thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Keeler: John Elway’s 2020 Broncos draft should be guided by two words: Drew Lock

Look , we can make draft week as complicated as you like , if that floats your boat .
Lord knows we ’ ve got the time .
But if you ’ re John Elway , the beauty of last spring is that it makes the 2020 NFL draft refreshingly simple .
After every offer , every phone call , every scenario , every hypothetical , you ask yourself the same darn question : Does this help Drew Lock ?
If the answer is yes , you pull the trigger .
If not , you move the heck on .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ got your quarterback situation squared away , I think that you ’ re miles ahead , ” offered former NFL scout Dan Shonka , now the general manager at Ourlads scouting service .
“ And then you build around that quarterback.
” For all the net gains of free agency , the holes are obvious .
A left tackle who can push Garett Bolles , if not supplant him .
A right tackle who can stay on the field .
An interior masher who complements Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow .
“ Offensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Austin Gayle , associate director of content with Pro Football Focus , “ if one of the big four ( prospects ) are there.
” You need a cornerback to serve as insurance for Bryce Callahan and a partner for A.J .
Bouye .
Not a developmental guy .
A starter .
Right now .
If there ’ s an inside linebacker with the wheels to help on passing downs , that fits , too .
“ Maybe Isaiah Simmons , ” Gayle said .
“ I could see Vic Fangio falling in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get stuck , if the brain cramps , if you hit a fork in the road , keep it simple .
Go back to the question .
Does this help Drew Lock ?
“ Well , I think they lucked out so far , ” Shonka said of No .
3 .
“ Give Lock some time .
That ’ s what he is — he ’ s a streaky guy .
“ He ended up finishing the season strong .
This next ( season ) , we ’ ll see what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that end , yeah , you need a starting wideout , too .
Although this is a draft class stuffed with good ones , with potential No .
2s rolling well into the second round .
You ’ ll nab a better wide receiver with pick No .
46 than you will a tackle .
When the smart NFL front offices leak that they ’ re zigging , they zag .
The closer we get to the big Zoom call , the thicker the smoke .
So maybe , you tell yourself , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a trade up in the first round to grab Jeudy , the Alabama wideout , is a classic run fake .
Get the defense flowing left to set up a bootleg to the right .
Then again , maybe not .
“ I ’ m buying it , ” Gayle said .
“ Only because I ’ ve been hearing that Broncos want a wide receiver since January .
It ’ s not news that Denver wants to add a receiver early in this draft .
“ I could see them wanting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make sure they get Henry Ruggs III or Jerry Jeudy.
” The Raiders have pick No .
12 on Thursday night .
The Broncos are sitting at No .
15 , the median of that miserable 7-9 No Man ’ s Land .
“ ( Raiders coach Jon ) Gruden probably wants to get Ruggs , ” Shonka mused .
“ I worked with Jon for three years in Philadelphia .
He ’ ll say , ‘ Kansas City has Tyreek Hill , so we need a fast guy like that.
’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He would be a great fit for the Denver system .
If they want Jeudy , though , they ’ ll probably have to jump up to No .
8 or No .
9 to get him .
They ’ ve got to have a dance partner.
” They ’ ve got to answer the question .
“ I think you ’ ve got to protect ( Lock ) , ” Shonka said .
“ And you ’ ve got to get some weapons to go along with him to help him out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about what ’ s going on in the backfield in Denver .
But they ’ re probably going to have to get some blockers up front.
” Jeudy can ’ t carry the Broncos to a Super Bowl if Lock ’ s on his back .
Or if No .
3 ’ s busy picking his teeth up off the turf , one bloody cuspid at a time .

Look, we can make draft week as complicated as you like, if that floats your boat. Lord knows we’ve got the time.
But if you’re John Elway, the beauty of last spring is that it makes the 2020 NFL draft refreshingly simple. After every offer, every phone call, every scenario, every hypothetical, you ask yourself the same darn question:
Does this help Drew Lock?
If the answer is yes, you pull the trigger.
If not, you move the heck on. Period.
“If you’ve got your quarterback situation squared away, I think that you’re miles ahead,” offered former NFL scout Dan Shonka, now the general manager at Ourlads scouting service. “And then you build around that quarterback.”
For all the net gains of free agency, the holes are obvious. A left tackle who can push Garett Bolles, if not supplant him. A right tackle who can stay on the field. An interior masher who complements Dalton Risner and Graham Glasgow.
“Offensive tackle would be smart,” countered Austin Gayle, associate director of content with Pro Football Focus, “if one of the big four (prospects) are there.”
You need a cornerback to serve as insurance for Bryce Callahan and a partner for A.J. Bouye. Not a developmental guy. A starter. Right now. If there’s an inside linebacker with the wheels to help on passing downs, that fits, too.
“Maybe Isaiah Simmons,” Gayle said. “I could see Vic Fangio falling in love with him.”
A 6-3 safety/linebacker hybrid who runs a 4.39 40? We’re smitten, too.
But if you get stuck, if the brain cramps, if you hit a fork in the road, keep it simple.
Go back to the question.
Does this help Drew Lock?
“Well, I think they lucked out so far,” Shonka said of No. 3. “Give Lock some time. That’s what he is — he’s a streaky guy.
“He ended up finishing the season strong. This next (season), we’ll see what he does for a full year.”
To that end, yeah, you need a starting wideout, too. Although this is a draft class stuffed with good ones, with potential No. 2s rolling well into the second round. You’ll nab a better wide receiver with pick No. 46 than you will a tackle.
When the smart NFL front offices leak that they’re zigging, they zag. The closer we get to the big Zoom call, the thicker the smoke.
So maybe, you tell yourself, Elway and the front office wonks teasing a trade up in the first round to grab Jeudy, the Alabama wideout, is a classic run fake. Get the defense flowing left to set up a bootleg to the right.
Then again, maybe not.
“I’m buying it,” Gayle said. “Only because I’ve been hearing that Broncos want a wide receiver since January. It’s not news that Denver wants to add a receiver early in this draft.
“I could see them wanting to get ahead of (the Raiders) to make sure they get Henry Ruggs III or Jerry Jeudy.”
The Raiders have pick No. 12 on Thursday night. The Broncos are sitting at No. 15, the median of that miserable 7-9 No Man’s Land.
“(Raiders coach Jon) Gruden probably wants to get Ruggs,” Shonka mused. “I worked with Jon for three years in Philadelphia. He’ll say, ‘Kansas City has Tyreek Hill, so we need a fast guy like that.’
“Jeudy is the best route-runner. He would be a great fit for the Denver system. If they want Jeudy, though, they’ll probably have to jump up to No. 8 or No. 9 to get him. They’ve got to have a dance partner.”
They’ve got to answer the question.
“I think you’ve got to protect (Lock),” Shonka said. “And you’ve got to get some weapons to go along with him to help him out. It looks like they feel good about what’s going on in the backfield in Denver. But they’re probably going to have to get some blockers up front.”
Jeudy can’t carry the Broncos to a Super Bowl if Lock’s on his back. Or if No. 3’s busy picking his teeth up off the turf, one bloody cuspid at a time.


thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Chatfield alum Dalton “Rambo” Keene projected as late-round pick out of Virginia Tech

Between the time Dalton Keene starred at Chatfield and now , when the tight end is projected as a late-round pick in this week ’ s NFL draft , he became “ Rambo.
” The nickname was bestowed on Keene by teammates at Virginia Tech , where his long locks , muscled frame and affinity for bruising play made him a fan favorite over three seasons with the Hokies .
“ He takes great pride in being a tough guy , ” Virginia Tech tight ends coach James Shibest said .
“ Everybody called him ‘ Rambo ’ because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he plays , how that weight room is important to him .
He ’ s gotten our whole sideline jacked up several times running over people — he ain ’ t looking to dodge anybody .
And , of course , he had the long hair too ( as a freshman and sophomore ) , so he really did look like a young Rambo.
” Keene , a four-year letterman at Chatfield who led the Chargers to the Class 4A semifinals as a senior in 2016 , had 21 receptions for 240 yards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Virginia Tech before declaring early for the draft .
“ The biggest thing I looked at was , if I went back another year , would that drastically improve my draft stock ?
” Keene said .
“ Without a huge increase in my stats — I had okay stats this year — I just felt like I was ready to make a run at this , and that my stock wouldn ’ t improve that much as a senior.
” But as Keene emphasized , his stats “ don ’ t tell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who captained Virginia Tech last year , Keene also showed versatility at H-back , out wide and in the backfield , and believes his football IQ shows up in his highlights .
“ There ’ s all the blocking and all the dirty work that I take a lot of pride in , and I believe that coaches see that on film , ” Keene said .
“ They see that I ’ m a tough player and I play hard every single play even when I don ’ t have the ball @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also asked to do a lot of different things at VT , and so I don ’ t think you can strictly project me as a Y or as a fullback ( in the NFL ) .
” The 6-foot-4 , 251-pounder is currently working out in his garage gym and catching footballs from his older brother , an ex-college baseball player , in order to stay in shape .
According to Shibest , Keene ’ s receiving ability has come a long way since his high school days , when he played @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Chargers .
“ He didn ’ t have really natural hands early , but he worked unbelievably hard at that and his route running , ” Shibest said .
“ Putting in the extra time after practice to work on those ball skills , and it showed up on game day — he only had one or two drops I can remember ( in three years ) .
” And while Keene vows to “ make the most of the opportunity ” with whatever team that drafts him — special teams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his mark early on — to those who saw him play at Chatfield , he ’ s already one of the greatest players to ever come out of the school .
Chargers head coach Bret McGaltin ranks Keene up there with LenDale White ( who attended CSHS for two years and went on to play for the Titans ) and Rams quarterback coach Zac Robinson ( ex-Oklahoma State star ) , and is optimistic about the 21-year-old ’ s chances of sticking around at the professional level .
“ I had a pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go for him when he left Chatfield , ” McGatlin said .
“ He already had natural ability , but he also had the work ethic , the character , all the intangibles you need to get to that high of a level .
As long as he stays healthy , he ’ s going to have a good NFL career.
” The Broncos , who have 10 picks in this year ’ s draft , were not one of the teams Keene officially met with .

