Symbolizing the end of summer, this month brings backyard cookouts, the sweet ode to cars, romance and partying. A summer fling has hardly happened this year due to the coronavirus, albeit many tried on the July 4th weekend. There’s still primetime to linger and enjoy the Cherry Creek Valley’s outdoors as our days slowly begin to cool.
Even though this isn’t the summer we asked for, our mindset still envisions an open meadow of wildflowers, pastel colors and sunsets that never last long enough.
Here are our hotter’n a pepper-patch crop of choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to help you seize the final days of summer, sizzle and make a splash:
3 With the Morgan Adams Foundation’s other major fundraiser now canceled, plan to attend the 10th Race Against Kids Cancer at High Plains Raceway July 31-Aug. 2, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Information: 303-758-2130.
3 Shop the Cherry Creek Fresh Market each Saturday at First Ave. and University Aug. 1 through 29, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Information: 303-442-1837.
3 Mark your calendar and hit the streets in Cherry Creek North to browse-buy during annual Sidewalk Sale, Aug. 6-9. Information: 303-294-2904.
3 NFL author Scott Perry is Lowry Speaker Series first in-person guest this year at Eisenhower Chapel Aug. 11, 7 p.m. Information: 303-344-0481.
3 For lunch, weekend brunch and dinner try newly opened Jimmy’s Jersey Street Café & Osteria, east of 9th & Colo. Blvd., at 932 Jersey St. Dinner menu has Lamb Chops, Scampi Romana & Bananas Foster. Information: 303-961-6135.
3 View the new Atlas Townhomes at Boulevard One in Lowry featuring a main-floor master or elevator, plus a personal rooftop terrace. Moreover, you’re surrounded by walk-to amenities. Information: 303-300-8789.
3 See art showing the music of ancient Americas titled Rhythm & Ritual at the Museo de Las Americas through Aug. 15. Information: 303-571-4401.
3 Attend the Park Hill Art Festival located on the Masonic Lodge grounds on Montview Ave. Aug. 22-23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Information: 720-941-6088.
3 See the Denver Zoo in a new way, as Nature Connects®, Art with LEGO® Bricks has returned after five years, now through Nov. 1. LEGO artist Sean Kenney has created more than 15 life-size species. Sculptures placed throughout the Zoo includes a snow leopard, monarch butterfly, whooping crane and a black rhino. You’ll also see an African lion plus a polar bear with her three cubs. Information: 720-337-1400.
You know that feeling you get mid-afternoon every Sunday when you realize the next day is Monday? Well, welcome to the Sunday of Summer, better known as August. The eighth moon cycle is basically a month-long Sunday that marks the end of summer. It’s when we try to squeeze in everything we wanted to do over the entire summer.
It’s 31-days of what’s called “Sunday Sads” or “Sunday Weirds.” It’s Jimmy the sensation we feel moving from an unstructured weekend to a week full of structured time.
August is a transition month. The last open window through which pours the sunlight of summer’s serenity. One last chance to “make the most” of the season. As you begin to fill the fall calendar with work and school responsibilities, consider this month as Julie London did, “Now that it’s time for August, I’ve got thirty-one days to glow.”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
There were high hopes when 13-year Denver police veteran Paul Pazen was appointed the Chief of the Denver Police Department (DPD) following the retirement of the highly controversial Robert White. White’s seven-year reign was marked by controversy after controversy and he was largely detested by the police officers themselves. Mayor Hancock’s appointment of Pazen from within DPD was popular with the rank and file. A former Marine, Pazen has an attractive appearance and seems to have at least average intelligence. Until July of this year, he generally received plus marks from the press and the public at large.
Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen
He has now, however, proven himself to be dishonest and a coward to all concerned. Those attributes have brought shame on the DPD at just the wrong time, when police departments across the country are under attack.
