Feeling right at Rome in Denver
Rome, Georgia, had a western outpost a few weeks ago. The city was quite well represented in a little town I call Denver, Colorado. My bride and I have discovered that Denver is an easy drive from our village of Los Lunas, New Mexico. We call our frequent journeys north “mental hygiene” getaways. We enjoy the scenic drive, which takes us up through Santa Fe, past Las Vegas, New Mexico, through the famous Raton Pass into Colorado, and then quickly through Pueblo and Colorado Springs. The majestic Rocky Mountains rise to the west and eastern plains vistas fade into the horizon.
For two years, we have snagged tickets to see the Rockies play our Atlanta Braves. Now I say “our” Braves, because over 50 years of allegiance to the Atlanta team does not fade due to a change in locale.
Upon arriving in Denver, and thanks to the social media, my former Berry College music teacher colleague Kay Bratton messaged me to tell me that downtown Denver was slap full of Rome, Georgia, citizens.
It seems that Rome’s First Baptist Church planned and executed one of those way cool bus tours to Colorado and its plethora of scenic treasures. Knowing that the Braves were playing upon their arrival, several of the Rome folks got tickets to the Saturday night game.
My friend from my Thomson, Georgia, days, Beverly Harris was in Denver. She and her husband, Bob, were going to the Rockies game Saturday night, but alas, the bride and I were scheduled for the Sunday afternoon game.
My spies tell me that the great Keith Reaves of First Baptist Church was roaming the historic Denver streets. It would have been fun to catch up.
Due to the tight scheduling of the Roman tour, I was unable to connect in person with them, but it was a wonderful feeling to have all those hometown folks so close, yet so far away.
Denver might have well been Cobb County, Georgia. The streets were filled with fans sporting Braves jerseys, hats, and T-shirts, and we shared many a “Go Braves!” as we walked the downtown area near our hotel.
Last year was our first Rockies/Braves game and we were nervous about sporting our own Braves regalia, but we shouldn’t have been. Last year, and this was late in the season, the Braves fans were out in force and I couldn’t find a single Rockies fan in our section of the stadium.
This year it was bittersweet to see so many young kids sporting jerseys with the name “Freeman” in bold lettering on the back. That now LA Dodgers first baseman broke a lot of young hearts upon making his move to the City of Angels.
The two of us wore our World Championship T-shirts to the game, and my wife wore a classic Braves jersey over her T-shirt. We marveled at the Braves fans lined up to make an early entrance into Rockies Stadium.
Sunday morning we arose and prepared to walk to the stadium. The Rome, Georgia, folks had already departed to visit the upper and western range of the Rockies. From the Facebook photos it looked like they were having a blast. Now next year, if they really want to see some western scenery, there’s a little state just to the south I highly recommend. Our mesas and mountains in New Mexico are stunning.
The best news of all is that our “Bravos Magnificos” swept the Rockies and a rocket homer by that phenom Ronald Acuña Jr. punctuated the game.
By now, the Romans are back in their homes and pondering a meal at Schroeder’s Deli. Like me and the bride, they are probably watching our Braves march toward what we hope will be another championship. Even though we didn’t get to see our old friends in person, we had a lovely “homey” feeling as we drove back to New Mexico.
Atlanta, uh, I mean, Denver, we’ll see you soon.