Between the time Dalton Keene starred at Chatfield and now, when the tight end is projected as a late-round pick in this week’s NFL draft, he became “Rambo.”
The nickname was bestowed on Keene by teammates at Virginia Tech, where his long locks, muscled frame and affinity for bruising play made him a fan favorite over three seasons with the Hokies.
“He takes great pride in being a tough guy,” Virginia Tech tight ends coach James Shibest said. “Everybody called him ‘Rambo’ because of how his body looked, how physical he plays, how that weight room is important to him. He’s gotten our whole sideline jacked up several times running over people — he ain’t looking to dodge anybody. And, of course, he had the long hair too (as a freshman and sophomore), so he really did look like a young Rambo.”
Keene, a four-year letterman at Chatfield who led the Chargers to the Class 4A semifinals as a senior in 2016, had 21 receptions for 240 yards and five touchdowns as a junior for Virginia Tech before declaring early for the draft.
“The biggest thing I looked at was, if I went back another year, would that drastically improve my draft stock?” Keene said. “Without a huge increase in my stats — I had okay stats this year — I just felt like I was ready to make a run at this, and that my stock wouldn’t improve that much as a senior.”
But as Keene emphasized, his stats “don’t tell the whole story.”
An aggressive blocker who captained Virginia Tech last year, Keene also showed versatility at H-back, out wide and in the backfield, and believes his football IQ shows up in his highlights.
“There’s all the blocking and all the dirty work that I take a lot of pride in, and I believe that coaches see that on film,” Keene said. “They see that I’m a tough player and I play hard every single play even when I don’t have the ball in my hands. … I was also asked to do a lot of different things at VT, and so I don’t think you can strictly project me as a Y or as a fullback (in the NFL).”
The 6-foot-4, 251-pounder is currently working out in his garage gym and catching footballs from his older brother, an ex-college baseball player, in order to stay in shape. According to Shibest, Keene’s receiving ability has come a long way since his high school days, when he played linebacker, quarterback, H-back and tailback for the Chargers.
“He didn’t have really natural hands early, but he worked unbelievably hard at that and his route running,” Shibest said. “Putting in the extra time after practice to work on those ball skills, and it showed up on game day — he only had one or two drops I can remember (in three years).”
And while Keene vows to “make the most of the opportunity” with whatever team that drafts him — special teams will likely be where he can make his mark early on — to those who saw him play at Chatfield, he’s already one of the greatest players to ever come out of the school.
Chargers head coach Bret McGaltin ranks Keene up there with LenDale White (who attended CSHS for two years and went on to play for the Titans) and Rams quarterback coach Zac Robinson (ex-Oklahoma State star), and is optimistic about the 21-year-old’s chances of sticking around at the professional level.
“I had a pretty good idea this is how it would go for him when he left Chatfield,” McGatlin said. “He already had natural ability, but he also had the work ethic, the character, all the intangibles you need to get to that high of a level. As long as he stays healthy, he’s going to have a good NFL career.”
The Broncos, who have 10 picks in this year’s draft, were not one of the teams Keene officially met with.


thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Denver weather: A return to spring temperatures with rain showers in the city

Metro Denver residents face fair spring weather this week and mountain snow statewide — crucial for water supplies — was measuring slightly higher than normal for this time of year , though river basins in southern Colorado lag .
Federal data showed the statewide average snowpack at 104 % of the norm between 1981 and 2010 .
In the northern mountains , snow along headwaters of the South Platte , Yampa , White and Colorado rivers ranged from 115 % to 121 % of the norm , the U.S. Department of Agriculture snow survey data show .
The South Platte @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Denver and other western cities as well as food growers .
In Colorado ’ s central and southern mountains , snow in the Arkansas River Basin measured 95 % of the norm , and southwestern Colorado faced drier conditions with snowpack at 81 % along headwaters of the Rio Grande River , 94 % along the Gunnison River , and 89 % along the San Miguel , Dolores , Animas and San Juan rivers .
Big snow ’ s still possible , but probably not this week , according National Weather Service forecasters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will see sunny blue skies — and less air pollution than usual — with possible afternoon rain showers , highs around 60 degrees and lows above freezing , weather service meteorologist Robert Koopmeiners said .
On Thursday , a modest storm likely will bring snow to the mountains .
Denver will receive only rain , Koopmeiners said .
And forecasters didn ’ t expect metro Denver low temperatures at night to drop lower than 34 degrees .

Metro Denver residents face fair spring weather this week and mountain snow statewide — crucial for water supplies — was measuring slightly higher than normal for this time of year, though river basins in southern Colorado lag.
Federal data showed the statewide average snowpack at 104% of the norm between 1981 and 2010.
In the northern mountains, snow along headwaters of the South Platte, Yampa, White and Colorado rivers ranged from 115% to 121% of the norm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture snow survey data show. The South Platte and Colorado rivers are tapped heavily by Denver and other western cities as well as food growers.
In Colorado’s central and southern mountains, snow in the Arkansas River Basin measured 95% of the norm, and southwestern Colorado faced drier conditions with snowpack at 81% along headwaters of the Rio Grande River, 94% along the Gunnison River, and 89% along the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan rivers.
Big snow’s still possible, but probably not this week, according National Weather Service forecasters on Sunday afternoon.
Denver residents likely will see sunny blue skies — and less air pollution than usual — with possible afternoon rain showers, highs around 60 degrees and lows above freezing, weather service meteorologist Robert Koopmeiners said.
On Thursday, a modest storm likely will bring snow to the mountains. Denver will receive only rain, Koopmeiners said. And forecasters didn’t expect metro Denver low temperatures at night to drop lower than 34 degrees.


thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Meet the Parker physician who went the distance to fight coronavirus: “There is no playbook”

Once the coronavirus hit , in hindsight , we should ’ ve expected Peter Shin to go the distance .
As a student at York Community High School in Elmhurst , Ill. , Shin ran on the Dukes ’ cross country team , a Chicago running dynasty that notched 28 state championships from 1962-2012 .
“ I run by Peloton now , ” the 40-year-old Parker Adventist Hospital physician said with a laugh .
“ I ’ m used to riding a bike .
I don ’ t really run anymore.
” That hasn ’ t stopped Shin from going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fight to protect the Front Range from COVID-19 is more of a marathon than a sprint , Shin ’ s supervisor at Parker Adventist , Dr. Richard Feret , asked staffers last month to start rotating onto the hospital ’ s coronavirus unit .
The Illinois native , who ’ s been with Parker Adventist for six years , volunteered for the first shift .
His second shift went six days straight .
“ Which is a long stretch for the hospital itself , ” Feret said , “ especially on that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early on where staffers could write down their thoughts and experiences with COVID-19 patients treated in early and mid-March .
Shin went one better .
After his first couple of days on the coronavirus unit , the hospitalist sent out a long email to peers “ about his thoughts and what life was like there , ” Feret recalled .
“ Peter , not only is he humble but he ’ s fairly quiet .
He ’ ll interact with you , but he doesn ’ t usually write lengthy emails.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people , the feelings and ( moods ) , ” Shin said .
“ What I saw was a lot of people who were healthy people , middle-aged healthy people , and they got hit hard .
“ People would feel terrible , like they ’ d been run down and hit by a truck .
This virus doesn ’ t discriminate.
” But it does seem to be dissipating some — at least in terms of new cases facing the Parker Adventist staff .
Feret said that as of Thursday afternoon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intensive care and 11 in non-intensive .
Even better : The physician said that those numbers have been holding steady for the past week or so , as opposed to increasing .
During the first few days of April , Feret noted , the hospital had roughly 40 patients battling coronavirus , combined , between the ICU and non-intensive care .
Quicker turnaround for testing has helped , Feret said .
And the marathon shifts , however exhausting , have proved to be worth it .
“ It ’ s stressful for everybody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Shin said .
“ Because the patients can get sick really fast .
They ’ ll be fine one minute , and a few hours later they ’ re really sick .
“ There is no playbook .
This is new to everybody , and there ’ s no specific treatment , and that ’ s the best you can do — help to support these patients to get through it as best you can.
” An admitted “ science and math guy ” growing up , Shin ’ s foray @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nurture .
His mother was a nurse when he was young , and as a youth in the Chicago suburbs , he took time to volunteer at local hospitals .
“ My parents never pushed me to be a doctor , ” said Shin , now the father of four kids himself .
“ It ’ s something I ’ ve always wanted to do since I was probably in high school … I just enjoyed that environment and caring for other people .
It ’ s something I always knew I wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colorado , April 19 : A look at the latest updates on COVID-19 • From wealthy students to impoverished refugees , Denver Public Schools ’ focus on equity plays out in remote learning That path — and passion — wound him through the University of Illinois , where he did his undergrad work , to medical school at Nova Southeastern University ; the Davie , Fla. , campus is also home to the headquarters of the NFL ’ s Miami Dolphins .
“ I always see Peter treat patients with compassion , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we encounter , day-to-day , with patients and families , it ’ s stressful .
Never in six years have I ever seen him angry.
” But beneath that soft-spoken veneer purrs the engine , the drive of a distance runner .
The drive to finish what you start — and finish it well .
At a social event at the home of a colleague last summer , Feret recalled , he and Shin somehow got locked into a surprisingly intense game of cornhole .
“ He just skunked me , and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laughed .
“ He had no qualms about just crushing me in that game.
” Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado .

Once the coronavirus hit, in hindsight, we should’ve expected Peter Shin to go the distance.
As a student at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Ill., Shin ran on the Dukes’ cross country team, a Chicago running dynasty that notched 28 state championships from 1962-2012.
“I run by Peloton now,” the 40-year-old Parker Adventist Hospital physician said with a laugh. “I’m used to riding a bike. I don’t really run anymore.”
That hasn’t stopped Shin from going the extra mile professionally. Knowing that the fight to protect the Front Range from COVID-19 is more of a marathon than a sprint, Shin’s supervisor at Parker Adventist, Dr. Richard Feret, asked staffers last month to start rotating onto the hospital’s coronavirus unit.
The Illinois native, who’s been with Parker Adventist for six years, volunteered for the first shift.
His second shift went six days straight.
“Which is a long stretch for the hospital itself,” Feret said, “especially on that unit.”
Feret set up a whiteboard early on where staffers could write down their thoughts and experiences with COVID-19 patients treated in early and mid-March. Shin went one better.
After his first couple of days on the coronavirus unit, the hospitalist sent out a long email to peers “about his thoughts and what life was like there,” Feret recalled.
“Peter, not only is he humble but he’s fairly quiet. He’ll interact with you, but he doesn’t usually write lengthy emails.”
Unprecedented crisis, unprecedented response. Unprecedented and thoughtful.
“It was a range in terms of people, the feelings and (moods),” Shin said. “What I saw was a lot of people who were healthy people, middle-aged healthy people, and they got hit hard.
“People would feel terrible, like they’d been run down and hit by a truck. This virus doesn’t discriminate.”
But it does seem to be dissipating some — at least in terms of new cases facing the Parker Adventist staff.
Feret said that as of Thursday afternoon, the hospital had 13 coronavirus patients in intensive care and 11 in non-intensive. Even better: The physician said that those numbers have been holding steady for the past week or so, as opposed to increasing.
During the first few days of April, Feret noted, the hospital had roughly 40 patients battling coronavirus, combined, between the ICU and non-intensive care.
Quicker turnaround for testing has helped, Feret said. And the marathon shifts, however exhausting, have proved to be worth it.
“It’s stressful for everybody — not just nurses, but staff,” Shin said. “Because the patients can get sick really fast. They’ll be fine one minute, and a few hours later they’re really sick.
“There is no playbook. This is new to everybody, and there’s no specific treatment, and that’s the best you can do — help to support these patients to get through it as best you can.”
An admitted “science and math guy” growing up, Shin’s foray into medicine was equal part nature and nurture. His mother was a nurse when he was young, and as a youth in the Chicago suburbs, he took time to volunteer at local hospitals.
“My parents never pushed me to be a doctor,” said Shin, now the father of four kids himself.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was probably in high school … I just enjoyed that environment and caring for other people. It’s something I always knew I wanted to be in.”
That path — and passion — wound him through the University of Illinois, where he did his undergrad work, to medical school at Nova Southeastern University; the Davie, Fla., campus is also home to the headquarters of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.
“I always see Peter treat patients with compassion,” Feret said. “And the things we encounter, day-to-day, with patients and families, it’s stressful. Never in six years have I ever seen him angry.”
But beneath that soft-spoken veneer purrs the engine, the drive of a distance runner. The drive to finish what you start — and finish it well.
At a social event at the home of a colleague last summer, Feret recalled, he and Shin somehow got locked into a surprisingly intense game of cornhole.
“He just skunked me, and I’m his boss,” Feret laughed. “He had no qualms about just crushing me in that game.”
Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado.


thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Construction speeds up on I-70 and I-25, but other Colorado projects may be doomed by coronavirus

Big highway projects along the Front Range have taken advantage of the unprecedented weeks-long lull in traffic set off by the coronavirus pandemic by speeding up some work .
But the pandemic ’ s escalating economic fallout threatens to keep other major road projects across Colorado — including the bulk of a $ 1.6 billion list approved just five months ago — from even getting started .
In the near term , the Colorado Department of Transportation said , uncertainty about state borrowing plans will pause dozens of projects that haven ’ t been advertised for bid yet .
CDOT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more that are finishing the bid process .
Yet the dramatic decrease in traffic that has resulted from stay-at-home orders has been a boon for managers of the Central 70 project in northeast Denver and the I-25 South Gap project , among others .
CDOT has relaxed normal restrictions on daytime work that were intended to reduce the impact on commuters .
For the last few weeks , the $ 1.2 billion I-70 project has closed more ramps in the western part of the 10-mile work zone and shifted cross-traffic into a tighter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ zone .
In the eastern part of the project , set in coming weeks to be the first segment finished , crews have closed lanes during daytime hours , allowing for paving originally planned for overnight hours .
“ That work was supposed to be scheduled for later in the spring and early summer because you ’ d have to wait for warmer temperatures at night , ” Central 70 project spokesperson Stacia Sellers said .
Looking ahead , the pandemic ’ s negative fallout for future highway projects is only coming into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approved CDOT ’ s $ 1.6 billion project list in November , it stood as the most substantial funded road plan in years .
CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew detailed the potential carnage during the commission ’ s video conference meeting Thursday .
Suddenly at risk are big-ticket projects on Interstate 70 in the mountains , including a notorious bottleneck at Floyd Hill , as well as widening work along sections of Interstate 25 along the Front Range and an overhaul of Interstate 270 in metro Denver .
But multiyear projects that depend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the I-25 North project near Fort Collins , still are likely to proceed on schedule , CDOT said .
Lew said the state treasurer ’ s office , facing new market uncertainty , has delayed the latest $ 500 million batch of transportation borrowing that had been planned for March — money that ’ s needed for dozens of projects this summer .
Officials now hope to see that money by late June .
Lew laid out $ 250 million in projected hits to CDOT ’ s budget through 2023 because of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tax revenue .
The revenue reductions could imperil even more projects as CDOT struggles to keep up with required road maintenance , she said .
Meanwhile , lawmakers tasked with balancing competing needs across state government as it faces a dour budget outlook could put off the large remaining transportation borrowing commitments they ’ ve made in recent years .
Speaking to the commission , Lew called the pandemic ’ s multiyear fallout for road projects “ a scenario that … we don ’ t want to be in and where there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s just a great outcome.
” The only potential bright spot , she said , would be if the federal government decided to pay for a massive transportation stimulus package .
By Lew ’ s estimate , CDOT has roughly $ 2.5 billion in projects that are “ shovel ready , ” or nearly so , and would be ready to capitalize on such a program .

Big highway projects along the Front Range have taken advantage of the unprecedented weeks-long lull in traffic set off by the coronavirus pandemic by speeding up some work.
But the pandemic’s escalating economic fallout threatens to keep other major road projects across Colorado — including the bulk of a $1.6 billion list approved just five months ago — from even getting started. In the near term, the Colorado Department of Transportation said, uncertainty about state borrowing plans will pause dozens of projects that haven’t been advertised for bid yet. CDOT also might pull the plug on several more that are finishing the bid process.
Yet the dramatic decrease in traffic that has resulted from stay-at-home orders has been a boon for managers of the Central 70 project in northeast Denver and the I-25 South Gap project, among others.
CDOT has relaxed normal restrictions on daytime work that were intended to reduce the impact on commuters.
For the last few weeks, the $1.2 billion I-70 project has closed more ramps in the western part of the 10-mile work zone and shifted cross-traffic into a tighter configuration on Colorado Boulevard in the center zone. In the eastern part of the project, set in coming weeks to be the first segment finished, crews have closed lanes during daytime hours, allowing for paving originally planned for overnight hours.
“That work was supposed to be scheduled for later in the spring and early summer because you’d have to wait for warmer temperatures at night,” Central 70 project spokesperson Stacia Sellers said.
Looking ahead, the pandemic’s negative fallout for future highway projects is only coming into view.
When the Colorado Transportation Commission approved CDOT’s $1.6 billion project list in November, it stood as the most substantial funded road plan in years. CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew detailed the potential carnage during the commission’s video conference meeting Thursday.
Suddenly at risk are big-ticket projects on Interstate 70 in the mountains, including a notorious bottleneck at Floyd Hill, as well as widening work along sections of Interstate 25 along the Front Range and an overhaul of Interstate 270 in metro Denver.
But multiyear projects that depend on more funding to continue, including the I-25 North project near Fort Collins, still are likely to proceed on schedule, CDOT said.
Lew said the state treasurer’s office, facing new market uncertainty, has delayed the latest $500 million batch of transportation borrowing that had been planned for March — money that’s needed for dozens of projects this summer. Officials now hope to see that money by late June.
Lew laid out $250 million in projected hits to CDOT’s budget through 2023 because of the downturn, including a drop in gas tax revenue. The revenue reductions could imperil even more projects as CDOT struggles to keep up with required road maintenance, she said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers tasked with balancing competing needs across state government as it faces a dour budget outlook could put off the large remaining transportation borrowing commitments they’ve made in recent years.
Speaking to the commission, Lew called the pandemic’s multiyear fallout for road projects “a scenario that … we don’t want to be in and where there’s really nothing we can do that’s just a great outcome.”
The only potential bright spot, she said, would be if the federal government decided to pay for a massive transportation stimulus package. By Lew’s estimate, CDOT has roughly $2.5 billion in projects that are “shovel ready,” or nearly so, and would be ready to capitalize on such a program.


thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Q&A: Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on family, Trump and prioritizing people over the economy

In the weeks since Denver Mayor Michael Hancock first ordered residents to stay home , his schedule has been packed with meetings , news conferences and difficult decisions related to the spreading coronavirus .
He spoke with The Denver Post last week about his priorities , family , self-care and lessons learned in this unprecedented time .
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity .
You ’ ve got these long days with back-to-back meetings and difficult conversations .
How do you take care of yourself ?
What snack do you dive into after one of those days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least three times a week .
So at the end of the day I like to get into my little gym at home and sweat it out a bit , get some good cardio in , get a good sweat , lift some weights .
And then I like to settle down with my wife , daughter and dogs with a glass of wine or beer , some Corn Nuts , popcorn — whatever it is , I ’ m a salt guy .
I have a favorite reclining chair at home , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just kind of relax with them .
You ’ ve got to feel defeated some days .
Give me some insight into that level of exhaustion .
There are days when I just collapse and say , “ I can ’ t do it .
I can ’ t do it anymore.
” There are days when I just drop the phone and walk out of the room and say , “ I don ’ t want to have another contact with anybody.
” I turn the news off , try to disassociate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Just try to disconnect .
I think that ’ s important for mental health .
I ’ ve got friends who run multimillion-dollar companies , very busy lives and one of the best techniques of all of them that they ’ ve ever shared is that you ’ ve got to turn it off .
You ’ ve got to walk away .
It ’ s hard , but you ’ ve got to walk away .
At what point did you understand Denver would have to carry on with little to no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think it was gradual , to be honest with you .
When you see the lunacy in the White House , and I use that word very intentionally .
I don ’ t know how long it took for me personally and professionally to say , “ No , that ’ s not where my answer is.
” You start seeing people like ( Dr. Anthony Fauci , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ) and ( Dr. Deborah Brix , President Trump ’ s coronavirus response coordinator ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they ’ re talking common sense and pragmatically and we can follow that voice.
” I watched the president ’ s daily briefings for a while and I was like , I can ’ t watch this again .
It ’ s enough .
It was just the character he was purporting .
It wasn ’ t any one particular thing , just like this guy ’ s not serious .
So I was done with that and really just looked to Fauci on national news and Brix and our own public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up .
From the very beginning , being in contact with him on a daily basis gave me confidence that I have a partner at the state that I can work with .
So the focal point very quickly became the state and my advisers here with Fauci and Brix and even the surgeon general and CDC ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ) directors — those very credible voices emerging as kind of the folks you listen to .
It was when the president kept saying , “ This is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game being played.
” It never stopped being the game of politics for him , unfortunately .
And at the same time we were seeing lives being lost , or at least the presence of the virus in the United States .
What ’ s weighing on your mind personally that you want to make sure Denver gets right ?
We don ’ t want to have to retreat .
We want to get out of the woods , and we want to stay out of the woods on this virus .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And that means understanding how every crisis falls differently on everybody , that ’ s the equity piece .
We put that in our emergency operation efforts from the very beginning in that it ’ s important that we understand how this virus , its presence and impact is hitting different demographics in our community .
Saying you don ’ t want to retreat is going to translate , for a lot of people , to a slow phase-in .
How do you weigh that versus economic concerns ?
I ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenge than dig graves for people when we could have prevented needless loss of life .
I think that is what as a nation we will bemoan when this is over .
Had we acted sooner , we may have saved more lives .
I ’ m going to err on the side of saving lives .
We can rebuild an economy .
We ’ ve proved it as a nation , as a society , over and over again .
What we can not rebuild is a life that ’ s been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where I constantly remind myself .
Nothing trumps saving lives .
I tell my mom , “ I ’ ll forego seeing you for a few months if it means you ’ re here on that sixth month.
” You ’ ve spoken about your mom a lot and said she ’ s at risk .
She ’ s an 81-year-old woman who has suffered from heart disease and hypertension , high blood pressure , and I want to do everything I can to protect her .
I want to have her here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I can protect her by staying away from her and warding off my sisters and brothers and my nieces and nephews , we ’ ll do it .
We ’ ve done just that .
You said the need to handle this pandemic properly keeps you motivated , but does that work for you every day ?
When there are days when that ’ s not enough — it ’ s the same report , the same objectives — the only other thing that motivates me is that even in the midst of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positions you don ’ t get this very often .
Not that we ask for them , not where you ’ re losing lives .
But you don ’ t get this often where this is a moment of time where we ’ ll write about this in history books .
Our kids will talk about it .
I guess it goes back to the initial thing , when it ’ s all said and done what will they say about how we handled it and how do we learn ?
I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been learned from here .
One is that we put too much emphasis on the economics of our lives and not enough on people .
And two , I think it ’ s exposed some of the weaknesses in our governmental structure .
We have an obsolescence in technology innovation or innovation around technology as well as bureaucracy .
It takes too long for government to move .
We need to become more nimble .
So on the other side of this hopefully we ’ ll put together some strategies to look really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we have something like this where we have a surge in demand on unemployment benefits , how the hell do we get people through that system ?
We can not respond to today ’ s challenges with a 1960s infrastructure , and that ’ s exactly what we ’ re doing .
We are behind the curve on so much and we have allowed it to happen , and as an American society we ’ re learning we ’ re not as great as we should be .
We could be much greater @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ ve got to dig deep and say where do we need to go to fix the challenge gaps that we have .
Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado .

In the weeks since Denver Mayor Michael Hancock first ordered residents to stay home, his schedule has been packed with meetings, news conferences and difficult decisions related to the spreading coronavirus.
He spoke with The Denver Post last week about his priorities, family, self-care and lessons learned in this unprecedented time.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
You’ve got these long days with back-to-back meetings and difficult conversations. How do you take care of yourself? What snack do you dive into after one of those days?
I try to work out at least three times a week. So at the end of the day I like to get into my little gym at home and sweat it out a bit, get some good cardio in, get a good sweat, lift some weights.
And then I like to settle down with my wife, daughter and dogs with a glass of wine or beer, some Corn Nuts, popcorn — whatever it is, I’m a salt guy. I have a favorite reclining chair at home, I like to get in it and just kind of relax with them.
You’ve got to feel defeated some days. Give me some insight into that level of exhaustion.
There are days when I just collapse and say, “I can’t do it. I can’t do it anymore.” There are days when I just drop the phone and walk out of the room and say, “I don’t want to have another contact with anybody.”
I turn the news off, try to disassociate from the news of the day. Just try to disconnect. I think that’s important for mental health. I’ve got friends who run multimillion-dollar companies, very busy lives and one of the best techniques of all of them that they’ve ever shared is that you’ve got to turn it off. You’ve got to walk away. It’s hard, but you’ve got to walk away.
At what point did you understand Denver would have to carry on with little to no help from the federal government?
I think it was gradual, to be honest with you. When you see the lunacy in the White House, and I use that word very intentionally. I don’t know how long it took for me personally and professionally to say, “No, that’s not where my answer is.”
You start seeing people like (Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) and (Dr. Deborah Brix, President Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator) emerge, who you say “OK, they’re talking common sense and pragmatically and we can follow that voice.”
I watched the president’s daily briefings for a while and I was like, I can’t watch this again. It’s enough. It was just the character he was purporting. It wasn’t any one particular thing, just like this guy’s not serious. So I was done with that and really just looked to Fauci on national news and Brix and our own public health people.
The governor really stepped up. From the very beginning, being in contact with him on a daily basis gave me confidence that I have a partner at the state that I can work with. So the focal point very quickly became the state and my advisers here with Fauci and Brix and even the surgeon general and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) directors — those very credible voices emerging as kind of the folks you listen to.
It was when the president kept saying, “This is a Democratic hoax. This is another political game being played.” It never stopped being the game of politics for him, unfortunately. And at the same time we were seeing lives being lost, or at least the presence of the virus in the United States.
What’s weighing on your mind personally that you want to make sure Denver gets right?
We don’t want to have to retreat. We want to get out of the woods, and we want to stay out of the woods on this virus. We want to get on top of it. And that means understanding how every crisis falls differently on everybody, that’s the equity piece. We put that in our emergency operation efforts from the very beginning in that it’s important that we understand how this virus, its presence and impact is hitting different demographics in our community.
Saying you don’t want to retreat is going to translate, for a lot of people, to a slow phase-in. How do you weigh that versus economic concerns?
I’d rather dig us out of an economic challenge than dig graves for people when we could have prevented needless loss of life. I think that is what as a nation we will bemoan when this is over. Had we acted sooner, we may have saved more lives. I’m going to err on the side of saving lives.
We can rebuild an economy. We’ve proved it as a nation, as a society, over and over again. What we cannot rebuild is a life that’s been lost. Quite frankly that’s where I constantly remind myself. Nothing trumps saving lives. I tell my mom, “I’ll forego seeing you for a few months if it means you’re here on that sixth month.”
You’ve spoken about your mom a lot and said she’s at risk.
She’s an 81-year-old woman who has suffered from heart disease and hypertension, high blood pressure, and I want to do everything I can to protect her. I want to have her here as long as I can. If I can protect her by staying away from her and warding off my sisters and brothers and my nieces and nephews, we’ll do it. We’ve done just that.
You said the need to handle this pandemic properly keeps you motivated, but does that work for you every day?
When there are days when that’s not enough — it’s the same report, the same objectives — the only other thing that motivates me is that even in the midst of this crisis, in these type of positions you don’t get this very often. Not that we ask for them, not where you’re losing lives. But you don’t get this often where this is a moment of time where we’ll write about this in history books. Our kids will talk about it.
I guess it goes back to the initial thing, when it’s all said and done what will they say about how we handled it and how do we learn? I think there are a couple lessons that have been learned from here. One is that we put too much emphasis on the economics of our lives and not enough on people. And two, I think it’s exposed some of the weaknesses in our governmental structure.
We have an obsolescence in technology innovation or innovation around technology as well as bureaucracy. It takes too long for government to move. We need to become more nimble. So on the other side of this hopefully we’ll put together some strategies to look really hard at those things to say if we have something like this where we have a surge in demand on unemployment benefits, how the hell do we get people through that system? We cannot respond to today’s challenges with a 1960s infrastructure, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
We are behind the curve on so much and we have allowed it to happen, and as an American society we’re learning we’re not as great as we should be. We could be much greater than we are. And that means we’ve got to dig deep and say where do we need to go to fix the challenge gaps that we have.
Join our Facebook group for the latest updates on coronavirus in Colorado.


thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Top 20 stoner movies that will keep you couch-locked

Calling something a “ stoner movie ” raises the question of definition : Is it a flick whose plot or characters are based primarily on cannabis consumption ?
Or simply a movie that ’ s best watched while high ?
For the purposes of this list we ’ re choosing both : movies with themes , scenes or subject matter centrally related to weed , as well as films that are uniquely enhanced by being stoned — a state that opens us to new ways of thinking and feeling about visceral , inventive imagery ( minus all the potential complications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many of these movies are stoner-culture canon , while a few have crept up on us over the years .
All are highly recommended .
Use this handy guide to update your Netflix queue and kick back with us .
Premise : Anthony “ Man ” Stoner ( Tommy Chong ) and Pedro de Pacas ( Cheech Marin ) meet on the road and bond over their shared love of weed before getting caught up in a series of nets that stretch from sunny Southern California to Mexico and back again — all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The journey culminates with them entering a Battle of the Bands at West Hollywood ’ s Roxy Theatre .
Why it ’ s worthy : The template for stoner comedies was set in this movie , which remains Cheech and Chong ’ s best film ( by a long shot ) .
It nimbly sketched the outline of dozens of weed films to follow , and permanently grafted drug humor onto any number of sturdy comedy tropes .
Its legacy , however , is both the laughs and the lowering of expectations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , relegating a generation of diverse stoner culture to lazy stereotypes .
Premise : The noirish silhouette of this Coen Brothers masterpiece should look familiar to anyone who ’ s seen a detective caper , with a plot that turns on mistaken identity , ransom , self-interest and the chaos they invite .
In this case : The Dude ( Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey Lebowski ) and his bowling buddies are accidentally sucked into a kidnapping case , launching them through gauntlets of surreal , awkward characters who disturb the normal order of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stoner Lebowski .
Why it ’ s worthy : Despite the institutionalized cult that has sprung up around this sprawling comedy ( which often seems to be missing the point of its laidback protaganist ) , “ Lebowski ” is the definition of a film you can watch dozens of times and still find something new on each go-round .
The tiny details , from dialogue to set dressing , and the Coen Brothers ’ wicked humor ram headlong into several career-best performances from a truly flawless cast .
The ’ 90s had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The Big Lebowski ” might be the best of them .
Premise : What do people mean when they say the kids are up to no good ?
“ Dazed and Confused ” practically feels like a documentary of such ’ 70s coming-of-age tomfoolery , full of lusty hazing , mailbox smashing , toking and the penultimate kegger at the moontower ( OK , so not all of us had those ) .
Why it ’ s worthy : Along with the period-perfect production design and soundtrack , director Richard Linklater allows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and breathe like a loose , spontaneous animal , which goes a long way toward selling the humor and heartbreak of the messy , thrilling , hormone-drenched snapshot of adolescence .
Matthew McConaughey ’ s brief but quotable scenes aside , the ensemble cast pulls equal weight in recreating an agreeable day in the life of white , middle-class Texas teens .
Premise : Craig ( Ice Cube ) is suddenly out of work , and his bud Smokey ( Chris Tucker , in an unintentionally career-defining performance ) smokes him up and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a problem , since Smokey owes money to neighborhood heavy and dealer Big Worm .
After Craig gets implicated in the deal , he and Smokey must navigate a series of escalating South Central L.A. obstacles ( including uniquely boisterous supporting characters ) to make it to Saturday .
Why it ’ s worthy : Despite its lesser sequels , this influential comedy remains a giant in the stoner-movie genre .
That ’ s due as much to the achingly funny supporting performances ( particularly the late/great John Witherspoon ’ s ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ humanely showed another side of an inner-city world that had been depicted as a gangster-rap hell in music videos and movies for years before that .
Premise : Dale ( Seth Rogen ) witnesses a murder , forcing him to go on the run with his pot dealer Saul ( James Franco ) .
They cross paths with another dealer ( Danny McBride ) who sells the film ’ s title strain , which they then use to raise money ( and consume , liberally ) to evade the henchmen and cops on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worthy : The cast ’ s off-screen chemistry helps this Judd Apatow-produced film deliver consistent laughs , while the sharp violence and plot twists maintain a buzzing tension as the paranoid , worst-case stoner scenarios continually unfold .
Premise : Jane ( Anna Faris ) spots her roommate ’ s cupcakes in the fridge after a wake-and-bake session and gobbles them up , not realizing they ’ re ALSO laced with weed .
The next few hours find her in a series of frantic misadventures that span Los Angeles in her quest to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet stubbornly unattainable goals .
Why it ’ s worthy : In addition to director Gregg Araki ’ s light , snappy tone , Faris delivers a deceptively casual performance as Jane , the stoner we can all simultaneously laugh and cringe at even as we relate to her absurdist confusion .
The cast of ringers and surprise cameos never outshines Faris — the rare female lead in a 2000s-era comedy that isn ’ t based around romance or gender .
This film may also be the one that best captures the actual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle ” ( 2004 ) Premise : Harold ( John Cho ) and Kumar ( Kal Penn ) decide one stoned evening to head to the mini-burger palace of White Castle to satisfy their munchies .
The trip quickly goes off the rails as they run into a surprise surgical session , sexual propositioning , Neil Patrick Harris , cops , a cheetah and — naturally — plenty of weed .
Why it ’ s worthy : This movie is more than a refutation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sole province of white , Latinx and black folks .
Rather , the Korean- and Indian-American leads in this tale are as relatably apoplectic and/or blissed-out as anyone who has ever gotten too high to function .
The implicit political commentary and oft-buffoonish tone never weigh down its considerable feeling of momentum and possibility ( see the similar yet blackhearted “ The Hangover ” ) .
Premise : A couple of bikers hit the road for a long , strange trip from California to New Orleans , with plenty of cash from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tank .
Their quest : to discover what America is really about , man .
Why it ’ s worthy : It doesn ’ t get more classically counterculture than this , with iconic performances from Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper , the latter of whom also wrote and directed .
It ’ s reputed that a fair share of real drugs were consumed during the shoot , including good ol ’ grass .
The film ’ s success helped kickstart New Hollywood and romanticized a rambling , post-hippie aesthetic that would define @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also has a pretty great soundtrack .
Premise : Kenny ( Harland Davis ) accidentally kills a diabetic police horse after feeding it junk food .
To raise money for his bail , stoner friends Thurgood ( Dave Chappelle ) , Brian ( Jim Breuer ) and Scarface ( Guillermo Díaz ) sell government-grade weed that Thurgood steals from his custodial job at a research lab .
Cameos abound as the scenes grow increasingly ridiculous , including a day-saving appearance from the ghost of Jerry Garcia .
Why it ’ s worthy : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baked ” is a good movie ; the jokes are alternately broad and leaden , and the disjointed rhythm often makes it feel slapped together , like a corporate training video trying to seem cool for the youth demographic .
But look closer : screenwriters Chappelle and his “ Chappelle ’ s Show ” co-creator Neal Brennan prefigured an early 21st century sensibility in much of the giddily profane jokes ( hello , Bob Saget ) , and certain non-sequitor sequences still sing to this day .
It ’ s also one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman , “ Billy Madison ” director Tamra Davis .
Premise : Did you know the dreaded marijuana leads fresh-faced teens to commit murder and sexually assault each other , and for everyone else to generally lose their minds ?
That ’ s what this shoddy propaganda flick , arguably the daddy of all cult films , wanted us to believe , arriving as it did a year before the infamous Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 .
Why it ’ s worthy : It ’ s no secret that “ Reefer Madness ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effective piece of propaganda .
It is , however , so overwrought , wrongheaded and poorly made that its ironic embrace by stoners over the decades ( starting in the early 1970s with NORML-sponsored screenings ) has made it a gleaming touchstone for anti-cannabis hysteria .
“ Fast Times at Ridgemont High ” “ Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ” “ Super Troopers ” “ How High ” “ Dude , Where ’ s My Car ?
” Weed isn ’ t a central theme in these films ; they just benefit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Disney ’ s best animators interpret orchestral hallmarks from Beethoven , Stravinsky , Bach , Tchaikovsky and others under the hand of master conductor Leopold Stokowski .
From the impressionistic , hallucinatory “ Toccata and Fugue in D Minor ” to the timeless “ Sorcerer ’ s Apprentice ” and elegant/disturbing “ Night on Bald Mountain , ” it ’ s a tour de force of audio-visual brilliance that frequently threatens to overwhelm ( and spiritually enlighten ) the viewer .
Why it ’ s worthy : At 80 years old , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unlike any other film .
Its realistic ( for the time ) depictions of dinosaurs and surreal interpretations of gossamer melodies stand as defining images for many of its musical selections .
Along with early color films like “ Gone With the Wind ” and “ The Wizard of Oz ” ( both released the year prior ) , it provided one of the first full-color trip-outs in cinematic history — and one that stoners have been patiently enjoying for decades in theaters , thanks to regular art-house revivals and re-releases .
Premise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the origin , limits and purpose of human consciousness .
Based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel , “ 2001 ” begins with the dawn of man and continues through an imagined future in which technology allows us to explore the mysteries of the universe deep within our own solar system .
Why it ’ s worthy : Director Stanley Kubrick ’ s finest work is also one of the best examples of the film medium in general .
It ’ s a mind-expanding , masterful monolith that redefined artistic potential at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the part of its audience .
A late-film sequence in which Dave ( Keir Dullea ) is pulled into a psychedelic tunnel of light still cultivates the sort of drooling awe that most laser-light shows and CGI spectacles desperately try to inspire .
Premise : Alejandro Jodorowsky ’ s 1973 masterpiece is as beautiful as it is unsettling , offering a litany of seemingly disconnected , immaculately staged scenes that play like surrealist paintings come to life .
The plot and characters comment on religion , spirituality , sex , death and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without ever offering black-and-white answers .
Why it ’ s worthy : Leave the interpretation of this frequently mind-bending film to scholars , who have picked away at its iconography for nearly a half-century , and just let it wash over you upon first viewing .
Nothing in the history of cinema or visual art quite prepares you for its exquisite tableaus .
It is the definition of “ mind expanding.
” Premise : A land-grab in the Old West leads to friction between the residents of the small town of Rock Ridge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Harvey Korman ) .
A black prisoner ( Cleavon Little ) is appointed as sheriff to speed up the demise of the situation among the racist , white townspeople , but with a savvy approach — and help from aging dynamo The Waco Kid ( Gene Wilder ) — he turns Lamarr ’ s plans inside out .
Why it ’ s worthy : If stoner movies are defined by their humor , “ Blazing Saddles ” towers above all of them .
Laugh-out-loud funny and still relevant in its observations on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a meta-Western featuring Little as a jive-talking sheriff and Wilder as the laidback drunk caught in the midst of a small-town power struggle .
There are a couple overt pot-smoking references , but really , anyone who doesn ’ t at least giggle uncontrollably at the classic campfire-fart scene is dead inside .
Premise : Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino and her family are in the process of moving to a new home when her father accidentally ( and literally ) sets the family on a path of discovery , horror and wonder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nightmare-creatures and spirits .
Why it ’ s worthy : You don ’ t have to be an anime fan to appreciate Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki ’ s breathtaking treatise of the mysteries of youth , spelled out with some of the most fantastic , pleasing and grotesque images ever put on screen .
This bonafide modern classic is another film that rewards multiple viewings over several years .
Premise : Young hobbit Frodo Baggins finds himself the unlikely savior of Middle-earth as he journeys to Mordor ’ s Mount Doom to vanquish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minions by destroying The One Ring .
Meanwhile , the exiled Ranger Aragon struggles to reclaim his rightful place as king of men — a kingdom sick with corruption and myopia .
Why it ’ s worthy : This trilogy has it all , including fairly overt ( and notably faithful to creator J.R.R .
Tolkien ’ s ) references to “ pipe weed ” as a calming and nourishing agent for the wizard Gandalf and his Hobbit buddies .
Even without that , the movies ’ historical-minded , deeply influential production design @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most satisfying things to lay one ’ s eyes on whilst high .
Premise : The story of a young farm boy from the planet Tatooine who takes on the evil Galactic Empire .
Along the way he befriends people wildly different than him , learns the ways of the ancient Jedi order and begins to understand that family is more powerful than anything .
Plus : Explosions and sparks ( lots of ’ em ) .
Why it ’ s worthy : There are few things more friendly to cannabis than watching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , whether it was in the theater or at home with the volume cranked way up .
George Lucas ’ impressive world-building and addictively escapist tone has been endlessly copied , but hardly any of its clones have found the same ideal balance of charisma , hope , adrenaline , mysticism and thrilling action .
Quite simply , Episodes IV-VI have become an integral , quasi-religious part of the global culture from which their story and characters were originally cobbled .
Premise : Donnie ( Jake Gyllenhaal , in his breakout role ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or may not be able to see the future , and may or may not have schizophrenia .
His visions — including a demonic bunny named Frank — lead him on a dark path that twists back on itself in delightfully disturbing , mind-bending ways .
Why it ’ s worthy : With elements of sci-fi , philosophy , “ Catcher in the Rye ” -style angst and the sarcastic black comedy of “ Heathers , ” “ Donnie Darko ” is an intoxicating concoction that ’ s as dreamy as it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The otherwordly feeling of unease that permeates the film is headily reinforced if you toke , vape or gobble something before viewing .
Premise : What ’ s the relationship between violence and redemption ?
And can we explore those themes with effortlessly cool , stylish characters who seem to fetishize and embody every last corner of L.A. ’ s culture , past and present ?
Hitmen Vincent ( John Travolta ) and Jules ( Samuel L. Jackson ) are joined by a stellar cast in this semi-episodic film that improved in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bloody debut , “ Reservoir Dogs.
” Why it ’ s worthy : Expertly crafted dialogue and precision-tuned visuals combine for this love letter to genre cinema , which is by turns playful , graphic , sad , hilarious and sentimental .
Tarantino didn ’ t just channel mid- ’ 90s zeitgeist , he redefined it .
Watching it high brings both the funky , soaring soundtrack and muscular performances into impressive relief .
Premise : Betty ( Naomi Watts ) is a fresh-faced , aspiring actress living her dream in Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dream ? )
who runs into a mysterious , dark-haired woman who has lost her memory ( Laura Elena Harring ) .
As the two try to unravel the mystery , they become even more entangled in a dizzying , disturbing series of identity swaps .
Why it ’ s worthy : Like most films from director David Lynch , “ Mulholland Drive ” is an artful and inscrutable product of dream/nightmare logic .
And like most of the other films on this list , it ’ s also best not to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a grid over its blurry contours .
Instead , let it take you where it wants .
Like the best highs , it ’ s a buzzy , slightly scary experience that ’ s difficult to put into words , but a wholly satisfying one in the end .
“ A Clockwork Orange ” “ Inception ” “ Memento ” The Cornetto Trilogy ( “ Shaun of the Dead , ” “ Hot Fuzz ” and “ World ’ s End ” ) “ Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ” Which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ miss ?
Leave your answers in the comments

