don's mixed drinks, yummy thai food, and book learnin'

i have returned from the big mad city (that's roberto's phrase), and it was a gas gas gas.

it all started on friday night, when we began our evening at falling rock, the best damn beer bar anywhere. they have over 200 beers total, and over 70 on tap at any one time. that's right folks. 70 beers on tap.

the evening devolved from there, but in a good way. it seems to me that whenever you finish your night at the infamous don's mixed drinks, you're just asking for it. don's was a fantastic time - good friends to talk to, drinks so stiff they had rigar mortis, and the rocking good time group known as the denver guerrilla queers. if you're unfamiliar with this group, it exists in several big cities throughout the nation, and its mission is simple: a group of gay folks "invade" what has traditionally been known as a straight bar, and with a critical mass turn that straight bar into a gay bar for the night. we heteros were in the minority, and it was hilarious! the guerrilla queers were a lot of fun. they passed out pink flamingo diddly boppers for everyone to wear, and they brought along some crazy chick (she was definitely a woman, and not a drag queen) who did a high energy lip sync of "girls just want to have fun" for our table. the... whole... song.

that night ended with jenn clapping out a cheerleader style chant for pepperoni pizza, and snookum and i doing the running man in the middle of 6th avenue trying to hail a cab. and that's what i remeber.

the rest of the weekend was more or less a recovery from that night, with lots of record stores visited and an evening at our favorite thai place, basil thai - snow outside, teakwood tables, low lighting, warm sake and the best damn coconut curry anywhere. so good.

to end this post, i'd like to share the first book review i just finished for colorado libraries, the professional journal for the colorado association of libraries. it'll be in the winter issue.

Decker, Peter R. The Utes Must Go: American Expansion and the Removal of a People. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 2004. 235 pages. ISBN 1-55591-465-9, paper, $17.95.

In discussing his new book about the removal of the Ute people from Colorado, Peter Decker states the Indians were given the following choice: “Go peacefully or be eradicated. No other options were considered.” This policy of extermination or removal, then so prevalent at every level of society and government, found its genesis in manifest destiny – that combination of divine white might and unabashed greed.

How does one begin to reconcile the true history of this state and this nation with what is taught in grade school textbooks? Peter Decker’s new book, The Ute Must Go: American Expansion and the Removal of a People, is an excellent place to start. In it, Decker examines the social, political and military machinations responsible for the events that led to the eventual forced removal of the Utes from their homelands. Of particular interest are the explosive and shockingly biased newspaper editorials of the day between manifest westerners, and their “eastern sentimentalist” opponents calling for a more moderate handling of Indian affairs. Also interesting are the frenzied telegraphs between panicked, power-hungry Colorado politicians and their more levelheaded counterparts back east. These communications cast a dark light on the historical Colorado leaders whose names adorn our counties, towns and streets – Teller, Sherman, Gilpin, and Pitkin to name a few. All of this back-story leads to a thorough examination of the Milk Creek Massacre: its major players, the events leading up to it, and its appalling aftermath for the Ute people.

The Utes Must Go is a book that provides context, which allows for a better understanding of the relationships between the Utes and the whites, Colorado and the East, and Democrats and Republicans of the era. It also illustrates how Manifest Destiny pervaded and poisoned all of these associations, allowing for blatantly racist behavior and abominable government Indian policy. Superbly researched, it is a book well worth reading, and one that any Colorado library should have on its shelves.

Peter Decker was a professor of history and public policy at Duke University before becoming a western rancher in Ridgway, Colorado. He serves as the chair of the board of trustees for Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.