Every year, for the last five years, attorney Randy Corporon and organizer Ron MacLachlan have held a “Back the Blue Rally” at Civic Center Park in mid-July, without incident. When Corporon obtained a permit for this July, Pazen told him he did not want a rally this year, asserting it could get his officers hurt. Corporon responded in shock, indicating this of all year’s his officers needed support and that citizens have a First Amendment right even if Pazen didn’t believe in the same.
The rally attended by approximately 250 people, including celebrity Michelle Malkin and House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, started off with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer, when a mob of approximately 750 ANTIFA and BLM supporters smashed into the event blaring horns and attacked the rally participants. Women. including Michelle Malkin, were punched and beaten with batons. MacLachlan was badly bloodied with bull horns and skateboards. Dozens of DPD officers did literally nothing while the carnage was occurring. A grand total of one arrest was made for “public fighting.” Only after all of the rally participants had left, and ANTIFA and BLM rioters went after the police themselves did the DPD use pepper spray.
It was one of the most shameful moments in the history of the DPD. It was obvious that the officers were ordered to stand down by Pazen who had marched earlier in the summer arm and arm with BLM.
But if the event which made national news wasn’t bad enough, Pazen’s performance on media to justify his actions bordered on criminal. He appeared on the Steffan Tubbs show on 710 KNUS and the Dan Caplis Show on 630 KHOW claiming his police had been valiant in defense of the citizens and moreover it was the fault of the rally organizers. He claimed under permit orders for an event in the City and County of Denver, you must supply your own barricades and security. He also claimed that the organizers had said they had 200 security personnel for the event which was obviously a lie by him. According to Pazen, if you are a group of citizens in the City and County of Denver and want to express your First Amendment rights you must provide your own street army to bloodily battle it out with those who want to squash your freedom of speech. According to Pazen, Denver is no different than Berlin in the 1920s where deadly street battles were a common occurrence.
It is not clear whether Pazen is indirectly supporting the BLM position that the police need to be abolished. If they won’t protect its citizens from attack, who needs them? Devious, dishonest and cowardly, Pazen is a bad political hack for the mayor. If the police in the City and County of Denver ever want any support from anyone, Police Chief Paul Pazen needs to be removed and the sooner the better.
One of the great double speak, hands over your ears, hands over your eyes, hands over your mouth moments came when Jared Polis, the Governor of Colorado, commented after rioters tore down and defaced Colorado’s Civil War statue of a Union soldier. He said, “Those responsible for the damage whether they were hooligans, white supremacists, confederate sympathizers or drunk teenagers….” Of course it was. Why would I think it was Antifa characters, Black Lives Matter dumpster fire starters, and members of the Democrat Party? I’m sure that those raging drunk hooligan supremacist rebel sympathizers who searched out that statue are responsible. The laugh out loud funny aspect is no one in other media outlets challenges that statement. As always, he gets away with it.
Can I ask you when did Mount Rushmore become the face of the conquerors, a symbol of white supremacy and the statue that was responsible for the genocide of indigenous people? It obviously wasn’t when Barack Obama visited. It must have occurred in the past three months.
In last month’s column we spoke about when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. On the award-winning radio show (yeah Peter keep this up), I mentioned the Star Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key’s poem actually known as the Defense of Fort McHenry had the politically correct red dot on its forehead. And now the left and progressives scream we should change the national anthem to Woodie Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land or Lean On Me or John Lennon’s commie anthem, Imagine. Someone ask Polis which one of those works.
I read about Lyndsey Parker with Yahoo Music explaining why it’s time to finally replace the Star Spangled Banner. My response is, if you’re really upset by the Star Spangled Banner maybe you really just need to leave and find another country in which to live your life.
Now, of course , we have the decapitation of the Virgin Mary statue that took place in Chattanooga. This is also equally predictable when the Jesus statue is proclaimed as a racist portrayal of Christ. Maybe they’re right. Maybe if we all take Jesus and make him into the Semite that he was maybe we’re just setting it straight, but instead, hell let’s kill his Mom.
