My Opening Farewell

Crying across Nebraska

It’s been a while since I’ve written because I’ve truly been “On the Drift.” In the past two weeks, I moved out of my Atomic Cowgirl Ranch home in Denver, into the new house in Rochester (now dubbed the Atomic North Star), ended my job with Mantucket Capital and started at Hormel Foods. I didn’t allow for any time in between. I had to compartmentalize my head to forge forward, pushing my emotions into the back corner.

Time to let them out. Denver, this is my opening farewell.

If you’re a Jackson Browne fan, you’ll recognize that song title. It’s about a couple struggling to say goodbye to each other. They know they have to do it, but they also know they’ll probably find their way back to each other from time to time. She can’t figure out what to say. So he says:

There's a train every day leaving either way
There's a world, you know
There's a way to go
And you'll soon be gone, that's just as well
This is my opening farewell

My opening farewell with Denver lasted for two weeks. I visited old haunts. I checked out some new ones to remind myself that Denver can be so cool and hip and young. Friends threw me a going away open house that brought back some people I haven’t seen in years. We laughed, said things like “I haven’t seen you in a whole pandemic!”, ate Spammiches, and drank Colorado-distilled whiskey drinks.

Then, on Friday, February 25th, I pulled away from my emptied house, crawled by downtown in rush-hour traffic, and headed east with the view of Denver and the Rocky Mountains shrinking behind me. I cried a river as long and wide as the Platte.

Here are a few images from those last couple weeks.

This was the view from my office at Mantucket in the DTC. Yes, the entire Front Range. I could see Long’s Peak and Mount Evans and, if I walked down the hall to the conference room, Pike’s Peak. I doubt I’ll ever have such a breathtaking vista from my workplace again.

I had several “Last Suppers.” Pizza and brunch at my neighborhood local, Esters Denver. A burrito from the first Chipotle I ever ate at on Colorado Boulevard in 1996 — Lana Rupprecht took me there shortly after we met at law school orientation. A selfie after stuffing myself at Park Burger on South Holly near Alameda.

The bar crawl included trips to La Fogata with Amy Sampson and Kevin Huhn (Superdave came to take us home), Bowman’s Vinyl & Lounge on South Broadway for 1990s video bingo with Kimberly and Eric Johnson and Jen Benda, the Pio and Stadium Inn with Julie Thomas, and Inga’s Alpine Tavern on Leetsdale with Michelle Lynch.

The SPAM-themed farewell party was co-hosted by Victoria James and Jen Benda, with a surprise appearance from Jefe (Jeff White), who freaked us all out by flying back from Mexico for the occasion. “Ussies” with Kathy Shrum, Casie Collignon and Stacy Mueller. Casie, Stacy and I used to work together at BakerHostetler, where one partner, who could never keep us blondies straight, would yell out “Casie, Stacy and Lacy” from his corner office whenever he needed an associate.

I wish I had take ussies with everyone who came. I love and miss you all so much.

A word about my co-workers at Mantucket. They also had a little goodbye gathering for me with cake from the Mermaid bakery and numerous gifts, including a Colorado flag coffee cup and wine glass, Denver blend coffee from Boyer’s, and a “Colorado homesick” scented candle. I guess they really wanted to rub it in that I was leaving that sweet view behind. But they did one other thing that was even kinder — each wrote me a thank you note. Each was specific and heartfelt. Each made it that much harder to leave.

But, Denver, remember … there’s a train every day, leaving either way. Hasta luego.