A walk through the forest

JULESBURG, Colo. -- I had an opportunity to travel recently. A new hotel was announced in Julesburg, Colo. and therefore a groundbreaking celebration.

Groundbreaking is frequently ceremonial; throw a shovel of dirt to prove before the community that elected officials and Company X is committed to completing the project. 

This celebration is important because it fills in some of the equation, and inspires vision. It takes the movie title turned cliche a step further: If you build, they will come, but where will they stay. The hotel project helps answer that.

Along the way, I got to take a walk through the past, almost half my lifetime ago when we lived in this area. 

A lot has changed, as in any community. Things that haven't include the walk down "Main Street" where the same name is above the drug store, the museums and even some of the businesses are here solely because they refuse to quit.

Lunch at the cafe gave a clear definition of the community. Torn jeans are typically a symbol of someone who works hard. Other than flannel and boots -- t-shirt in the summer -- often implies you're a visitor. Regardless, you're met at the door like a friend. There's no obvious scowl of "what's the news doing here," and lunch is worth coming back. 

There's a proven cliche that if you want to know someone meet them at the table. It doesn't matter if it's true cowboy coffee or a steak. This ride is no exception. I had a lunch like I've seldom experienced, and conversation that could be called a counter-top history lesson. Before lunch I had a conversation with a man I'm not sure I've talked to for more than 25 years. Yet, we had a street side conversation like I never left.

It is yet another example of small town quality.

It is what makes a town a community, what is drawing people from urban centers to rural communities: the quality of life and knowing your neighbor. Community in this definition can be found in any neighborhood or village with a cafe that people are willing to forget about differences long enough to share stories. Often that effort results in learning you're not that different.

For me, this adventure of past meeting present inviting future reminded me we're sometimes only limited by our vision, and that "without a vision, the people perish."

Seek out the coffee shops, the cafes where there are more well-worn jeans than pressed suits. Enjoy the coffee as you sit and watch, soaking in the culture of the menu.