A Year of Change

After working during the day, we left around 3:30 for Red Rocks for the Bocelli concert. Traffic up Vail Pass, due to construction, was so bad, it took us an extra 45 minutes to get to Marty’s where we met up with Marty and Mel, and jumped in one truck to head down.

Chris, my AEG concert guy, hooked me up with VIP parking, so that helped. We were so late we parked a little down the hill and walked to the VIP parking lot. After the attendant checked her list and found my name, she called a van to come get us and take us up to the backstage door. I asked a guy from the tour in the van with us, to let Pete know I was here. A few minutes later he called me and asked how many were with me and I told him 4 total and he said he’d be right out.

Pete came out and brought me 4 backstage passes, and we all walked on in. Backstage at Red Rocks an iconic, almost mystical place. I’ve been backstage at shows all over the Country and this place is just special. Most people don’t know of the huge complex underneath the stage. Red Rocks has been around more than 100 years and people like the Beatles played there in 1966. Lots of people were shuffling around getting ready for the 8:20pm start. I asked Pete when the show ended so we could cut out 5 minutes ahead of the crowd. He told me 10:20 sharp.

Pete called Chris, my new AEG buddy who came to see me to say hi. He’s off to Mexico City this morning for two Elton John shows. He invited us six weeks ago, but we can’t go. He told me to let him know of any shows we want and of course, he’d hook me up. Chris is my guy that got us Garth Brooks tickets. We hung out visiting and grabbed some water from the tour catering room and headed up to the stage. They have a whole commercial kitchen and dining area underneath the stage for the crew and performers. The food was amazing, but I didn’t eat anything. On the way up to the stage, we ran into Veroncia, Andrea’s wife, who Lori and I have known since 2010. We said a quick hi as she was with some people and headed up to see where our seats were, and what was going on. The sun was still up at 7:30pm and it was beautiful. It brought back tons of memories of concerts I went to like Jethro Tull in 1971 where there were huge riots. I was 15 then so that’s like almost 55 years ago!

Here’s Lori, Marty and Mel on the stage before the show.

We made it to our seats and right before the show started, Jared, my buddy, the ENT doc/surgeon, showed up with his 12-year-old daughter Anderson. They love Bocelli and this is the second show we’ve taken Jared too. His daughter is into musical theater so she loved the show. Her dad, and his partner, who couldn’t come, are both obviously men so she really enjoyed hanging out with Lori. She’s a really sweet, together kid who had a blast. I gave her my backstage pass and she was over the moon.

The show was great and we stayed right until 5 minutes after 10 and then were up and out before the crowd who left 10 minutes later. We were in the truck and on the road and back in Silverthorne at Marty’s in a record 65 minutes. Lori and I then jumped in our truck and headed home arriving at 12:30 am sharp. Ten minutes later we were in bed for about 5 or 6 hours sleep. We’re wiped out but had a great time. Pete texted me this morning saying great to see me and thanks for making the time. That’s funny as he’s the one that made the time for me! He’s a great guy and really good friend of mine for 18 years now. We did a lot of shit and shows together over the years, and worked through a ton of issues taking care of Andrea and Veronica and had lots of great times. We always stay in touch as we’re a lot alike. I forgot to get a pic of Pete and me but we’re going to hang out next year after he wraps the current tour in February in Florida. We might fly down for the last show in Ft. Lauderdale, we’ll see. He’s already on the plane to New York this morning.

That’s it, time to get moving. We have to get to the gym. Ty works at 10. Jag’s doing well. Enjoy the day and God Bless.

Yesterday the Broncos looked like the Broncos. It took us a half or so to get going, but then we looked like we should look. Thankfully we won as our first six games are brutal. Ty had fun although one of his friends drank too much and ended up leaving halfway through the game. I told Ty, don’t take him to any more games and Ty said, “yea, I’m not hanging out with him for a while”. Good for Ty.

Meanwhile Lori worked her little butt off all day yesterday cleaning and cooking and putting up all the Halloween decorations outside. Mark came over a little before halftime and watched the game with me.

Today at 4, we’re off to Red Rocks for the Bocelli concert. It’ll be good to see Pete, my good friend who is Andrea’s personal body guard, handler, whatever you want to call him. I’ve known Pete since 2011. We’re going a bit early so we can hang out and go to some gathering backstage. The concert starts at 8 pm (wish it was a matinee, ha) so it’ll be a late night. At least the weather is supposed to be good.

7am now, time to get moving. Have a great day, God Bless.

Here’s a few pics,

Jag and his buds at the CU game in Illinois in the rain!

