Goodbye Rocky.....

Most of you who don't live in Colorado or don't read online newspapers probably don't know that The Rocky Mountain News published their last edition today.

I have been reading the online edition for 13 years and when I travel to Denver pick up a copy every trip. It was a very good newspaper. Unlike the rag of a newspaper that Rapid City has The Rocky was cheaper to by in print form. A concept I couldn't figure out. I will miss the online edition, that's where I got my Colorado fix when I am stuck up here.

Goodbye.... Rocky, you'll be sorrily missed...

Ongoing Story III...

He sits and ponders his fate for a moment as chaos ensues around him. Trying to grasp the situation that unfolded before his eyes he doesn't know whether to be thankful for missing the flight or that his fate should have been handed to him buckled in to Seat 2, Row 6. A sickened feeling comes over him as if he wants to vomit. The mere thought that at this moment if he were sitting the 640 feet facing him on the tarmac he would be dead. A odd calm rushes over him as he sits back in the chair at the flight gate.

After awhile he walks to the customer service counter, which by then is full. People trying to receive information on the event that happened on runway 4. The man gingerly walk to the side of the counter and waves at the woman, who an hour before, seemed so rude to him. She walks over and he whispered in her ear, "Thank You". Then turns and heads toward the exit of the airport.


Seven and a half years prior He moved from Salt Lake City because of a transfer that was forced upon him. Ultimatums he hated. But the job would pay more and since the company was providing the cost for his move... why not. Single since college the move seemed easy for the bachelor. Upon arriving in Minneapolis, he made the contacts in the company and settled in. A 9 to 5'er, 5 days a week meant that weekends were for being alone.

He was active socially in college but nothing serious. He once thought he met "the one" but it was a fleeting thought. Dedicated to finishing his education was a paramount in the final two years of college. Plus he promised his mother he would finish making him the first in his family to complete college. His father was molded from the working class types of his day. Dirty hands meant a good provider and his father had them. His mother never worked outside her home. It was taboo for married females to work and his father would never have it. It was his job to provide no matter what the finances were.

The man was the oldest of two boys. A strict upbringing filled with "Yes sir" and Yes Ma'am". His job was to look after his younger brother and make sure he was safe. A duty he grew weary of fast. They would play around the yard in the summers and winters. Vacationing was for rich folk and rarely did the family go.

The two boys were always together. He would make sure that the younger one minded his P's and Q's and would correct him when he strayed. The younger one looked up to his brother and listened when he would speak to him.

One day, in the spring of his 12th year, he lost track of his younger sibling. Frantically he looked all around the house in the basement and in the attic.

"Dang It!! Come on!!! You're gonna get me in trouble!", he yelled walking out the front door.

As he rounded the corner of the house toward the back yard he noticed his brothers yellow ball cap laying in the yard. Seeing this made him furious.

"Come Out!! This isn't funny anymore!!" he screamed.

Beyond the fence in the back yard was a large lot that wasn't used anymore. On the near side of the lot there were two plywood sheets laying on the ground covering two holes in the ground. Nobody knew what the holes were used for but they knew they were deep. A lecture by the father, years prior, telling them that they were dangerous and that they should be avoided. The fence between their house and the lot was chain linked and dilapidated. The bottom of the fence was bent off of the ground and easy to climb under. A project the father said he would repair but never got around to because of finances.

Walking closer to the fence, through the chain link he noticed that the corner of the plywood
sheets was raised on one side about 10 inches with a corner dipped down in one of the holes. He climbed under the fence and walked toward the covered hole. A noise sends the boy scurrying back under the fence and into the yard. He decided to try again after he retrieved a flashlight from his room. Back under the fence he went scanning back and forth for anybody who might be coming.

Creeping up to the hole, he peeks in to see what was in there. Blackness. The boy picks up a rock and tosses it into the hole. The boy whispers, "One, two, thr...". He hears the rock clang off the bottom. The smell of oil is heavy around the hole. He thinks to himself, " It's a big tank." He slides his feet closer to the hole to shine the flashlight in. He see something bright colored directly below the opening. Still unable to make out what it is he decides to lay on his stomach and look from the opening. What he sees looks like a ratty old yellow shirt. As his eyes adjust to the darkness of the hole and he realizes that his brother was wearing a yellow shirt. The boy jumps to his feet and runs back toward his yard screaming for his mother.

Ongoing Story II...

