So Long Fort Collins (But Not Goodbye)

SO LONG, FORT COLLINS (BUT NOT GOOD-BYE)

This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever written, because it is regarding one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

Which, as you may have guessed from the title, is to leave Fort Collins.

Last week I finally made the final move down to Denver, to the Capitol Hill area.

Now, if you are a friend of mine in the Fort and this is news to you, you are not alone.

And if you are a friend of mine and you are offended that this is news to you, I can’t really hold it against you. It is pretty shitty of me to just do this without telling anyone.

All I can do is apologize across the board.

 Fort Collins, I will miss you as much as this kid will miss this goat. Seriously.

But, especially if you are a friend of mine, and one from the Fort, then you know I’ve been pretty much off the radar lately due to shows and life and a new relationship and etc. Meaning, I haven’t really been around all that much anyway, not like I used to be.

But you have to know that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.

This is a move I’ve been contemplating for a long time--at least a year, probably two, maybe more. And it’s a testament to all the people and places I’ve grown to love so much that it has taken me this long to pull the trigger. Especially because it is something that feels and long has felt like the right choice for me.

I’m not a person who says good-bye very well. I have faded away from my family, for like five or six years in that case (ask me sometime) and also from countless dating situations and friends--even cities. And that tendency, along with my reluctance to leave a place I love so much, is why I’ve been so neglectful of saying good-bye. I don't do this well. (Even though I’m not going that far, yo. I’ll be around.)

Aside from New Orleans, I have never connected with a town and its people like I have with Fort Collins. When I moved up there from Boulder, I thought I really didn’t like Colorado too much, just because Boulder people were such assholes. But the Fort turned my opinion around. It is such a warm place, so friendly and genuine that I adore introducing friends to every place I hang out. No one is disappointed when I do.

But not as much as these backpacks will miss each other.

My bar/restaurant family I will miss a great deal. I have had so much fun--so much that it is probably illegal, hah--with the ever-expanding circle of people that all stemmed from CooperSmith’s all those years ago. :) You guys know who you are. I hope I am still one of you.

And my OpenStage family truly means that much to me--family. You have helped me grow incalculably, not only as an actor, but also as a person.

All I can say is I love you.

All.

Truly. I would literally not be the person I am today without OpenStage. I sure as hell wouldn't be the actor I am, that's for certain. Not sure if you want credit for that or not, but I honestly thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you’ve given me.

But as the header on this says, ‘so long’ is not the same as ‘good-bye.’ We are not far from each other, Fort Collins. I am conveniently located very near the Fillmore and the Ogden, if anyone is coming down for a show and needs a place to crash.

And you know what I have discovered? They have bars in Denver!!! I KNOW! That’s some crazy shit isn’t it? I mean, they will never measure up to Smelliot’s, but then nothing ever will.

And I will certainly be up there a great deal for OpenStage shows and lots of other events--I’m thinking several drinks and several friends sometime soon might be in order?

Again my apologies for the back-asswards way I’m doing this. But, really, when you think about it, that’s kind of the way I do everything, isn’t it? Since you’re my friends I know you will forgive me for my sad lack of communication. All I can do is ask that you try to understand.

And I reiterate: I love you all very much.

Questions/comments/rantings are encouraged, here or in a more private setting--either way is fine.

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welcome to fort collins

this is the town where i live:

'Three men have been arrested and another is being investigated for what authorities say is their involvement in a meth lab operation uncovered Wednesday morning by the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force at an apartment complex in south Fort Collins.'

I was writing yesterday and wondering why there was a helicopter circling past every few minutes. Turns out there was a meth lab raid a couple miles away. Awesome.

There's a really cool book about meth that i just started but which looks really promising called 'Methland,' by a guy named Nick Reding. I heard an interview with him on NPR last week and ordered the book immediately. He not only talks about the tragedy of the dream of middle america going down the meth toilet, he points out that most reporting on meth misses the real issue.



While we'll talk about the 'scourge of drugs' and the danger to children, and the chemical contamination, Reding points out that meth is essentially an economic phenomenon: without the collapse of industry and manufacturing in middle america, and the subsequent collapse of wages, there would be no explosion of meth use and manufacture. Our economic policies created this monster, the same policies that enrich the wealthy and strip the poor and middle class of any semblance of power over their own lives.

One thing Reding can't explain is why meth guys think a neck tattoo is a) a good idea, or b) not a dead giveaway. Might as well tattoo 'I'm a meth dealer!' across your face.

we're number two! we're number two!

CNN/Money posted my comment about their piece on the best places to live in America!
HA! The fools!!!
agree? disagree?