67 years ago. I've lived other places, but have always come back. It ain't perfect, but it's home. The Springs area is, well, weird. Didn't used to be. Up north, where I am, they haven't allowed anybody but republicans on the county commission for over twenty years. We were at the forefront of that idiotic 51st state movement, championed by the commishes, especially the one who told a newspaper that "one-party rule" is the only way to govern (not that she could point to any beneficent examples in history to prove her point); she also defended secession because, as she repeatedly stated in a nationally broadcast interview, the constitution gives the right to "suck=seed" (that's how she pronounces it). We also gave the state Ken Buck. Ew. We are also home to Dudley Brown, who deliberately staged a gun rights rally across the street from the park where the victims of the Aurora shooting were being memorialized. Again, ew.
If you've seen a fracking map of the state, Weld County looks like a huge red rash with a shrinking open space (Greeley) in the center; that space is shrinking with fracking wells now allowed in city limits, adding to the 21thousand wells in the rest of the county. City council and county commission have become increasingly adept at ignoring citizens and health professionals when it comes to fracking. My own health has suffered, and my lung doctor has been pointedly dismissed when taking his concerns to public meetings.
So why do I stay? Because it's home. There's something in me that just demands that I stay and do my best in this fight, meager though my efforts might be. They keep trying to take it from those of us who love it, so there must be something of value here, right? I'll grant you, sometimes it's beyond frustrating. But it's also invigorating to grasp the small victories here and there -- like in the recent election wherein, for the first time in quite a while, we got a Democrat on the city council; she's young, Hispanic, and gay, and you can see their jaw muscles cramping when they have to smile and welcome her. Hah!
Last year the Greeley Tribune published an article about voter demographics here. Republicans hold 38%, the balance is split between Democrats and unaffiliated voters; the Trib's headline read "Republicans Dominate". I took umbrage at that, and created a purple bumper sticker that says "62%". When I'm asked about it I explain that 62% of our voters are NOT republican; I get snarled at, but I also get smiled at. I also made a sticker for a candidate who was running against a flag draped tea partier who sported a rhinestone cross on his Stetson; it was a rough ballot with our guy versus Elmer Gantry. Our guy won, not because of that sticker by any means, but it felt good to lob that message. We each do what we can.
Besides, I get to hang out with some of the best people in the whole state, and wouldn't you know they're Democrats!
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