appropriate County officials to do something to
prevent this from repeatedly occurring yet nothing is done...
(6) I have never asked one single
person for a dime nor have I taken any legal or other type of action
against anyone, other than asking the Road Maintenance Corporation to reimburse me
for the trees and shrubs...
I have worked very hard to get where I am
today and my family's health and welfare are the number one priority in
my life... My home and land is my largest investment to date and it is
very hard to sit back and watch it being devalued and destroyed
needlessly... And I also care very deeply for the Forest and Wildlife
around me that is surely being effected... I ask you to honestly look
inside yourself and try to think how you would feel if this was
happening to your family and your home... I just can't for the life of
me imagine anyone just saying that it's ok with them... That would be
insanity... No reasonable person would be happy with what has gone on
with my land...
So I would like to hear from others,
who will maybe show me that I am wrong in being upset and frustrated,
and explain how that I should thank the people who did this for their
thinning out of my trees and lowering my property's value... Call me names,
commend me, I don't care... Send it anonymously... Just let me know what
you all think about my situation and how you would handle things if it were
you... Many thanks in advance...
Darrell |