David E. Steiner

Retired USAF, Teacher, Dad, Grandfather, Curmudgeon

Like what you see? Then be sure to visit the Allenspark Wind website here, and think about subscribing.

About Me:

Click on the links below to learn more...

You are here:

About Me/

Writing

The Times, They Have Changed

 

More than 10 years ago a young couple appeared on our doorstep and asked my wife whether the cabin next door to us was for rent. It didn’t belong to us, and my wife pointed out that it wasn’t winterized but she referred them to the owner, and soon we had new neighbors.

He was called “Posey,” and he had long hair which he wore in a ponytail. Linda had long, straight hair, wore long, straight dresses, had wonderful skills in quilting and the like, and grew organic vegetables in her garden.

Posey made a living of sorts as a carpenter, but he had plans for a house of his own on a piece of property he’d bought, and even bigger plans for a ranch in Montana. The first winter they had a little girl, named Serena, who was born in the cabin.

Linda and Posey stayed a few years and then moved on. We knew they were somewhere on the Western Slope, but that was about all.

A few days ago, however, a car pulled up and a man got out who looked as though he knew me. Posey looked fit enough, but there was a change about him that looked more fundamental than just the shorter hair, now turning gray. We sat on the porch and had a nice talk about the intervening years. He lives in Cedar Edge, in a house with a two-car garage and three bathrooms to accommodate his three young children. Now 37, he still works as a carpenter and he restores and sells old cars. I asked him about the ranch in Montana.

“I still think about that,” he said, but he didn’t seem to have the same enthusiasm in his voice I’d heard ten years ago.

I asked him about his short hair, and he said he thought his ponytail was still lying around in a drawer somewhere.

As he was leaving I held out my hand and said, “Well, Posey, it was nice to see you, and I hope you and Linda will drop by and see us when you’re in the area. “ He said they would, and then hesitated. “Nobody calls me ‘Posey’ anymore,” he said. “It’s just ‘Bob’ now.” [Bob now lives in Estes Park. He and Linda have been divorced for many years.]

 

 

Columns

© 1985 – 2003, David E. Steiner

Allenspark Wind Columns:

Introduction

Why Allenspark?

Going Riding [August, 1985]

Electricity

Used Cars

Peace and Quiet [1986]

Liberals & Conservatives

Going to the Movies

The Screened Porch

The Beginning of The Season

The Weather

The Hilltop Guild Bazaar

The End of The Season

The Gift of Time

The Beavers

Addresses [1987]

Hiking

Watching the Trees Grow

Postal Rates

Changes in Estes Park

Square Dancing at the Pow Wow

Back to the Hilltop Guild Bazaar

The Solstices

Bird Feeders

Elevators

The Estes Park Hardware Store [1988]

Visitors

Limousine Service

A Memorial Service

A Hummingbird

Garbage

A Hiking Trip

The Estes Park Public Library

Wild Life

Riparian Rights [1989]

Weather

Fences

Commuting

Mountain Friendliness

A Motorcycle Trip

Satellite Television

“Weaving Mountain Memories”

Hotel Rates in the Old Days

The Price of Propane [1990]

The Front Range Almanac

June

Modes of Transportation

Miller Moths

My 50th Column

Modern Conveniences

Rock Climbing

On the Death of Otto Walter, Postmaster

Otto’s Memorial Service

A Big Owl Pot-Luck Dinner

A Whine About Telephone Service [1991]

After the Persian Gulf War

Some Changes in the WIND

The Trip to the Mountains

The Mountains in the Summer

Visitors

Of Dogs, Music, and Children

Muhlenburg County

To My Grandson

The Sale of Longs Peak Inn

World War II  [1992]

Murphy’s Law and the Computer

The South St. Vrain Canyon

“Whiteout”

The Hazards of Volunteering

Crime in Our Valley

Infestations

On the Death of Charles Eagle Plume

Can We All Get Along?

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Lost Horizon [1993]

Walking

Rumors About a Visit by the Pope

Progress?

More About Fences

Woodpeckers

The Visit of Pope John Paul II

Forest Fires

The New Sewage System

The Snow Pool

The Good Old Days [1994]

The WIND’s 20th Anniversary

The Bunce School

The Shooting Gallery

The Estes Park Museum

Our Government

U.S. West Takes a Hit

The Year of the Hummingbirds

A New “Yield” Sign

Growth in Allenspark

Private Telephones?

The Salvation Army

Creation Science [1995]

Devolutionizing Big Government

Risks

Airports

Fort D.A. Russell

Domestic Terrorism

Old and New

Barney Graves

Life in the Wilderness

What’s In a Name?

Arthur C. Clarke

 

The Estes Park Trail-Gazette Columns:

July 1983

Carpentry

Estes Cone

Johnny Grant

Observations in Estes Park

The Bath House

Waving

The Sutherland’s Ice House

How Old is Charles Eagle Plume?

Dogs

Christmas Trees

Tree Murder

Mountain Driving

Garbage

Mail Boxes

More About Mail Boxes

“Are you related to ....?”

Spring

An Accident

The Wild Cat

A July Reunion

A Visit to Baldpate Inn

Opening Cabins

Summer

The Times, They Have Changed

Death and Transfiguration

The Population Explosion

The March of Time

Faith-Based Social Services

Looking for Pitch

Recent Writings I

Recent Writings II

Recent Writings III

Recent Writings IV

Recent Writings V

Recent Writings VI

 

 

Jump to these pages

Contact me

 

Did you find a factual error or a typo or want to voice an opinion? Drop me a note here

Copyright © AngryRobot Enterprises. All rights reserved.

Home

About Me

Contact