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Just wanted to share another perspective of Colfax. I belong to a group for parents of children with disabilities (my oldest son has autism). Another parent posted this story online and I got her permission to share it. I changed her name and that of her son at her request.
Thought I’d share a little with you tonight.
Josh (my 20 year old who lives on his own—with a ton of support I might
add) wanted to get a hair cut. He asked me if I would meet him at St. Joe’s
hospital where he volunteers and walk with him to Floyds on Colfax.
So I walked over and met him and we walked over together.
Well by the time we were done, it was after 4 and getting colder and dusky.
The Colfax bus, the 15, is always crowded during rush hour which stresses
him so we decided to just walk home—well, me walking and him driving his
power chair. It wasn’t too cold yet and it was pleasant getting to listen to
him talk about his day and what was on hi mind.
But the icy patches were terrible and he kept slipping and sliding and then
when we’d try to cross the alley’s, the ice dams were awful.
He got stuck a couple of times and I have to tell you, the various men on
the street—working guys, street guys, bums as well as old retired guys and a
few guys in suits—they were just awesome. Each time he got stuck some guy
would rush over and say here, let me help. We’d say thanks and they’d shrug
and go on their way.
Now I’m not naïve. I’m an optimistic realist. I know there are rotten people
out there. In fact for all I know the guys who helped us today might be
rotten to someone else. But again I am just dumbstruck at how over all,
there are so many good folks out there.
I let my kids take risks, always have and I can’t say they’ve never been
taken advantage of. Both have lost their wallets—either through negligence
or pick pockets—but over all more people have been kind and helpful than
not.
And I think back to the picture we have, the video of Josh trying to get
into his high school when the Song of Our Children documentary team was
filming him. Big suburban high school, in a well to do part of town. And
kids and adults alike just kept going in and no one offered to hold the door
open for him as he struggled to open it. And that was a community that knew
him.
Yet here in the city, amidst a sea of strangers, people consistently reach
out to help when it’s obviously called for.
I’m glad I’m here.
Amanda Johnson
Denver
Just wanted to share another perspective of Colfax. I belong to a group for parents of children with disabilities (my oldest son has autism). Another parent posted this story online and I got her permission to share it. I changed her name and that of her son at her request.
Thought I’d share a little with you tonight.
Josh (my 20 year old who lives on his own—with a ton of support I might
add) wanted to get a hair cut. He asked me if I would meet him at St. Joe’s
hospital where he volunteers and walk with him to Floyds on Colfax.
So I walked over and met him and we walked over together.
Well by the time we were done, it was after 4 and getting colder and dusky.
The Colfax bus, the 15, is always crowded during rush hour which stresses
him so we decided to just walk home—well, me walking and him driving his
power chair. It wasn’t too cold yet and it was pleasant getting to listen to
him talk about his day and what was on hi mind.
But the icy patches were terrible and he kept slipping and sliding and then
when we’d try to cross the alley’s, the ice dams were awful.
He got stuck a couple of times and I have to tell you, the various men on
the street—working guys, street guys, bums as well as old retired guys and a
few guys in suits—they were just awesome. Each time he got stuck some guy
would rush over and say here, let me help. We’d say thanks and they’d shrug
and go on their way.
Now I’m not naïve. I’m an optimistic realist. I know there are rotten people
out there. In fact for all I know the guys who helped us today might be
rotten to someone else. But again I am just dumbstruck at how over all,
there are so many good folks out there.
I let my kids take risks, always have and I can’t say they’ve never been
taken advantage of. Both have lost their wallets—either through negligence
or pick pockets—but over all more people have been kind and helpful than
not.
And I think back to the picture we have, the video of Josh trying to get
into his high school when the Song of Our Children documentary team was
filming him. Big suburban high school, in a well to do part of town. And
kids and adults alike just kept going in and no one offered to hold the door
open for him as he struggled to open it. And that was a community that knew
him.
Yet here in the city, amidst a sea of strangers, people consistently reach
out to help when it’s obviously called for.
I’m glad I’m here.
Amanda Johnson
Denver
Thank You for saying what should be said. I am disabled and I have many problems. Consistently, I have been helped by people on the street, on buses that one would associate with "dangerous", "drunk", "insane", "dirty" people.
Yet, on the express buses where most of the passengers are highly paid office workers rushing back and forth to their jobs downtown--I have been treated with distain and hostility; I got the ignore look, the "go away look", "you make me sick look". Yet, I may be the most intelligent person on the bus. There is one advantage, I can usually have a seat alone---"especially when I start muttering to myself and drolling down my chin"--it always works. but never on the common man's bus--I am just one of the guys.
I have written about this issue often on this forum, no comments, maybe because it is believed to be another exaggerated fiction from my muses.
Be careful and be nice to me, I may live content (verb, adjective) "living satisfied"; but I do not remain quiet, as in live content (adjective, noun) "containing an explosive force". See my moniker has two different meanings.