Ty at the game with Jude

Pre-game

Yesterday didn’t go well for the Buffs but Jag and his friends had a great time. This morning Ty is headed down for the Broncos home opener. He’ll be tailgating with the guys before the game. Looks like the rain will hold off until after the game. We need a win after last week so Go Broncos!

Yesterday we had some good rain up here again. Lori went to Walmart to buy some more skeletons for the house for Halloween. She puts them climbing up the stone on the outside of the house. Think we’ll be putting them up today.

We ran to Costco after the gym. We received our annual 2% rebate back which this year was $633 bucks. Costco gives you the change back in cash after you check out so I ended up pocketing $450 bucks, cha ching.

Looks like some snow up top on the high peaks. We need it this year. The Super El Nino, that is forecasted, has us right on the edge of either having a good snow year, or a not so good year. No way to tell.

Lori made popovers yesterday morning, yum, and then tortilla soup for dinner. She’s such a good cook. Ty’s up getting ready to head out now. I need to help him load up for the game. He has his tent, grill, chairs and all the food. I love that he goes and does it up right. Jag is going to the Raiders game the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Season tickets are more expensive these days but to me, it’s well worth it as Bronco games make memories that last for a lifetime. I vividly remember games I went to over 40 years ago like they were yesterday.

I’m having a new bumper and light bar put on the War Wagon. As you get older it’s hard to see as well at night so after market lights help a lot, plus they make Subaru’s get out of the way! They should go on in a couple weeks or so. I also need to order up snow tires for Lori’s Porsche. Ty truck needs new tires too, ugh.

I’d like to clean my closet today and still need to do more in the basement. I could spend the entire week purging and organizing around here and barely put a dent in things.

Time to help Ty load up. Have a great day, Go Broncos and God Bless.

I started to hear the thunder around 4am or so. At 5:30 the downpour started. Lori jumped up to shut the window and asked me to get a towel as water was coming in like someone put a hose through the window. I ran upstairs to make sure Ty’s windows were shut. Thankfully they were. It was a good storm that started out like someone poured a giant bucket of water over the neighborhood. It’s more like a steady normal rain now at 6:20am. It’s officially time to break out our boots, coats and cowboy hats.

Ty’s getting ready for work, and we’ll go to the gym. Lori has a fire going right now in the living room. Jag and his friends are having fun. They’re taking the train up to Evanston where Northwestern University is. It’s a night game and I think this is the last game in the old stadium which it says, only holds something like 12,000 people. We’re the underdog but that’s ok. One of his friends brought CU ponchos for everyone as they’re supposed to have thunderstorms during the game, fun!

There’s a small chance of rain tomorrow for the Bronco game. Ty might go down tonight after work. Looks like the 70’s all next week. We have Andrea Bocelli on Monday at Red Rocks. Right now it looks clear but we’ll for sure take rain gear.

That’s it, here are some pics from Chicago. Enjoy your Saturday, God Bless.

Made it to Denver by 11:30 and was headed home by 1. The new truck, or the War Wagon, as it’s now known, is great! The suspension is a huge upgrade from my previous truck and so are the seats. This truck is Chevy’s top of the line off road beast, so it’s equipped with skid plates, the aforementioned high-end suspension, better seats and a bunch of other stuff not found on any other model. My dealer had ordered one with this upgraded color that is called Cyprus Grey but is actually more like a cross between grey and British Racing Green. I love it as I’ve never seen one anywhere else. Supposedly they made this color for a limited time and now no longer make it.

I have an aftermarket bumper and light bar that’ll go on in a week or so from Kyle up in Boulder. Then we’ll be set.

We’re all up early as Lori has a research patient going into surgery and Ty has to pick something up on the way to work. I’ll go to the gym and then have some breakfast with Ty.

Jag’s friends arrived last night. I think he took the day off today. Good rain up here but it’s warmer than you’d think for mid-September. We should have snow up on the peaks but not much is there. We really need snow this year.

Time to get moving, have a great day, be safe and God Bless.

That time of year. With my truck at 25,000 miles, it’s time to swap it for another truck. Think of us like a car rental company. Whenever their vehicles get to 15,000 miles or so, they swap them for new ones. When you put a lot of miles on your vehicles, this is what you should do. In the end, with the dealer incentives and rebates, I pretty much get the same truck (this time a nicer model), same year, with zero miles instead of 25,000 miles, all for $3,000. It’s a no brainer as I also get the tax benefit. I thought of going to gas with diesel being so expensive but just can’t do it. Diesels have better mileage, run longer and hold their value, whereas gas vehicles drop in value like a rock. I should be in and out of the dealer in 30 minutes as I’m like a commercial customer and all my stuff is on file.

