Delay in postings

I had intended to start new postings by now. That has been postponed temporarily due to an impending move. We are headed from Longmont to Amarillo, Texas. More later.

Never give up, never surrender ... marriage

This column first ran Jan. 15, 2004:
Jan. 16, 1964, a young, carrot-topped, freckled-faced Air Force Airman and a cute, brunette nurse from Omaha said “I do.”
The engagement was short and the marriage challenging, but on tomorrow my parents will celebrate 40 years on their road to forever together.
His hair is frosty now, though a little orange peeks through. She hasn’t practiced as a nurse since she became a housewife, but has held several jobs over the years. Both have been an inspiration and a model for holding a family together no matter how tough things get.
It’s hard to believe that 40 years have gone by. It’s also a little scary, because that means my 40th birthday is 19 months away.I’ve always admired my parents for sticking together, even when they didn’t feel like it. Today they’re inseparable and as much “in love” as two people can be.
Knowing what I do of their journey, it proves that love is more a choice than a feeling. Anyone can be “in love” with someone. But feelings change. Staying in love requires commitment. We must choose to stay with those we love in times when the feelings are distant.Too often when the feeling is gone, so is the marriage. Vows, promises and commitments vanish with the ebb and flow of our emotions.
True love is being able to love when you least feel like it. I’ve had plenty of times in my marriages when I’ve had to apply this. The funny thing about love is, when you hold onto it — when you give it a chance — it comes back. It’s when you give up that love is lost forever.
One of my favorite movies is “Galaxy Quest.” The motto of the character played by Tim Allen is “never give up, never surrender.” That ought to be the marriage motto.
My first year of marriage to Sandy was tough — a lot tougher than any of the 11 years with my first wife. But we stuck it out, and the rewards have been incredible. I have a much healthier, vibrant and enjoyable marriage than I ever thought possible.Could it be better? Sure. But half the fun is embarking on the journey and facing the challenge together. The adventure becomes even more exciting when you throw in a kid ... or two ... or three ... or four. Suddenly, you’re forced to be on the same side.
If you and your spouse are not on the same page, your kids will know this, exploit it and really complicate things. When your kids see a show of unity on your side, they will honor and respect that.
That doesn’t mean they won’t test it — they will. But if your defense is solid, you’ll keep their offenses in check. And as we all know, good defenses win Super Bowls.
Whenever I think about all the things my parents went through in the past 40 years, there is one song that keeps coming to mind. It’s the Crystal Gayle classic “You Never Gave Up on Me.”
“You never gave up on me when I was giving love up on you,
Every time I thought this love can’t work,
You stayed to see it through.
You never gave up on me when I was making
Things rough on you
And you showed me what it really means to love somebody.
And though sometimes we might not see things eye to eye,
You’ve always met me more than half the way,
So for all the times I’ve let you down
And you could have packed your things and gone,
I love you most of all because you stayed.”
Man, they just don’t write love songs like that anymore. Maybe if they did, there would be fewer divorces in the world. Maybe we would be seeing many more 40th anniversary announcements in the paper than we do.
I’m no expert on love and marriage. But there is one lesson I’ve learned — the big secret to a lasting and successful marriage that everyone should know.
It’s simple really. The family that prays together, stays together. If you’ve got God as the foundation of your marriage, it can withstand anything as long as you keep Him there.
A marriage with you, your spouse and God at the core is unstoppable. As it says in Ecclesiastes 4:12B, “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Mom, Dad, thank you for staying together and modeling for me and my brothers everything that a good marriage should be. And may God bless you with many more milestones on your path to living happily ever after.

Can Longmont become the Wild West?

This column originall ran Feb. 12, 2004:
The movie “Field of Dreams” made famous the line “If you build it, they will come.”
It’s proven to be true countless times. Even the ballpark carved out of a cornfield in Iowa for the movie has proven to be an attraction itself. When people go on vacation, they often go to see sites made by man. Think of Mount Rushmore, the St. Louis Arch, the Statue of Liberty, Disney World, the Space Needle, the Golden Gate Bridge and numerous other landmarks.
Even minor ones like the Nebraska Archway in Kearney, Neb., draw the curious. When people think of Colorado, they think of skiing — yet another manmade attraction.But what brings people to Longmont? What have we got that no one else has that would make this place a tourist destination?
Whenever you see tourist brochures for Colorado, you see awesome pictures of mountains, the Royal Gorge Bridge, the Garden of the Gods, ski resorts, casinos, Estes Park, Denver’s stadiums and the like.
You don’t see pictures from Longmont very often.
Colorado has a blend of natural and environmental attractions, often linked to manmade attractions that make these spots prime destinations. Longmont is often noted as a great place to live, but who would want to visit here?
We have awesome amenities for a great quality of life, but why should tourists go out of their way to come here?
I know that is a question the city and the various economic development groups have grappled with over the years. I’m no expert and may even be barking up the wrong tree, but it seems to me that the best way to bring tourists to Longmont is to give them a reason to come. We need to build something or create something that is a “must see.”
With the recent opening of the Ken Pratt Boulevard Extension, Longmont has a vast opportunity at economic development. Every time I drive the now-barren stretch of road, I can’t help but think how great it would be to have the area around Lefthand Creek or the St. Vrain River turned into scenic waterfront shops, including a mix of restaurants, outdoor activity shops, curio shops and specialty markets.
It could be kind of an outdoor mall of sorts.The makeup would be determined by the development design and the mix of services. Would it be a destination?
It could be.
Perhaps it could be tied in to some other kind of attraction. I can almost picture an Old West-type town where people in period costumes give public performances, not unlike Williamsburg, Va.
I can’t think of too many places that really try to capitalize on the Old West image. We’re in a prime spot to do that. And believe me, tourists would flock to it. It even could be tied into mass transit with an old-style train station with a locomotive taking passengers to points across town, maybe even to and from other cities.I don’t know.
Maybe I’m just a Monday morning quarterback or a Johnny-come-lately who should have been getting involved with the plans years ago. Unfortunately, I’m not too in tune to the plans for the area. This is just an image I visualize as I drive down the road.Then again, maybe we just want to fill the area with more big-box development, chain store restaurants and thousands of rooftops.
After all, it’s worked for us so far, hasn’t it?