The year 2008 isn’t ending as well, economically speaking, as we’d like, but today is Christmas, so let’s think positively.
After all, Colorado received many fine gifts this past year.
It’s been cold and snowy lately, but in a good way. The story at the resorts now is that they’re getting hammered, and less that people aren’t coming.
And in the urban areas, we’re not socked in — a respite from holiday’s past.
If you were around in 1982, you might remember the Christmas Eve blizzard that created 10-foot drifts and political fallout as city work crews were accused of charging businesses to clear their lots while city streets remained impassable.
National Guard helicopters were called in for medical evacuations, police had a hard time getting around and the Colorado ski industry howled about losses because skiers couldn’t get to the mountains.
A successful convention
There have been other gifts beyond the falling white gold. Denver’s hosting of the Democratic National Convention went off peacefully and helped launch the historic election of Barack Obama. The event’s impact was felt far more than citywide, as the four-day international media spectacle showcased Colorado and the Intermountain West in ways that rightfully made us proud.
The last time the Democrats held their convention here was in 1908. We suspect scoring such world-class fetes in the future won’t take quite so long. (Winter Olympics, anyone?)
Coloradan in the Cabinet
A further bonus is that Colorado has become far more than political flyover country. And our newfound importance was underscored when Obama tapped Sen. Ken Salazar to be secretary of the Interior — a boon to our Rocky Mountain state that’s so sensitive to Interior decisions.
No Election Day woes
And all that worry about Colorado being the next Election Day Florida? Didn’t happen.
The state’s voting system, so challenged in recent years, worked as flawlessly as anyone could have hoped. We weren’t invaded by TV satellite trucks as county clerks continued to feed paper ballots into scanners two days after the fact. The big push to vote early worked, and lines at the polls Nov. 4 were easily navigated.
Nuggets get hometown hero
The return of hometown hero Chauncey Billups was a big gift to sports fans, too. The George Washington High School standout and University of Colorado hoopster returned for a second stint with the Denver Nuggets earlier this fall, much to the delight of fans.
It’s rare in professional sports for a homegrown athlete to get the chance to strut his stuff in his own backyard. Billups even chose to wear the No. 7 in honor of John Elway, which for Colorado sports nuts is like tying an orange and blue bow around the gift.
And one more toast . . .
As we leave you and yours to think of other gifts this season, we raise a toast to the birth of Sunday liquor sales in Colorado. Lawmakers made them possible earlier this year, giving revelers the gift of convenience if nothing else.
There’s a lot to love here. Even in a recession, the sun still shines and the snow still falls in Colorado.
Cheers to that, and Merry Christmas to you.