Calling something a “stoner movie” raises the question of definition: Is it a flick whose plot or characters are based primarily on cannabis consumption? Or simply a movie that’s best watched while high?
For the purposes of this list we’re choosing both: movies with themes, scenes or subject matter centrally related to weed, as well as films that are uniquely enhanced by being stoned — a state that opens us to new ways of thinking and feeling about visceral, inventive imagery (minus all the potential complications of an hours-long psychedelic trip).
Many of these movies are stoner-culture canon, while a few have crept up on us over the years. All are highly recommended. Use this handy guide to update your Netflix queue and kick back with us.
10 STONEY FAVORITES
“Up in Smoke” (1978)
Premise: Anthony “Man” Stoner (Tommy Chong) and Pedro de Pacas (Cheech Marin) meet on the road and bond over their shared love of weed before getting caught up in a series of nets that stretch from sunny Southern California to Mexico and back again — all related to their quest for more weed. The journey culminates with them entering a Battle of the Bands at West Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre.
Why it’s worthy: The template for stoner comedies was set in this movie, which remains Cheech and Chong’s best film (by a long shot). It nimbly sketched the outline of dozens of weed films to follow, and permanently grafted drug humor onto any number of sturdy comedy tropes. Its legacy, however, is both the laughs and the lowering of expectations for cannabis users to cartoonishly low levels, relegating a generation of diverse stoner culture to lazy stereotypes.
“The Big Lebowski” (1998)
Premise: The noirish silhouette of this Coen Brothers masterpiece should look familiar to anyone who’s seen a detective caper, with a plot that turns on mistaken identity, ransom, self-interest and the chaos they invite. In this case: The Dude (Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey Lebowski) and his bowling buddies are accidentally sucked into a kidnapping case, launching them through gauntlets of surreal, awkward characters who disturb the normal order of things for the aging hippie and SoCal stoner Lebowski.
Why it’s worthy: Despite the institutionalized cult that has sprung up around this sprawling comedy (which often seems to be missing the point of its laidback protaganist), “Lebowski” is the definition of a film you can watch dozens of times and still find something new on each go-round. The tiny details, from dialogue to set dressing, and the Coen Brothers’ wicked humor ram headlong into several career-best performances from a truly flawless cast. The ’90s had a surfeit of emintently quotable films; “The Big Lebowski” might be the best of them.
“Dazed and Confused” (1993)
Premise: What do people mean when they say the kids are up to no good? “Dazed and Confused” practically feels like a documentary of such ’70s coming-of-age tomfoolery, full of lusty hazing, mailbox smashing, toking and the penultimate kegger at the moontower (OK, so not all of us had those).
Why it’s worthy: Along with the period-perfect production design and soundtrack, director Richard Linklater allows “Dazed and Confused” to live and breathe like a loose, spontaneous animal, which goes a long way toward selling the humor and heartbreak of the messy, thrilling, hormone-drenched snapshot of adolescence. Matthew McConaughey’s brief but quotable scenes aside, the ensemble cast pulls equal weight in recreating an agreeable day in the life of white, middle-class Texas teens.
“Friday” (1995)
Premise: Craig (Ice Cube) is suddenly out of work, and his bud Smokey (Chris Tucker, in an unintentionally career-defining performance) smokes him up and out one Friday afternoon. That’s a problem, since Smokey owes money to neighborhood heavy and dealer Big Worm. After Craig gets implicated in the deal, he and Smokey must navigate a series of escalating South Central L.A. obstacles (including uniquely boisterous supporting characters) to make it to Saturday.
Why it’s worthy: Despite its lesser sequels, this influential comedy remains a giant in the stoner-movie genre. That’s due as much to the achingly funny supporting performances (particularly the late/great John Witherspoon’s) as much as the fact that it humanely showed another side of an inner-city world that had been depicted as a gangster-rap hell in music videos and movies for years before that.
“Pineapple Express” (2008)
Premise: Dale (Seth Rogen) witnesses a murder, forcing him to go on the run with his pot dealer Saul (James Franco). They cross paths with another dealer (Danny McBride) who sells the film’s title strain, which they then use to raise money (and consume, liberally) to evade the henchmen and cops on their tail.
Why it’s worthy: The cast’s off-screen chemistry helps this Judd Apatow-produced film deliver consistent laughs, while the sharp violence and plot twists maintain a buzzing tension as the paranoid, worst-case stoner scenarios continually unfold.
“Smiley Face” (2007)
Premise: Jane (Anna Faris) spots her roommate’s cupcakes in the fridge after a wake-and-bake session and gobbles them up, not realizing they’re ALSO laced with weed. The next few hours find her in a series of frantic misadventures that span Los Angeles in her quest to replace said cupcakes — among other mundane yet stubbornly unattainable goals.
Why it’s worthy: In addition to director Gregg Araki’s light, snappy tone, Faris delivers a deceptively casual performance as Jane, the stoner we can all simultaneously laugh and cringe at even as we relate to her absurdist confusion. The cast of ringers and surprise cameos never outshines Faris — the rare female lead in a 2000s-era comedy that isn’t based around romance or gender. This film may also be the one that best captures the actual experience of being crushingly, debilitatingly high.
“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle” (2004)
Premise: Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) decide one stoned evening to head to the mini-burger palace of White Castle to satisfy their munchies. The trip quickly goes off the rails as they run into a surprise surgical session, sexual propositioning, Neil Patrick Harris, cops, a cheetah and — naturally — plenty of weed.
Why it’s worthy: This movie is more than a refutation of the notion that the stoner-comedy genre is the sole province of white, Latinx and black folks. Rather, the Korean- and Indian-American leads in this tale are as relatably apoplectic and/or blissed-out as anyone who has ever gotten too high to function. The implicit political commentary and oft-buffoonish tone never weigh down its considerable feeling of momentum and possibility (see the similar yet blackhearted “The Hangover”).
“Easy Rider” (1969)
Premise: A couple of bikers hit the road for a long, strange trip from California to New Orleans, with plenty of cash from a cocaine sale stashed in the fuel tank. Their quest: to discover what America is really about, man.
Why it’s worthy: It doesn’t get more classically counterculture than this, with iconic performances from Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, the latter of whom also wrote and directed. It’s reputed that a fair share of real drugs were consumed during the shoot, including good ol’ grass. The film’s success helped kickstart New Hollywood and romanticized a rambling, post-hippie aesthetic that would define much of early-to-mid 1970s culture. It also has a pretty great soundtrack.
“Half Baked” (1998)
Premise: Kenny (Harland Davis) accidentally kills a diabetic police horse after feeding it junk food. To raise money for his bail, stoner friends Thurgood (Dave Chappelle), Brian (Jim Breuer) and Scarface (Guillermo Díaz) sell government-grade weed that Thurgood steals from his custodial job at a research lab. Cameos abound as the scenes grow increasingly ridiculous, including a day-saving appearance from the ghost of Jerry Garcia.
Why it’s worthy: It’s not that “Half Baked” is a good movie; the jokes are alternately broad and leaden, and the disjointed rhythm often makes it feel slapped together, like a corporate training video trying to seem cool for the youth demographic. But look closer: screenwriters Chappelle and his “Chappelle’s Show” co-creator Neal Brennan prefigured an early 21st century sensibility in much of the giddily profane jokes (hello, Bob Saget), and certain non-sequitor sequences still sing to this day. It’s also one of the rare stoner comedies helmed by a woman, “Billy Madison” director Tamra Davis.
“Reefer Madness” (1936)
Premise: Did you know the dreaded marijuana leads fresh-faced teens to commit murder and sexually assault each other, and for everyone else to generally lose their minds? That’s what this shoddy propaganda flick, arguably the daddy of all cult films, wanted us to believe, arriving as it did a year before the infamous Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.
Why it’s worthy: It’s no secret that “Reefer Madness” is neither a good movie nor an effective piece of propaganda. It is, however, so overwrought, wrongheaded and poorly made that its ironic embrace by stoners over the decades (starting in the early 1970s with NORML-sponsored screenings) has made it a gleaming touchstone for anti-cannabis hysteria.