How many places in Colorado do you think are still available in the plain brown wrap that you grew up used to. This is my prediction. Buffalo Bill’s grave. When you read the revisionist history of William Cody, Indian fighter, he killed as many buffalo as he could thus denying native people their food. Reducing the herd, reducing the tribes and forcing them on to the reservation. The old Billster doesn’t have a chance in hell right now. And if you remember, the citizens in Cody, Wyoming, wanted his body when he died. So the city fathers of Denver, at the time, buried him and Mrs. Bill and covered them with railroad ties and concrete so the bodies couldn’t be stolen. Somebody call the Mayor of Cody. He’s all yours.
So maybe you could change the name of Cody, Wyoming, to Stapleton, Wyoming. How long will this last? Well, now George Washington University wants to release Winston Churchill and James Madison. The winds of change are blowing through Denver and Colorado. The Virgin Mary has been vandalized a number of times Shaun King, known as “Talcum X” has proclaimed, “tear them down.”
The deep state has made its move. I leave you again with a couple of great pictures and citing Creighton University’s Smith’s declaration that pro police rally attendees are white supremacists. Defund the cops. Democrats are advocating a social revolution to correct the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence states why the American Revolution took place. They intend to undo it. We really have mass amounts of really stupid people in this country.
As the weather gets warmer and more time is spent enjoying the outdoors, staying hydrated is key, especially living at high altitude. Water is an essential part of a healthy diet, in fact, our bodies are made up of about 60% water. It maintains all functions in the body and helps keep your temperature normal. Your body loses water through breathing, sweating, and digestion, so it’s important to rehydrate throughout the day.
Why is staying hydrated so important? Water plays such a key role in our bodies, including the following.
• Keeps temperature normal
• Lubricates and cushions joints
• Gets rid of waste
• Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells
• Protects organs and tissues
• Aids digestion
• Maintains blood pressure
How much water do you really need each day?
It may seem like a simple question, but the answer is quite complicated. Like all nutrition recommendations, it depends on a variety of different factors such as age, weight, height, activity level, and overall health. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding require more water, the same is true for athletes. Individuals with certain heart conditions and renal disease also have specific fluid needs. The standard recommendation is about 64oz per day. However, for the average healthy adult the National Academy of Medicine recommends:
• Men: 13 cups per day
• Women: 9 glasses per day
• Pregnant women: 10 glasses per day
• Breastfeeding women: 13 cups per day
Hydration Check
How can you tell if you’re getting enough water? The following are signs of dehydration that serve as key warning signals.
• Thirst
• Headaches
• Dry skin
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Lack of sweat and urination
The easiest way to tell if you are hydrated is to check the color of your urine. A pale-yellow color indicates you are consuming enough fluid. A dark yellow, strong-smelling urine is a sign of dehydration.
It’s important to consume more water after physical activity, in hot weather and when you’re sick, as your body is using it more rapidly.
Tips to increase fluid intake:
• Track your glasses of water/day
• Carry a reusable water bottle around
• Drink from a straw
• Level up your water — add citrus, herbs, fruit
• Alternate morning coffee with a glass of water
• Download a water tracking app on your phone
Other Sources Of Water
Don’t just drink your water, eat it too! While 80% of our fluid comes from beverages, 20% of your daily needs can be met with food. Here are some fruits and veggies that are high in water content:
• Lettuce: 96% water
• Tomatoes: 95% water
• Cucumber: 96% water
• Celery: 95% water
• Watermelon: 91% water
• Strawberries: 91% water
• Cantaloupe: 90% water
• Citrus: 82% water
Level Up Your Drink
If you have trouble getting in plain water, check out this recipe framework to add some flavor without the added sugar! Add of these ingredients to 2 quarts of water and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• 1 lime, 1-pint raspberries
• 4 cups watermelon, 6 sprigs mint
• 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 orange
• cucumber, 1 cup strawberries
• Steep your favorite tea and pour over ice
• Opt for a sparkling water (make sure there are no added sugars)
Rosalie Shanks is a registered dietitian with experience in health coaching and specializes in weight and diabetes management. She is an advocate for community organizations that promote food access and sustainable food systems.
