Letter from the Editor

By Matt Lit. Gather round and let’s all read a story. Together.  It’s an ageless story from years ago. And ever-so apt now don’t you know? A Dr. Seuss tale with a moral that’s hale, a story to learn from, a story to share, a story meant to help us realize that we’re all one beyond pale.  It’s a story of Star-Belly Sneetches haves and Plain-Belly Sneetches have-nots. It’s a story of “they” it’s a story of “us.” It’s a story with a moral if you’ll not put up a fuss.  For the Star-Bellies had stars and the Plain-Bellies did not. And so,...

By Matt Lit. “Life ain’t always fun, but it’s damn sure interestin’.”  I was 25 years old when I heard these gruff, life-perspective-changing words uttered by a biker friend—name of Wade. Guardian Angels, I realized, come in all shapes and sizes and he was one big, burly son of a, but I digress.  This month has been nothing short of this bit of wisdom.  Let’s start with the photo of local ranger Sean Tonner and his boys riding into town to wet their whistles at the local saloon. I have a lot to learn.  Luckily this community is quick to pounce with that help....

By Matt Lit. I grew up watching The Andy Griffith Show. I always loved how Andy Griffith managed to never directly tell Opie what to do. Rather, he would opine in a general way—a subtle story with a moral.  I remember seeing the first bore hole when I lived in Wildernest. It’s a beautiful neighborhood along a 3.5-mile road that snakes its way west from I-70 toward Buffalo Mountain, between Silverthorne and Frisco.  It didn’t come as a surprise, though the realization was all too disturbing. It was August, 2005. Within a year, nearly every lodgepole pine was dead. It wasn’t a...

By Matt Lit. I will not misspell Nick Nevares. I will not misspell Nick Nevares. I will not misspell Nick Nevares.  This is my self-assigned punishment for spelling Nick’s name wrong multiple times in previous  issues. Every once in a while, you have to look in the mirror, admit you messed up and attempt to make right by it. Running my own design and photography company taught me that.  It’s a good lesson to remember as I begin this new journey as managing editor. You have noticed a lot of changes in The Crestone Eagle over the last few months; from the...

By Matt Lit Thirty seven years ago, in 1986, I first drove into the San Luis Valley from Northern New Mexico. Fresh out of college, on my first professional job as a cub reporter “regional editor” for the Taos News, I passed Costilla and crossed into Colorado on my way to Alamosa to visit a friend. Journalistically, under the—sometimes really tough— tutelage of Billie Blair I became a solid writer, editor and journalist. I thank her to this day for being so tough on me and what she brought into my entire professional life.  Life would land me in Summit County in 1988...