The Mind Creative
Less than a hundred kilometers west of Denver, the Eisenhower
Tunnel on the Interstate-70 burrows through the Rockies at an
altitude of 3,401 meters. Among the highest road tunnels in the
world, it is 2.72 km-long.
In Denver I was the guest of my old friend Carl, professor of
history, now in his late 60s and still working. It is “involuntary”
work, he emphasises. There are many things that unite the two
of us, among them a sense of humour. When writing this piece,
I emailed Carl to check a few details, to which he replied: “Yes, I
am aware that your travelogue is approaching Denver, and I
anticipate it with some trepidation. Were the accommodations
and meals up to your standards? I hope so. Did you detect any
religious inclinations in your host? I surely hope not. Oh, and
what about the policemen we saw near the Art Museum??? Yikes.”
The last is a reference to the
handcuffing of a black man
by 4-5 policemen in the
small park next to the Denver Art Museum. Why? We
didn’t ask and we don’t
know. It was better to enjoy
the fine collection of American Indian art inside the
museum than ask the police
why they were doing what
they were doing. A new
wing of the museum is an
architecturally unique building with 24 sides, 7 stories
tall, and clad in gray glass
tiles.
The Denver Public Library,
next to the museum, was the
venue for the G-8 meeting
in 1997 attended by some
famous leaders, namely,
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