Tony Vagner/Photo provided
Sometimes a photograph does that, bringing back all at once a memory hidden somewhere in the gray matter of your brain, a memory you thought had been forgotten. But more importantly, memories can also have the power to bring back the feelings and emotions that were captured in the photo.
Of course, it's a different story if you don't take into account distorted memories that can lead to inaccurate emotions. But please, don't let this derailment stop you. Rather, walk with me down the path of the past. Or someone else's path. Maybe it's yours.
The Aspen Historical Society has a very impressive archive of photos from Aspen's past, some of which they generously post on their Facebook page. This writer sometimes peruses posts because the photos remind him of what he talked about in the first paragraph.
On rare occasions, people will look at the photos and comment about their first experience in Aspen. What it looked like when they arrived. Where they were working in town at the time of the photo. Where did you live and who did you live with? Their favorite ski mountain. And how important Aspen is to them, no matter where and how they live now. Naturally, most of it is well-worn youthful conversation, but some of the comments are heartfelt and truly engage the reader, convincing and sometimes revealing the sincerity of what is being said. creates a sense of intimacy. part of their history.
Part of the beauty of such a rare experience is that people generally don't take the opportunity to hit the town like they do now and brag about the great swagger they had as downhill skiers. Hikers and drug addicts. Just the fact that they lived in this special place at a certain time was impressive and unforgettable. Somehow this experience retains its innocence, which is perhaps why just his one comment has the power to draw others into sharing their thoughts.
If this sounds a little grumpy, that's probably my slip-up and showing off my sometimes sentimental personality. But you have to admit that Aspen has a magnetism that continues to hold it dear, both in the present and in the memories of thousands of people. Never make the mistake of trying to define it.
As everyone knows, there are detractors who are dissatisfied with this event and changes in the social order and are not afraid to make their feelings public. Sometimes I get emails from people I went to school with or were friends with years ago, but it's not about how much they miss the place.
“I've been standing there for 30 years and I can't stand it anymore” or “How did you manage to stay there all these years? You have to hide in the countryside.” These were comments from people who left Aspen in the late 1970s and early 80s. I think some people thought Aspen was at its best.
Of course, that hasn't changed, but it's still fun to walk down Main Street reminiscing about other people's memories. The Aspen Times building is still there, but the Aspen Times no longer exists; it has moved to offices elsewhere, and in any case, the digital age has drastically reduced the need for “offices.” Another new icon, Carl's Pharmacy, still exists, carrying into this new millennium what was once Matthew Drug.
Connor's Chevron, a large local gas station whose site is now a bank. Is it a strange development in the evolution of a ski town with a million Range Rovers, Mercedes and Audis and only one gas station? A city that continues to try to define itself.
Oh, and over there on the left is the site of Main Street Bakery, once a local favorite, but now under construction awaiting a new version. Is it like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, a beautiful specimen to be observed with awe, or just an ordinary gray moth created without creativity or artistic flair? (I know, I know, the gray moth is special in its own right.)
The Smuggler (built by Whip Jones when he first came to town) and The Nugget, directly across from Main, both hit the wrecking ball. The smuggler has now transformed into his MOLLIE. Nugget has not yet been announced. And let's not forget that before the Nugget was built, Mrs. Brown's home and beautiful gardens graced an entire half-block.
Anyway, hats off to the Aspen Historical Society for making time travel possible for us, not only through the great photos they post on Facebook, but also through the interesting and sometimes heartbreaking comments those photos inspire. represents.
Let's meet again.
Tony Vagneur writes here Saturday and welcomes comments at ajv@sopris.net..
Tony Vagneur writes here Saturday and welcomes comments at ajv@sopris.net.
