Denver, CO

Hey hey hey, hope your last day of May was okay.

I had a wonderful night's sleep at station 21 last night. No calls. I headed out early to get the rear tire changed on the bike and then rolled out to Red Rocks. Red Rocks is an area west of the city that has these huge, beautiful, red rocks jutting out of the landscape. There is a natural amphitheatre there that I'm told has great acoustics. The amphitheatre is located just beyond where my shoe is in the pics. I hiked up a good size hill to get some great views and meditated on a small overhang for about a half hour. On my way down a 5 foot rattlesnake was warming up on the path. I'm glad I've watched Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin - I kept hearing them in my head on the path - "You gotta be very careful, danger, danger" (in an Australian accent). I carefully found a way around the awesome snake and met with the burn unit Dr's and nurses at U of C at Denver. Mary and her clan were happy to have me and I was able to meet Kedrick, a burn patient there. The other patients were sleeping at the time.

I then met up with Melisa, a burn survivor who is helping get the Phoenix Society SOAR program started in Denver -YAY! I am meeting with Melisa and her boyfriend Erin, also a burn survivor, for Asian food tonight and some Jazz.

After U of C Hosp. I drove over to Children's Hospital to meet up with Denver FD Asst. Chief Pat Hynes. We met with Jamal, a 7 year old who is in burn rehab and doing great. He did a great job today in rehab and loved the toy and crayons I gave him. A smile on a child's face is priceless isn't it? Hopefully Jamal will be able to attend the Denver Burn Camp this year.

I want to thank Pat for letting me crash at his place this evening- all for the small price of washing and ironing his laundry, tiling his bathroom, and waxing his truck. Not a bad deal if I may say so.

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After dinner post:

Just got back from a great dinner with Melisa and Erin, 2 very cool people. Thank you both for the great conversation and dinner.

Erin is from Durango and gave me a list of restaurants and microbreweries (take it easy Mike) to try down there - can't wait!

Melisa is a stunning inspirational speaker who's mantra is "Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional." Doesn't get more real than that folks. Melisa can be reached at melisa@ofloveandfire.com for speaking engagements.

Well, I'm tired and going to bed after I get this 2nd coat of wax on Pat's truck. Good night all.

Mike