In downtown Denver, an affluent couple from the Bay Area of California dined with another husband and wife, both locals, and a visitor from Arkansas.
Outside, Larimer Square hummed with the buzz of sidewalk cafes, a canopy of lights and the aroma of Colorado's urban salad of choice, cannabis. Not far away, the Broncos were taking on the Forty-Niners at the unfortunately named Empower Field at Mile High.
Pre-dinner small talk covered many topics including the odd-man-out's home environs. The Californians noted a Methodist mission trip taken years ago to Huntsville, of all places. Another anecdote revealed a North Carolina-bound family friend's mistaken landing in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Friendly and polite, they spoke nonetheless of rural Arkansas as we might of rural Guyana, and graciously bemoaned the lack of healthy food, but raved about the local hospitality.
In full chamber mode, the Arkansawyer bragged of northwest Arkansas' growth and implored them to fully explore the region if they ever made a return trip. Nevertheless stuffed to the gills with stereotypes, Arkansas is full of surprises, he assured.
The golden staters noted the mass exodus from their own republic, and sympathized with the expats. But California is home, they said. Sometimes you just gotta dance with him what brung ya, or in this case, stick with the dirt that reared you. Besides, the view at Montara is a good one, they reasoned.
The locals, empty-nesters with kids spread from Idaho to Massachusetts, reminisced of college days in Boulder and regaled with stories of Denver International (DIA), now the world's third-busiest single airport.
Situated at the very end of the Great Plains (or depending upon one's perspective, the very beginning), within sight of the massive Front Range but 25 miles east of downtown, the airport opened in 1995 to great controversy and intrigue.
In the mid-1980s, the federal government diverted $1.1 billion in today's dollars to help establish a much-needed western air hub in Denver. An Atlanta of the High Piedmont, as it were. But construction delays, glitches and strikes added up to a much-delayed opening; conspiracy theories still waft around today.
The airport's massive underground tunnel system is the source of much of the talk. The tinfoil-hatters believe DIA sits over a massive underground highway system connecting NORAD, Area 51, conference facilities for the New World Order and maybe aliens. You name it.
Secret messages from the Illuminati are said to be inscribed on the floor of DIA's Great Hall, and the airport architecture includes some sinister-looking gargoyles keeping watch over the two baggage-claim areas.
Then there's the very real Blucifer, a 32-foot-tall fiberglass mustang horse painted blue with glowing reddish-orange eyes that guards the airport entrance.
Officially titled "Mustang," the demon horse of Denver is said to be cursed, and anyone who's seen it might agree. The fact that its artist died in 2006 while constructing it when a piece of the sculpture fell on him, adds to the lore.
Local officials are in the very early stages of planning a massive entertainment and commercial development around DIA called Airport City. It'll be modeled after the area surrounding Stanley Kroenke's SoFi Stadium in suburban Los Angeles. And though the latest Mile High stadium is just 21 years old, the Broncos are weighing the pros and cons of building a new stadium. Yep, in Airport City.
The demon horse likely approves.
Meanwhile, legalized recreational marijuana continues to make money in beautiful Colorado, though the state reports increased exposure to kids and downtown seems to sit under a just-perceptible pall of herbal haze. And budding entrepreneurs get their clever on here. Retail pot shops bear names like Starbuds, Mile High, the Green Dragon, Lucy Sky and EuFlora.
Colorado's blazing ways haven't gone over well with the neighbors, we're told. Neighboring states where pot isn't yet legal continue to hold a grudge as more Colorado cannabis finds its way across borders.
The dinner party ended with hugs of appreciation for new friendships made. Merging onto I-25, the Southerner and his Colorado hosts embarked on the return trip to the suburbs. With Mile High looking down, the home team scored to pull within 7-5 of the Niners, the Broncos' ultimate and odd 11-10 win not seeming out of place at all.