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Vail: Do you know these old truths?

Richard tenBraakVail, CO, Colorado

It’s springtime in the Rockies and we all know what that means – you are either getting back from Moab, Mexico or Hawaii, or are getting ready to go. If you are sticking around, it’s warm weather one day and snowing the next! Just when you thought it was safe to bring your mountain bike out, we get another foot of snow. But have no fear, it will warm up and melt in a day or so, then do it all over again.Just in case you need a little cheering up, I’ll keep things light this week. I’m sure you have all heard the clich about living in Colorado – “if you don’t like the weather, just wait 10 minutes.” But here are a few more. You know you live in Colorado, or our case, Vail, when:• You drive to work with your heat on and drive home from work with the air-conditioner on.• You flush twice to help send more water to Denver or the big cities to our west (I like to tell my friend in Las Vegas, I’m doing it just for him!)• There are more dogs than people in the off seasons.• You think it’s “muggy” when the humidity gets above 25 percent.• When giving directions, you never say “left” or “right;” it’s always “west” or “south.”• You never plan a picnic between 3:30 and 6 p.m. in the spring or summer (if you have to ask why, you haven’t been around long enough).• If it rains more than two days straight, you compare the weather to Seattle.• You think a pass has nothing to do with women or football.• You’ve stood on solid ground and looked down on an airplane in flight.• You visit friends at sea level and can’t get a buzz.• You see someone riding a Harley in a snow storm and you look closely to see if it’s anyone you know.• Timberline is someplace you have actually been.• You know the elevation of your town but not the population.• You can count the names on one hand of the people you know that were actually born in Colorado.Here are a few more, for the days when our visitors return. You can tell you’re dealing with a tourist when:• You see a car going the wrong way in the roundabouts.• You’re asked, “where do they keep the moguls in the summer?”• You get asked, “At what altitude do the deer turn into elk?”Hopefully you actually enjoyed, laughed and were not offended by any of these. Feel free to share these with others or send me some of your own. Someday someone will publish a book listing a whole litany of all these and more. If you do, and make money at it, please remember me when the royalty checks arrive. Next week we’ll get back to the business of reporting on the businesses and happenings in Vail. Until then, have a great week!The Vail Chamber & Business Association is the leading business advocacy group in Vail and is a communications outlet for businesses that want to have a voice in community affairs. To learn more about the Vail Chamber and what it has to offer, call 970-477-0075 or e-mail info@vailchamber.org. Based in Vail Village, our office is located in the transportation center and our doors are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stop by and say hello!Richard tenBraak is Executive Director of the Vail Chamber & Business Association.


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