Be careful and be nice to me, I may live content (verb, adjective) "living satisfied"; but I do not remain quiet, as in live content (adjective, noun) "containing an explosive force". See my moniker has two different meanings.
LIVECONTENT
Really, you do not remain quiet... I would have never guessed. Actually, when I first joined and read the first few of your posts, I thought of livecontent as the second meaning, "live wire", type of thing. Only after reading a few more did the "living satisfied" part of it become apparent. I love the way you express yourself, no matter which meaning you are embodying at any given time.
Really, you do not remain quiet... I would have never guessed. Actually, when I first joined and read the first few of your posts, I thought of livecontent as the second meaning, "live wire", type of thing. Only after reading a few more did the "living satisfied" part of it become apparent. I love the way you express yourself, no matter which meaning you are embodying at any given time.
Thank you for your kind words and thank you for you chronicling of my "absurds" as expressed as a noun, if such a noun exist. "The chronicle of the absurds", sound like a play off Broadway--an idea. Really when I coined the livecontent--I was meaning initially "being satisfied" but immediately I saw the other connotation. "live wire" is a good interpretation.
However, back on the subject that you brought up. It is unfortunate our perceptions of people who have less advantages, are not born "pretty", and through adversities acquires scares and handicaps.
livecontent or LIVECONTENT
or
liveLIVE
or
LIVElive
or
liveCONTENT
or
CONTENTlive
or
contentLIVE
or
LIVEcontent
or
contentCONTENT
or
CONTENTcontent
Did I cover all the permutations, I forgot the formula; evolution has not. There are yet many permutations of "being" because we do not know, and have not seen all the variables. Differences and handicaps may be the evolution of the "becoming" to another "being".
I agree the area along Colorado Blvd. from basically Hampden to Colfax has lots of nice, reasonably priced apartment and its a very clean area close to downtown and suburban amenities. About 5 miles from downtown but the traffic on the sidestreets in Denver isnt bad at all, its the interstates at the rush-hours where the traffic is fairly bad (by Colorado and a majority of the nations standards).
Also, Broadway to Downing from about 12th to Alameda is very close downtown, lots of character in that area, tons and tons of retail, restaurants and some movie theatres in that area and very close to downtown. Also, the area is very, very clean and well-kept and has a real neighborhoody feel with very nice apartment buildings.
Colfax is over-rated as a bad spot. Its really not a bad street and I have no idea why it has such a bad reputation. Maybe its nostalgia from years ago. But Colfax going through most of Denver is fairly clean, parts of it are a bit gritty but the grit is what gives Colfax its character.
Colfax is just lots, lots and lots of retail with some apartment buildings and motels and hotels. Its one of my favorite streets in-fact it isnt some bland characterless street with no pedestrians that is neatly manicured like alot of Metro Denver. I remember the good old days (several years ago) taking the 15 East Colfax from Downtown to the Aurora Mall and back sometimes and its interesting the people and characters you see along Colfax.
well i used to hang alot on east colfax and during the day is alright but at night is the worst. Last year i went to my old homies apartment complex and as we were heading out there was a gun shoot out with police and a guy who was runnin from them.
I'm new to colorado and we live off of Colfax and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. We even live east of Colorado Blvd a mile or so. I know Colfax has it's bad areas, but most of that is old folk lure. It's totally fine, I'll walk downtown, to the stores and feel safe. How can an area with 2 million+ priced homes be bad. I live in South Park Hill and I'm renting a place right now. I just don't get it. Sometimes when i say where I live people ask all concerned "ohhhhh do you feel safe" and other times they say "WOW, that's an awsome neighborhood" Part of what makes colfax colfax is that not everyone is the same. We're a mixed bunch from Doctors to Homeless, but as far as crime goes, it's actually pretty safe. Colfax looks a bit gritty, but it's a great place to live. Not right for everyone, but I love it. Then again living in the suburbs where every house and everyone looks the same makes me break out in hives. It's called diversity people, there's nothing to be afraid of.
I agree. Colfax is a long street, 26 miles in length, extending from Golden all the way to East Aurora. Even in the bad old days, actual areas of vice was really limited to only small subsections of a very long street. Much of the fear over "Colfax" is a natural reaction of people genuinely afraid of crime -- feeling that if they can just avoid Colfax, they won't have to live in fear.
That said, there ARE some sections of Colfax that are NOT good areas to live, mainly around the Denver/Aurora border. The new hospitals will help bring some change along there, but for now, there is a very real threat of violence to the residents who live along that area, especially at night. There's just no way around that. Sure, the victims of such crimes are usually looking for trouble anyway, but it's not somewhere that you want to be around late at night if you don't have to be; random stuff happens.
I heard Goodfriends is closing? Sad. But they had a good long run, I guess.
Annie's will be moving in there because a high-rise is going in at Annie's Cafe?
When Obi-Wan Kenobi said "You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy", he was referring to Colfax, not Mos Eisley.
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but never on the common man's bus--I am just one of the guys.
or LIVECONTENT
