Rocky Mountain High Part 2

Colorado was now part of my history, and after the plane landed I was back home living with my parents. Although I was disappointed I didn't spend more time there, I knew it was an important experience. The way I figured it, even as a 22-year-old, going west was my first taste of The Unknown. Everything else in my life had been scripted around school- from Kindergarten to my Bachelor’s Degree I always knew where I would be from Fall to Spring. But getting on that train I had no idea what was waiting for me on the other side.

It was a bummer to be back in my hometown, but I really enjoyed getting my thoughts down about what happened . . . . . . .

Saturday
December 5, 1992
Lynn, MA

To continue, I loved being surrounded by Godlike mountains. Then there was skiing those Rockies, blasting down the trails with much glee and scant skill. The first run (Nov. 17th) at Keystone Resort I fell most of the way, but I picked it up fast and by sundown I hardly spilled at all. The only other time I’d been skiing was March of 1988 in Vermont. It was my high school senior trip and we skied for 2 days (extremely memorable, especially Beth and us coming into the lodge just as the sun was setting and me standing there looking at the pink and purple sky and just being amazed I was alive). And in almost a half decade I’d hadn’t been down a mountain on sticks.

Other than ski, the first week was just gong to bars and getting drunk. There was a beer festival night where you paid five bucks for a glass and then 2 dollars to get it filled. I remember stumbling from stand to stand and then being so cold we had to go inside a bar for the fireplace. Why do I remember peeing and seeing a long wall of graffiti? Anyway, I overheard a conversation where somebody said that the only thing people do in Colorado is drink and ski, and that didn’t sound bad to me. You ski a little, work a little, and rest a lot. This credo is fine by me. But unless you get free ski passes you’d go broke after a week.

BEST MOMENT

My favorite moment of that week is the sunset at Dillon Lake. Ranks right up there with watching the ball of fire drop into The Caribbean on that ferry in Cancun. In Colorado the sun sets behind the backdrop of The Rocky Mountains, lighting up the sky with brilliant oranges and purples and reds. What you’re left with is a silhouetted dream of purple outlines. Looking out over that lake just upped the ambiance factor.

2nd FAVORITE MOMENT

Lounging in an outside Jacuzzi at night, with those silhouetted purple mountains and magic sky. The sensation of being cozy and warm in water while looking out at snowy countryside was magnificent.

Now that I have described the good, I will give equal opportunity to the bad. You see, in Summit County, Colorado, if you don’t have a place to live before the ski season begins, you’re screwed. And that’s what we were.

I spent the first week on the couch of 2 apartments that had cats. Not ideal locations for somebody who’s allergic to the little creatures. Couple that with the high altitude and my asthma, and it spelled doom for breathing freely. This was one of the big reasons Rich and I took our trip further west to Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, and LA (more on that later- I want to stay with Colorado for awhile here). The whole situation was disappointing because a) I thought we had an apartment set-up and b) those damned cats. But the trip to The Pacific Ocean and back the little Geo Metro was incredible, and when Rich & I returned on Thanksgiving my breathing was fine.

We woke up in some musty roadside motel on Thanksgiving morning. I think we paid $30 for the room, and it was overpriced. Rich put a chair up against a door that opened up into another hotel room. We also ran the shower to rid the room of it’s musty smell. Didn’t work. We were on the road early.

What followed was my first Thanksgiving without my family. Steve’s girlfriend (who was mostly annoying) was a Vegetarian and her centerpiece was a meatless lasagna. Rich and I went shopping for more traditional fare, and ended up getting cranberry sauce, peas, corn, and pre-sliced turkey with gravy. We also picked up beer and a bottle of Jameson. Steve grabbed a few bottles of wine.

Returning to the apartment we cooked our food, ate, drank and talked all evening. There was also a fine cherry cheesecake and Irish coffee. I enjoyed myself immensely.

The next week, and my last, were much like the first. We desperately searched for an apartment, failed miserably, and drank. We went to bars Friday, Saturday and Monday. I had a good time (especially the Breckenridge Brewery), but it was unproductive. I also went on a couple of job interviews. One was for a friggin secretary at the newspaper and the other a lowlife housecleaning job at a ski resort. It may sound cynical to put these jobs down as such, but when you graduated from a $22,000 a year college, cynicism comes easily.

I also worked out at a gym and saw Home Alone 2. That reminds me, the first week we saw Dracula and I really enjoyed it (4 stars). Home Alone 2 was stupid, but it that little Caulkin kid made me laugh. That’s about it for the last week. I called Continental, used my AMEX student $99 flight voucher, and finally boarded a plane to Boston.

Now, I would have stayed if I had got an apartment. I think it would have been a great place to write, and it would have been a fun experience. Steve and his girlfriend seemed to think I gave up too early. They believed I should have waited, but neither could comprehend what those cats did to me. Their solution was to work for a ski resort and live in those dorms. I explored that option and didn’t find it appealing. A) The pay sucks B) The work sucks and C) The living quarters suck.

When I offered my opinion of the ski resort job, Steve’s girlfriend said something that put everything into perspective for me. Although that wasn’t her aim, (she was offering a pep talk for Colorado), these were here words of wisdom: “you have to struggle if you want to live here, you have to try really hard. With all things you want you have to make a really big effort.”

That made me realize that I didn’t want to live there that much. When Rich and I discussed this whole Breckenridge move, I knew it wasn’t my ideal situation. Snow and cold temperatures are things I like to avoid. But I saw it as an adventure, an experience that would be fun, challenging, and give me writing material. I was only looking at six months (that was going to be our lease), and figured Red Sox opening day would be my return. If I’m going to struggle, it will be at least 75 degrees outside.

I know I would have enjoyed those six months in Colorado. I wanted to go someplace new and try to live life on my own terms. I wanted to get away from my normal routines and everything familiar. I wanted to experience a new atmosphere, where I lived in my own place and was responsible for feeding, clothing, and sheltering myself. I couldn’t get the shelter part, so fuck it. Back home here I’ll save my money and head off to a warmer climate to start a new life.

And that is my plan. By February I want to move to Florida with Jamie, my roommate Freshman and Sophomore year in college. He’s sick of the cold New England winters and doesn’t have a job either. Key West was good enough for Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett . . . so why not me?