Front Porch Ramblings

It's 12:30 PM and I should be in bed with my wonderful wife. However, something about the clear, calm Denver night inspired me to head out to our front porch to enjoy the evening weather.This likely won't be the most succinct, nor the most focused post of the history of this blog.Those of you that read the previous version of it, The Cole Neighborhood Memoirs, know I frequently headed down controversial roads. Roads that generated so many negative comments that I at one point deleted my entire blog and its history of posts.But, as mentioned previously in the offspring of that original Cole Neighborhood blog, I am back, and dedicated to continue to speak my mind in spite of the few critics that in the past I succumbed to.I don't think I'm a bad person... though there were some that read my accounts of life in Cole Neighborhood that thought otherwise. However, I'm the first to admit that I, like everyone, voice an opinion and depict an experience that has been shaped by my background. A background of spending my first 20 years in the sheltered and egocentric culture of rural Michigan. A community that had five African-American residents out of about 1200. A culture, like most, that was shaped by the experiences of its residents.I spent a year and a half at the University of Michigan, where I experienced my first dose of multi-culturalism. I experienced a microcosm of being part of a minority population still only at the campus rec center, where I fought for equality in terms of my basketball skills among the far more gifted blacks that clearly considered the basketball courts their venue to vent their subconscious bitterness and sense of latent oppression on me and my white friends.I don't say this to play any sort of victim card, only to explain my background.I then moved to Arizona, in search of warmer climates. 8 years later, and no more culturally educated, I relocated to Denver, where I now call home.Cole (and a stint in Highlands, before it became the Caucasian haven of urban Denver) has really been the institution that has educated me about the African-American and Latino cultures. And I'm the first to admit I'm still seeking proficiency and graduation; and that I am likely carrying a GPA of around a C-.Why am I writing this? I'm afraid I don't even know.I'm now 35, and very grateful for the opportunity I've been given to experience what I have in three very unique parts of the country. I look forward to what I'll be able to experience and learn in however many years I'll be privileged to stay on this Earth.As I think I've expressed in previous posts, I don't live in Cole because I think it's the premier neighborhood to live in in Denver. When my wife and I got to the point in life where we decided we should consider buying a home (back in 2005), we undertook an extensive and analytical search for where we should invest our money, and our energies.Trust me, if we had been in a better financial position, we likely would have moved to Lakewood, Golden, or some other area surrounding Denver proper. An area that would offer a more peaceful existence, without the challenges any urban resident can relate to.We bought in Cole for several reasons. One, because we saw what had happened in the Highlands, where we rented for several years. For the first three years there, we fought the same problems we do now: Graffiti, drug dealings, theft, and the occasional gang-related violence. For three years we worried about the cars that stopped in front of our duplex were there for unsavory reasons; then suddenly we were astonished at the number of Audis and Volvos that were drawn to the block as it was redeveloped. By that point, we had been priced out of the market.We moved to Cole out of selfish, though I feel legitimate reasons of buying a home that met out needs and our price range.However, in doing so, we turned back the clock three years to have to deal once again with being forced to be the watchdogs of our block: Fighting drug users and drug dealers that were accustomed to having the run of the neighborhood.We have made many friends, though some enemies, by making it clear that this type of behavior was unacceptable. The first year we lived here we had crack-heads knocking on our door seeking handouts; had individuals urinating on our front curb, crack-heads walking up and own our street whistling, seeking a "friend" to satisfy their addiction; and being singled out as the "white people that called the cops". We still hold that dubious distinction with a few of our neighbors.However, I constantly marvel about how far our block, and our neighborhood has come in the three years we have been here. When we moved here, we had the second nicest home on our block. (This is after the developers that we bought our home from had flipped a dilapidated crack-dealing home into the cute Victorian we purchased). Since that time, four out of 18 of the residences on our block have been completely renovated; and at least three of the other properties have changed ownership and become better managed and more valued properties.This all happened before the current energy crisis and trend of reurbanization had taken hold.What caused this regenesis of Cole? In all likelihood we purchased here when the first seeds of the current economic and urban climate were being sown, and we didn't even know it. Perhaps we were smarter than we thought we were in eschewing the patterns all our friends were taking in perpetuating the decades-long white flight to the suburbs, But now we find ourselves in a pretty good situation relative to many that bought homes during the famous "housing bubble" when property values were increasing at incredible rates and credit was available to anyone with a pulse.We still have a love-hate relationship with our neighborhood. We love the classic, historic architecture; the sense of history that often overshadows the other trials and tribulations; the diversity that makes Highlands Ranch and Cherry Creek look like some affluent or Caucasian exclusive country club development; and the relationships that we've forged with our Hispanic and black neighbors that have forced us to become better citizens.But I'd be lying if I told you that we haven't grown tired of being characterized as the "do-gooders" or the rich people on the block (who inevitably are the source for financial support, food, or assistance, regardless of the fact that since we bought our home 20 years after most of the residents here means that we likely have just as much month left at the end of our money as most of our more senior neighbors). Or having to be vigilant to police our block against the opportunistic parasites that seem convinced they can perpetuate the tradition of Cole as the place where you can sell drugs, solicit prostitution, or simply treat the neighborhood as some forgotten step-child of urban Denver where public drunkenness, littering, and crime are the norm.Why do I write about this? I don't know, actually. Maybe the reasons are two-fold. One, to paint an accurate picture of where Cole is now--In a profound transition. This isn't Highlands Ranch (Thank God!!!). If that is what you're looking for, but you're looking for a bargain price on a home, look elsewhere.However, I also write this as an advertisement to current and prospective Cole residents. To let you know that there is a committed, and growing contingence of residents that are going to ensure the continued progress of the neighborhood. Especially with today's environment of high energy costs and reurbanization, Cole is, and will be, for the right people, a fantastic place to live.We just need help. We need more residents (not just home-owners) that want to be a part of a historic change, even a regenesis, of this area. It has happened in other parts of Denver, and all over America, and it is happening now. White, African American, Black, Asian, whatever you are, if you are willing to put a little of your vitality and energy into the neighborhood in which you live, I can't think of another area in Denver that is a better place to live.But know when you move here, change doesn't happen by itself. Action and commitment on behalf of the residents of Cole is what will make it happen. Just moving here and expecting to sell your home in 2 years for a fat profit isn't only unrealistic, it is irresponsible. Are you prepared to help make this the neighborhood the wonderful place it can be? If not, look elsewhere. If so, we will welcome you to the neighborhood with open arms.As always, thanks for reading.