Honorable mention
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High”
“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”
“Super Troopers”
“How High”
“Dude, Where’s My Car?”
10 ENHANCED FILMS
Weed isn’t a central theme in these films; they just benefit from an elevated state of mind
“Fantasia” (1940)
Premise: Disney’s best animators interpret orchestral hallmarks from Beethoven, Stravinsky, Bach, Tchaikovsky and others under the hand of master conductor Leopold Stokowski. From the impressionistic, hallucinatory “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” to the timeless “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and elegant/disturbing “Night on Bald Mountain,” it’s a tour de force of audio-visual brilliance that frequently threatens to overwhelm (and spiritually enlighten) the viewer.
Why it’s worthy: At 80 years old, “Fantasia” still looks and sounds unlike any other film. Its realistic (for the time) depictions of dinosaurs and surreal interpretations of gossamer melodies stand as defining images for many of its musical selections. Along with early color films like “Gone With the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz” (both released the year prior), it provided one of the first full-color trip-outs in cinematic history — and one that stoners have been patiently enjoying for decades in theaters, thanks to regular art-house revivals and re-releases.
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
Premise: Cinema’s most epic meditation on the origin, limits and purpose of human consciousness. Based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel, “2001” begins with the dawn of man and continues through an imagined future in which technology allows us to explore the mysteries of the universe deep within our own solar system.
Why it’s worthy: Director Stanley Kubrick’s finest work is also one of the best examples of the film medium in general. It’s a mind-expanding, masterful monolith that redefined artistic potential at the cinema and provoked deep thoughts on the part of its audience. A late-film sequence in which Dave (Keir Dullea) is pulled into a psychedelic tunnel of light still cultivates the sort of drooling awe that most laser-light shows and CGI spectacles desperately try to inspire.
“The Holy Mountain” (1973)
Premise: Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1973 masterpiece is as beautiful as it is unsettling, offering a litany of seemingly disconnected, immaculately staged scenes that play like surrealist paintings come to life. The plot and characters comment on religion, spirituality, sex, death and a Tarot-deck of other topics literally and figuratively without ever offering black-and-white answers.
Why it’s worthy: Leave the interpretation of this frequently mind-bending film to scholars, who have picked away at its iconography for nearly a half-century, and just let it wash over you upon first viewing. Nothing in the history of cinema or visual art quite prepares you for its exquisite tableaus. It is the definition of “mind expanding.”
“Blazing Saddles” (1974)
Premise: A land-grab in the Old West leads to friction between the residents of the small town of Rock Ridge and the evil attorney general Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman). A black prisoner (Cleavon Little) is appointed as sheriff to speed up the demise of the situation among the racist, white townspeople, but with a savvy approach — and help from aging dynamo The Waco Kid (Gene Wilder) — he turns Lamarr’s plans inside out.
Why it’s worthy: If stoner movies are defined by their humor, “Blazing Saddles” towers above all of them. Laugh-out-loud funny and still relevant in its observations on race, class and gender, it’s a meta-Western featuring Little as a jive-talking sheriff and Wilder as the laidback drunk caught in the midst of a small-town power struggle. There are a couple overt pot-smoking references, but really, anyone who doesn’t at least giggle uncontrollably at the classic campfire-fart scene is dead inside.
“Spirited Away” (2001)
Premise: Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino and her family are in the process of moving to a new home when her father accidentally (and literally) sets the family on a path of discovery, horror and wonder containing an army of magical beasts, nightmare-creatures and spirits.
Why it’s worthy: You don’t have to be an anime fan to appreciate Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s breathtaking treatise of the mysteries of youth, spelled out with some of the most fantastic, pleasing and grotesque images ever put on screen. This bonafide modern classic is another film that rewards multiple viewings over several years.
“The Lord of the Rings” (trilogy) (2001-2003)
Premise: Young hobbit Frodo Baggins finds himself the unlikely savior of Middle-earth as he journeys to Mordor’s Mount Doom to vanquish the evil lord Sauron and his orc minions by destroying The One Ring. Meanwhile, the exiled Ranger Aragon struggles to reclaim his rightful place as king of men — a kingdom sick with corruption and myopia.
Why it’s worthy: This trilogy has it all, including fairly overt (and notably faithful to creator J.R.R. Tolkien’s) references to “pipe weed” as a calming and nourishing agent for the wizard Gandalf and his Hobbit buddies. Even without that, the movies’ historical-minded, deeply influential production design and special effects are some of the most satisfying things to lay one’s eyes on whilst high.
“Star Wars” (original trilogy, 1977-1983)
Premise: The story of a young farm boy from the planet Tatooine who takes on the evil Galactic Empire. Along the way he befriends people wildly different than him, learns the ways of the ancient Jedi order and begins to understand that family is more powerful than anything. Plus: Explosions and sparks (lots of ’em).
Why it’s worthy: There are few things more friendly to cannabis than watching the original “Star Wars” trilogy, whether it was in the theater or at home with the volume cranked way up. George Lucas’ impressive world-building and addictively escapist tone has been endlessly copied, but hardly any of its clones have found the same ideal balance of charisma, hope, adrenaline, mysticism and thrilling action. Quite simply, Episodes IV-VI have become an integral, quasi-religious part of the global culture from which their story and characters were originally cobbled.
“Donnie Darko” (2001)
Premise: Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal, in his breakout role) is a brooding Virginia teenager who may or may not be able to see the future, and may or may not have schizophrenia. His visions — including a demonic bunny named Frank — lead him on a dark path that twists back on itself in delightfully disturbing, mind-bending ways.
Why it’s worthy: With elements of sci-fi, philosophy, “Catcher in the Rye”-style angst and the sarcastic black comedy of “Heathers,” “Donnie Darko” is an intoxicating concoction that’s as dreamy as it is brutally funny and, occasionally, scary. The otherwordly feeling of unease that permeates the film is headily reinforced if you toke, vape or gobble something before viewing.
“Pulp Fiction” (1994)
Premise: What’s the relationship between violence and redemption? And can we explore those themes with effortlessly cool, stylish characters who seem to fetishize and embody every last corner of L.A.’s culture, past and present? Hitmen Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) are joined by a stellar cast in this semi-episodic film that improved in every way on Quentin Tarantino’s bloody debut, “Reservoir Dogs.”
Why it’s worthy: Expertly crafted dialogue and precision-tuned visuals combine for this love letter to genre cinema, which is by turns playful, graphic, sad, hilarious and sentimental. Tarantino didn’t just channel mid-’90s zeitgeist, he redefined it. Watching it high brings both the funky, soaring soundtrack and muscular performances into impressive relief.
“Mulholland Drive” (2001)
Premise: Betty (Naomi Watts) is a fresh-faced, aspiring actress living her dream in Los Angeles (or is that living IN a dream?) who runs into a mysterious, dark-haired woman who has lost her memory (Laura Elena Harring). As the two try to unravel the mystery, they become even more entangled in a dizzying, disturbing series of identity swaps.
Why it’s worthy: Like most films from director David Lynch, “Mulholland Drive” is an artful and inscrutable product of dream/nightmare logic. And like most of the other films on this list, it’s also best not to use your conscious mind or try to lay a grid over its blurry contours. Instead, let it take you where it wants. Like the best highs, it’s a buzzy, slightly scary experience that’s difficult to put into words, but a wholly satisfying one in the end.
Honorable mentions
“A Clockwork Orange”
“Inception”
“Memento”
The Cornetto Trilogy (“Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “World’s End”)
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
Which is your fave? Which ones did we miss? Leave your answers in the comments


