Im still trying to process the fact that some lunatic turned off our town's natural gas supply during Christmas week. Thats why its been absolutely riveting to soak in the latest impeachment hearings on TV and public radio and then go skiing as a means of digesting it all. The juxtaposition of the trial against our jagged skyline, snowy slopes and the waning days of the pandemic are stunning.

Our detachment or maybe its just mine from whats going on in our country right now is stark. It feels like Im wallowing in freedom right now, borderline criminally so. Im feeling almost emboldened enough to strut into Tulips waxing studio and surprise my wife with a new hairdo for Valentines Day.

Im also filled with a new sense of optimism. Im optimistic about the rest of our winter. Im optimistic about the local businesses and restaurants. Im optimistic about the health and well-being of our local front-line workers. Im optimistic about the rest of the school year for our local kids. Im optimistic about the FIS World Championship returning to Aspen. Im optimistic that the hardware store has already started displaying seeds to plant this spring. Im optimistic about our towns future. Im also thankful I have no idea whatsoever what GameStop stock or Bitcoin is.

I was recently reminded how important fresh snow is its crucial to business, our attitudes and the implications for the spring runoff and the impending fire season. Right now it feels like our snowpack is getting better each week, and my attitude is following like a dapper one-piece ski suit. Lift lines on a powder day should be celebrated, not shamed or shunned. The same goes for vehicular traffic theyre both indicative byproducts of a robust, vibrant community.

Im optimistic because it looks like were slowly emerging from the restrictions mandated by the board of health which, incidentally, Ive been more than happy to adhere to. Wearing a mask and being able to avoid people at will is downright enjoyable. Im patient, young and I have my health. It feels like well get the all clear signal in the relatively near future. It also seems as if theres already a resultant uptick in consumer confidence both locally and domestically. Before you know it, Ill be safely eating at our incredible local restaurants again and getting my ass handed to me in CycleBar.

Im optimistic and grateful for our local front-line and hospitality workers who have been putting their necks and mental health out on the line all winter. Im hopeful we can all stay steadfast in our attention to detail of the safety protocols and finish this rollercoaster ride of a ski season without getting sick. Just the act of signing up for a vaccine on the county website already instilled a sense of confidence and positivity in me, regardless of the impending wait. It feels like were all in line to get Rolling Stones tickets, and were assuredly going to end up with floor seats instead of nosebleeds.

Im optimistic that our local schools are on a path to reopen safely and that a second semester can be successfully salvaged. Im confident that our local kids are resilient, resourceful and independent enough to emerge victorious from what amounts to a gap year or a semester at sea even if that sea was the troubled waters of navigating a pandemic. Quarantining and sheltering in place were bad, but not bad enough for me to face my demons and clean out the drawer from hell in the kitchen.

Ive always said that Aspen was well positioned to rebound during and after the pandemic. My thoughts were that were predisposed to successfully navigate downturns whatever they look and feel like by our DNA-level familiarity to cyclical on and off seasons. Soon enough, well all be complaining (not just people in construction and property maintenance) about the usual: traffic, tourists, IKON passholders and how horribly busy it is here.

In short, Im optimistic that our local elected officials you know, the ones elected by the people that actually live here in Aspen will successfully navigate all our pressing issues.

It feels like town is starting to emerge from the most tumultuous days of the pandemic with our town character, values and spirit still intact. Some may protest that the things we do or say or signal here in Aspen are out of character. Theres no such thing. If you do something or say something even if its unpopular, an accident, mean or uninformed well then, thats your character. Thats why Im thankful to have an editor. Aspen doesnt have that luxury.

Enjoy what Aspen is now and feels like in this moment, because the one thing Im overly confident about is that change here is constant. Aspen is the per capita dump truck capital of the world. Our town song is the reverse beacon warning beep. Our town bird is the migrant worker, and our flag is that neon tape on the end of those irksome telltale wooden survey stakes, the one that flutters in the wind ever so gracefully. Im sure everything being built right now will have no historic value whatsoever and thus be gleefully torn down in the future.

Want to finally know what the eastern side of the Red Onion building looks like? Youd better go look now before the new building goes up, hiding it for another 50 years. Feel free to send comments to Lorenzo via suityourself@sopris.net or follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lorenzosemple3/

See more here:
Semple: Our future is on trial, but no need to worry the jury - Aspen Daily News