Feds raised interest rates yesterday. Is what it is. Rates are never going back to zero where they once were. 4 or 5% on a car loan or 6% on a house is actually a good deal. Remember in the 1970’s, interest rates were 18-20% on home loans! The economy and consumer spending is actually doing well. When you have the high oil prices, like now, the decision to raise rates was necessary.

Ty’s off to work. Lori works from home today and Jag’s six friends from college arrive tonight for the weekend. It’s 5 guys and one girl, and they’re all staying at Jag’s and going to the CU Northwestern game Saturday night. Should be a fun weekend for all of them.

Time to go to the gym before I head to Denver to pick up the new truck. Have a great day, GB.

Off to Denver this morning for a meeting on the knife sharpener company. It’s really taking off, finally. Got our first checks yesterday which was nice. These days, anything helps!

I should be at Toby’s around 9 in the morning and out of Denver a little after 12 noon. I have to pick up one of my guitars in Old Town Arvada where it was having some work done.

Ty works at 7 and Lori works around 8. Kay, one of my Partners, headed out to Italy last night for a month. I had a brutal day of calls but in the end, put together a deal that makes the Company a million dollars. The beautiful thing was, all I did was change from one supplier to another, and the new one is giving me a million dollars for the right to sell me product for the next 5 years. They’re basically paying me to buy product from them. That’s how crazy things are these days, and how bad people need business. They’ll get $10 million in business from me for a huge account in Texas and will probably make around 4 million in the end, so it’s a good deal for them too.

Nice and cool up here with rain every day. Time to get moving, have a great hump day, God Bless.

Today most of us that work, have to pay more taxes. Colorado is now #5 in having the highest (worst), taxes with only California, Illinois, New York and Washington State ahead of us, nice. We have to get out of here, for sure before the next Presidential election.

Ugly loss last night for the Broncos. It was just one of those games. Ty drove down to Denver to watch it with his buddies but left to drive home before it was over.

I have calls at 9:30, 10 and 11, that are scheduled. The rest of the day will be filled up with more calls after that. Ty works at 8.

Ryan, my dentist, put my new crown on yesterday. He also has this new polish machine that sprays glycine on your teeth to clean them. It’s like sandblasting your teeth. It’s crazy how well it works. Your teeth turn white instantly. Lori and Ty both want it.

Cooler temps up here. Rain all week. About time, bring it on. God Bless.

We landed around 8:30am and were home by noon. We did stop for groceries in Golden at Whole Foods. Man were we tired. Ty cleaned up well for us which is always nice. Harley was of course excited to see us. I think we went to sleep around 7 and woke up at 5:30 this morning.

It was a great trip but we were on the go the whole trip. We managed to get a lot done which is good. Today I have a crown put on my broken tooth at 8:50am, need to find time to get to the gym and probably should go to the dump, as Ty forgot to put the trash out. Ty is off today so maybe I’ll get him to go to the dump with me.

Big game tonight with the Broncos playing the Chiefs. It starts at 7:30 which is 8:30 in KC, which is late for a game. Looks like rain coming in tonight and there could even be a dusting of snow up on top of the peaks. Highs will be in the 70’s all week. It’s in the 40’s outside right now. The seasons are changing.

Almost 6am now, time to get going. Have a great day, be well and God Bless.

We had a great day yesterday doing some shopping, eating and watching CU win! Ava landed around 1pm and was over at Jag’s by 3. We had dinner reservations at 4:45 and were at Mon Ami Gabi until around 6:45. Ava’s birthday is today! Happy Birthday Ava!

In the morning we had met Tom, the Managing Director of Jagger’s Company for coffee. When Jag was getting coffee, Tom asked me if Jagger had any brothers! He’s so impressed with Jag and is a great mentor for him. Tom was at Citigroup for 33 years, including the bad ones when Lehman Brothers went down. We hung out and talked for an hour or so about business and life.

We’re up early at 3:50am for a 4:45am pickup for a 7am flight. We should land around 8:30am in Denver and be home by 11ish.

Great time seeing Jagger and Ava. We got a lot done and his apartment is looking great. He has six friends coming in Thursday night for the CU vs. Northwestern game Saturday night. There’s also a CU Alumni party in Chicago this weekend. Ava has to go to Arkansas for work, so she’ll miss the game.

It’ll be good to get home as there’s no place like home. Chicago was beautiful and the weather was great. Of course, we only go to the good places in the city. That’s it, time to get moving as our driver will be here shortly.

Have a great Sunday and God Bless.