thedenverpost--2020-04-20--Ask Amy: Niece’s outbursts terrify aunt

Ask Amy: Niece’s outbursts terrify aunt

Dear Amy : I see my adult niece once or twice a year .
She has had different diagnoses for mental illness through the years , including depression and bipolar disorder .
Years ago , when she was 19 , she yelled at me in a public place with great intensity .
Please believe me that I didn ’ t do anything to bring on this outburst .
She exploded without warning .
It was upsetting to me , but I decided to overlook it because she was a teenager .
Seven months ago , at the age of 37 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abusive toward me during a family weekend .
Everyone was aware of it and her parents apologized to me .
It culminated in her alternatively screaming at me and then crying for over an hour .
I should have just extracted myself after about one minute , but I was too shocked .
I was very afraid of her .
I am not angry with her , but saddened by the event .
In my heart I have forgiven her , but I feel that it WILL happen again if I am around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being around her , trying to watch every word I say in order to avoid “ triggering ” her .
Any contact with her , at this point , would be upsetting to me .
I am getting gentle pressure from her father ( my brother ) to re-establish a friendly relationship with her for her sake .
I don ’ t want to .
I wish the best for her and I will always love her , but I do feel that seeing her would take a huge emotional toll on me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a brain disorder that affects her moods and behavior .
Cognitively , you understand that , but emotionally , these outbursts are frightening , upsetting , and impossible to forget .
If any of the involved parties acknowledged how traumatic and frightening this episode was for you , it would help you to recover .
Her parents want you to re-establish a friendly relationship with her , but does she want this ?
Rather than gently nudge you to move on , her folks should engage you in a deeper conversation about her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Understand that if you were willing to be with her , it would benefit her parents , as well .
Your niece went almost two decades between these attacks on you .
I wonder if there are better memories from that in-between time that you can attach to , in order to try and measure the reward versus risk of being in her presence .
You don ’ t have to be physically near her in order to have a relationship .
If she is active on social media , you might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If she accepts a “ friend ” or “ follow ” request from you , an occasional “ like ” or comment on a photo might help both of you to feel more at ease .
I believe you should try .
Dear Amy : Ugh .
Spring is here , and the people up and down my street enjoy walking their dogs .
The problem is , some of these humans don ’ t clean up after them !
I hate looking out my window and witnessing this .
More than that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deposits.
” Dear Curb : Knee-high garden fencing along the front of your property might deter dogs and owners .
I recently saw a photo of a cardboard box set on a lawn near the sidewalk .
The box sported a sign saying , “ Dog treats here !
” with an arrow pointing into the open box .
Inside the box was — you guessed it — about a dozen doggy “ deposits.
” That might work , also .
Dear Amy : “ Annoyed by Chaos ” described her workplace frustration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ OCD.
” After I retired 10 years ago , my wife read an article about ADHD symptoms and showed it to me .
I read it and ticked off at least five items .
I saw a specialist and was diagnosed and am now taking medication .
If only I had been diagnosed earlier .
After talking to family members , one of my sons and two of my grandchildren were also diagnosed .
The grandchildren will receive the help they need earlier than I did .
My joke is that ADHD might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it does explain them .
Like any other problem , ADHD is what I have — it is not me .
Dear Better : A correct diagnosis can explain behavior which is otherwise baffling .
Your attitude is commendable ; I ’ m happy your treatment is working .

Dear Amy: I see my adult niece once or twice a year. She has had different diagnoses for mental illness through the years, including depression and bipolar disorder.
Years ago, when she was 19, she yelled at me in a public place with great intensity. Please believe me that I didn’t do anything to bring on this outburst. She exploded without warning. It was upsetting to me, but I decided to overlook it because she was a teenager.
Seven months ago, at the age of 37, she was very hostile and verbally abusive toward me during a family weekend. Everyone was aware of it and her parents apologized to me. It culminated in her alternatively screaming at me and then crying for over an hour.
I should have just extracted myself after about one minute, but I was too shocked. I was very afraid of her.
I am not angry with her, but saddened by the event.
In my heart I have forgiven her, but I feel that it WILL happen again if I am around her. I can’t imagine being around her, trying to watch every word I say in order to avoid “triggering” her. Any contact with her, at this point, would be upsetting to me.
I am getting gentle pressure from her father (my brother) to re-establish a friendly relationship with her for her sake. I don’t want to. I wish the best for her and I will always love her, but I do feel that seeing her would take a huge emotional toll on me.
Am I making the wrong decision?
— Frightened Aunt
Dear Frightened: Your niece has a brain disorder that affects her moods and behavior. Cognitively, you understand that, but emotionally, these outbursts are frightening, upsetting, and impossible to forget.
If any of the involved parties acknowledged how traumatic and frightening this episode was for you, it would help you to recover.
Her parents want you to re-establish a friendly relationship with her, but does she want this? Rather than gently nudge you to move on, her folks should engage you in a deeper conversation about her illness and behavior, triggers and reactions. Understand that if you were willing to be with her, it would benefit her parents, as well.
Your niece went almost two decades between these attacks on you. I wonder if there are better memories from that in-between time that you can attach to, in order to try and measure the reward versus risk of being in her presence.
You don’t have to be physically near her in order to have a relationship. If she is active on social media, you might be able to re-establish a rapport. If she accepts a “friend” or “follow” request from you, an occasional “like” or comment on a photo might help both of you to feel more at ease. I believe you should try.
Dear Amy: Ugh. Spring is here, and the people up and down my street enjoy walking their dogs.
The problem is, some of these humans don’t clean up after them! I hate looking out my window and witnessing this. More than that, I hate picking up these “deposits.”
How should I respond?
— Curb Appeal
Dear Curb: Knee-high garden fencing along the front of your property might deter dogs and owners.
I recently saw a photo of a cardboard box set on a lawn near the sidewalk. The box sported a sign saying, “Dog treats here!” with an arrow pointing into the open box. Inside the box was — you guessed it — about a dozen doggy “deposits.”
That might work, also.
Dear Amy: “Annoyed by Chaos” described her workplace frustration due to “a certain level of OCD.”
After I retired 10 years ago, my wife read an article about ADHD symptoms and showed it to me.
I read it and ticked off at least five items. I saw a specialist and was diagnosed and am now taking medication. If only I had been diagnosed earlier.
After talking to family members, one of my sons and two of my grandchildren were also diagnosed. The grandchildren will receive the help they need earlier than I did.
My joke is that ADHD might not excuse my actions over my life, but it does explain them. Like any other problem, ADHD is what I have — it is not me.
— Much Better
Dear Better: A correct diagnosis can explain behavior which is otherwise baffling. Your attitude is commendable; I’m happy your treatment is working.
(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)