Courts and courting

There’s the basketball court, the court of public opinion, a court of law and the old-school courting of a potential mate. All came into play this week.

I’m still wondering if watching that Nuggets game Monday night will skew my stress levels that might be counted in my health portfolio since I had the health fair blood draw early Tuesday morning. I guess I’ll see in a couple weeks. 

Chatting with my blood draw neighbors Tuesday, the Nuggets caught fan fever in the last month and even people who said they were not big sports fans were drawn in to watch the Denver team claim their basketball championship after a tense back-and-forth game Monday in Denver. 

One reason for the interest in a professional basketball team that didn’t always illicit a lot of passion might be the star player Nikola Jokic of Serbia. The guy is so humble and sincere that it is refreshing to see a person in the major spotlight be so nice and expressive of giving credit to his teammates for the success he’s seen. He always tries to deflect credit to others and seems to embrace the role of being a dad to a pretty cute toddler who seemed a bit stunned at all the confetti dropping from Ball Arena. The Joker just seems a solid, humble, committed workhorse who is enjoying the moment.

That of course is the total opposite of a certain former president who is trying to shape the court of public opinion as he deals with a court of law. Donald was indicted last week on a number of serious counts dealing with national security. So, of course he starts the toddler attacks on the guy doing his job by labeling him as demented and a thug. He’s not, but Donald’s bully tactics have worked before and might again. 

Even his supporters sort of understand that Donald has always set the ceiling for vanity and been all about taking credit for the good things and pushing blame on others for the things that don’t quite work out. He might, and it is a might, finally have to face accountability for so carelessly handling serious security information that could damage the country he at one time swore to protect. Despite his egotistical beliefs, he might find out that the rules really do apply to him. Let’s hope so.

I am sure there are those in the Valley who feel he is being unfairly persecuted and to them I would suggest, simply read the indictment. It is easy to download and reading the 49 pages doesn’t take long. One of his attorneys claimed on TV last weekend that the whole thing was overblown and there was no reason to be raising the five-alarm fire call. Read the indictment. As presented, it is indeed a five-alarm fire situation. And understand that Donald had every chance to just stop the madness and give the security stuff back when asked, but he didn’t. His poor choices might be coming home to roost.

The indictment document is interesting and somewhat disturbing reading. If this Jack Smith guy can back up the information in the document, and it certainly appears that he can given the evidence he cites in the indictment, then Donald might be, in the words of his former attorney general Bill Barr, “toast.” Just take the time to read the indictment before defending or piling on the guy. The most disappointing thing is the Republican party leadership appears still so afraid of the guy that they are choosing to defend the allegedly indefensible actions in the court of Republican base opinion instead of criticizing an obviously egregious situation. McCarthy, Rubio and Graham sure fall into sycophant posture pretty quickly. Their kids must be so proud.

Like so many, Donald apparently believes what he hears and sees in his limited bubble. While I’m not certain any of this is real, the one thing I do get is that everyone’s individual bubbles are definitely not comprehensive reality. In the meantime, let’s appreciate a guy like Jokic who five minutes after achieving the top rung of the professional basketball ladder said, “the job is done and we can go home now,” before spreading the wealth of credit to his fellow teammates, coaches and family. He is a role model for a better world…unlike some others.

And finally, I received an email this week having to do with “courting” in the arena of romance. In a recent poll, Crested Butte emerged as the 99^th best romantic destination in America. Number one was St. Augustine, Florida but we cracked the top 100! In Colorado, Telluride and Durango topped us but CB was described as a place where in summer couples can explore the extensive, colorful trail networks together hand in hand, while in winter, Crested Butte transforms into a “winter wonderland” where couples can snuggle up by a roaring fireplace in one of the town’s cozy lodges…

Okay then. There you have it…Tying Nikola, Donald and the opportunity for a romantic snuggle by a fireplace in CB. It’s one of those weeks… good news, bad news, no real news. Now I’m ready for some toast!

—Mark Reaman