Missy Higgins Concert 2008 -- Part I

Outside the venue in Denver, CO

Inside the Bluebird Theatre, pre-concert. This concert was Sold-out.

This gargoyle is a perfect example of the elegant inside of the theatre

Bootleg Communion #2

Bootleg communion. It's a daring proposition. Not only are you messing with one of the oldest institutions of Christianity, but if their theology is completely correct (which I doubt) then you are messing with God too. The way I look at it is

1. I am getting away with something
2. It's exhilerating
3. I think of King David and his men who were hungry and consumed the consecrated bread.

I have participated in bootleg communion exactly 3x thus far. The first time at a 2006 Midnight Mass. The church was almost baptist it was so modern. I could hardly recognize it as catholic due to the praise choruses, an acoustic guitar, women serving communion, and the Irish Priest cracking jokes in his sermon.

The second time was at Easter service in 2006. Once again, a very modern church and there was nothing to it. I remembered to mumble something unintelligable and the server seemed to think that it interpretted into the correct Catholic words

Then came this Christmas. I took holy communion at an old church in Downtown Denver. Maybe I was a little too lax on observing those in front of me. Maybe I thought I knew what I was doing. I don't know what went wrong.

I always have butterflys in my stomach when waiting for and consuming the holy body of Christ and his blood. I have this nightmare of being called out in front of thousands for being a false catholic. I've always thought this was an unfounded fear. Now...I'm not so sure.

When I approached the server, he said something. Two alter boys stood at his shoulders like the good and evil angels in cartoons. He held the wafer up, I performed the "scoopy" thing with my hands...and he kept holding it. He didn't give it to me. We made eye contact for far too long (likely 2-3 seconds) and then he said "Amen". I said "Amen" too as he placed the wafer in my hands. I put it in my mouth and walked away wondering what happened. I was shaken.

Halfway up the aisle to my seat, I heard the steps and felt the wind of something approaching. I half turned and saw an alter boy coming. Was he coming to block my way? Was he coming to say something to me in front of the entire crowd? Like a speeding motorist who pulls over anticipating that the police officer has come for them, I stepped aside. But instead of me, he approached my friend in front of me. He placed an arm on him and said something to him that I didn't hear. Then he returned from whence he came.

"What did he say?" I wanted to know immediately. Some sort of self-absorbed mind set caused me to believe that the Alter Boy had come to speak to my friend about me. But how would he even know we were together.

My friend brushed me off and kept walking up the aisle toward our seats. When we sat down, I asked again.

He said, "He wanted to know whether I consumed it."
"Consumed what?" I asked.
"The wafer. They gave me two, so I tried to pull them apart as I was walking away. I didn't want to put the whole big thing in my mouth. But...I couldn't pull them apart, so I just ate it. I guess he didn't see me and was worried I'd put the body of Christ in my pocket and sell it on ebay"

No, that would be me, I thought.

"I told him 'Yes' and he walked away. Unbelievable!"

It kind of put a damper on our midnight mass. I felt like I had come closer than ever to getting caught, and my friend was deeply embarrassed that an alter boy chased him down in the aisle in front of hundreds and maybe even a thousand people. It was another successful Bootleg Communion, but not as rewarding as in times past. This time left behind a nagging guilt.

And that, is our Midnight Mass Bootleg Communion 2008

Dolly Parton Concert

I've always wanted to see Dolly in concert, and this summer she happened to have a tour date in Denver. I scooped up 4 tickets. 2 for me and a friend and 2 in case my parents were in town. The parents came early and I almost lost my money on the 2 extra tickets. But at the last moment, craigslist came through for me. The concert was awesome, thought it was VERY difficult to get a picture. No pictures or videos were allowed, and security was heavy at the event. I was lucky to get this shot. Dolly puts on a very broadway like show where she tells her life story, and also lives out her dream (I believe) of being on Broadway. It was a great show, and I'm really glad that I went.

Jack Kerouac 50th Anniversary at Tattered Cover

Mike Mulligan and I went down to the LoDo tattered cover to the Jack Kerouac lecture. I read one of Jack Kerouac's famous novels "On The Road" over the summer. This lecture really helped me make sense of some of the things that Kerouac was trying to convey. Also, Ed White, who is "Tim Gray" in the novel was at the lecture. I thought that was really cool.

Union Station in Denver, CO. We walked by the station on our way to and fro the car. I think Amtrak trains stop in Union Station, as well as the local commuter train. In the coming years, Union Station will be rennovated to serve as a hub for the ever expanding "Light Rail" commuter trains.

View of Denver atop Green Mountain

Green Mountain Open space is only minutes from work. I'm currently in the process of exploring how much ground I can cover in a lunch hour.