The loud speaker overhead crackles to life with a woman's voice announcing that Flight 2398 departing for Seattle is now taking passengers with special needs. He looks at the ticket to confirm that 2398 is his flight. He walks closer to the gate to be towards the front of the line. He does this because in the back of his mind he doesn't want to leave and if he is passed the ticket lady then it would be harder to turn around. He pauses, then steps out of line. He pats down his pockets. "Where the fuck.... My phone?" he thinks to himself. Frantic, he looks along his path away from the ticket gate scanning the floor. "Son of a bitch....." He goes back to the chair in which he sat looking at the other flights arriving and departing. No cell phone.

He finds a airport employer and asks if there is a customer service counter with a lost and found. The man says, "Ground level near the baggage claim." then points which direction he is to go. He scurries away at a fast pace but not running. He passes a few airport shops frantically looking for the baggage claim area. He looks at his watch and sees he has 15 minutes to board his plane. He passes the baggage claim and steps to the counter. Behind the counter, a lady in her mid 40's is talking on the phone. The man patiently waits as he eavesdrops on her conversation realizing that it's a personal call not a business call. The man dings the bell next to the computer.

She looks up and says "Give me a minute, hun."

He looks down at his watch again, 10 minutes. He looks up and tells the lady, "I don't have a minute to give you"

She looks at him with distain and says, "I'll help you in a moment."

He asks, "Has any body in the last half....." she interupts him, "I will be right with you in a moment!"

Over the intercom, "Final boarding for 2398 non stop to Seattle. "He interject, " Lady? That's my goddamn flight are you going to help me? Is there anybody else here that can help me?

The lady stares at him for 3 seconds then tells the person she is on the phone with to "Hold on.... What do you need sir?"

"Has anybody turned in a missing cell phone?' he asks.

She walks to the end of the counter, grabs a box filled with cell phones and says, "You'll have to look through here."

He brushes the lot of cell phones aside looking for his. Nothing.

"Fuck it!, he thinks to himself. Turns and runs to his gate. While running he remembers what was on his phone. Pictures from the last day with his daughter.

"Goddamn it!" he thinks.

As he nears the gate he notices the plane is moving away from the gate and the boarding door is shut.

"Stop! That's my flight!" he yells.

The gate person says that stopping the plane is impossible.

"Son of a bitch." he mumbles.

He hurries to the window to see the tail of the plane headed to the runway. He slumps in the chair. Out of his jacket pocket drops his cell phone. He looks down at the phone and sighs.

Just as he puts his hands over his face he hears a man say, "I think that plane is turning onto the runway." He looks up at the plane he was supposed to be on turning to line for takeoff. Out of the corner of his eye he see another passenger jet landing on the same runway from behind. He hears the engines of the landing plane whistle as they are pushed to full throttle. But the pilots attempts to avoid the plane on the ground are futile. The bottom om the landing plane smashes into the forward compartment of the plane on the ground. A huge fireball warms his face as the sound of twisting metal and the explosion rattle the windows in front of him.

"Holy God.... " he thinks.

He sits back into his seat as the sound of screaming people echo in his head.

Ongoing Story....

He looks at the paper ticket in his hand thinking how his life took this turn. A simple man by demeanor but true to his beliefs. He never intended going back to where he was raised. He sees it as a failure but given the circumstances he couldn't bear to remember his former life. A family man for 7 years now alone preparing to board a plane to start over some place other than here. The ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach isn't nervousness but guilt and sadness as if he's leaving them in the middle of nowhere and simply driving away.

This day wasn't a planned event nor a welcome one. But if he wants to keep his sanity and his life he knows he has to board that plane. His flight is scheduled to depart at 2:37 p.m., he slides his draped coat toward his elbow to check his watch. "1:30.. the plane should be boarding soon." he thinks pondering whether to grab a quick bit before the 5 hour flight. His stomach in knots he rethinks any food. He sits in an end chair and stares out the large pane of glass watching the other flights come and go thinking of how this could of happened to him.

Just 8 months ago he was content with his life. A beautiful wife and a 6 year old daughter in the first grade. He thinks back at his family feeling the sorrow well up in his face. A proud man who was told by his father that crying in public showed weakness and he should never do it. He tries to maintain composure but the emotions are stronger than his will to stop them. He drops his head as if he is a scolded child not wanting anybody to look his direction to wonder what his problem is. He grabs the magazine he was going to read and puts it near his face as the tears well in his eyes " Why me?' he thinks to himself. "There are other people more deserving of this but it chooses me..." He wipes the tears away with his coat, looking in both directions to see if anybody has noticed him. Nobody does.