Denver

My music does it’s best, but still doesn’t drown out the background murmur of many lives colliding under one familiar and social roof. The little green and black Starbucks symbol spells comfort for me. It’s the one constant amidst scenery that has been changing every day. Sometimes I feel guilt when I feed the corporate giant, but it’s quickly justified with the fact that it has gainfully employed two of my sisters, and it got it’s start as one little coffee shop just a few hours from home, so I feel the right to say I’m supporting my local coffee shop... even though it happens to be the most successful coffee shop in the world. The northwest is still the coffee capital though... in other places I’ve been, you can tell that people don’t take their coffee nearly as seriously as a northwesterner. We mean business when we walk into a Starbucks. It’s treated as more of an art form at home versus most other places I’ve been. You can also tell by the lack of independent shops... don’t get me wrong, there are independent shops, but we’re talking maybe one or two in a square mile radius, where in Spokane, Seattle, or Portland there would be at least 10 in that same square mile radius. Not only that, but I’ve visited many independent shops along my journey, and for the most part have been disgusted with my drink. Maybe it’s different with hot drinks, but most of the time I don’t drink hot coffee unless it’s free. Anyway, enough with my coffee rant.

So here I sit on the corner of 18th and Franklin in Denver... and it’s a beautiful and very diverse city. Evidently it’s a melting pot for many forms of activism, and there seems to be a big hippie/artsy/grunge scene. I would say it reminds me of Seattle... but before Seattle’s head got too big for it’s own good.
Last night I went to a Speak Easy with Terese that one of her roommates was putting on. This was the first time I had ever heard of the term, and basically it means a chill house party with a bar that serves drinks for money. The term ‘Speak Easy’ comes from the need to keep it on the down low, because it’s illegal in any state to charge for alcohol without having your liquor license.
Anyway, the setting was really nice actually, in a back yard with white lights and a fire pit, and lots of nice down to earth people. Definitely in a different chapter than Montrose, but it’s all a part of the journey. I’m not sure how long I will be here, but it will take a max of 3 days to get to Minneapolis and I’m a bit ahead of schedule, so I’m figuring a couple of days here would be nice.