Denver, CO

Every city has crime, and most every citizen can recall a time when they nervously walked through their downtown area, occasionally checking over their shoulder. These are unfortunate consequences of our society, our economy, people’s own limiting beliefs creating inabilities, or physical handicaps. But whatever the reason, crime is not something we should ignore or assume will never happen to us.
When I help provide self-defense seminars to businesses, groups of men, women, even children, the first and most important aspect we cover is ‘the interview.’ In most cases, a crime offender will interview his/her target to decide if they will make a suitable victim. In doing this interview, the potential criminal will strike up a conversation with the victim, using carefully structured questions to analyze the person. They will often want to know where you are from, who you know in town, where you are going, etc. A perfect victim to them will be someone who naively and friendly gives out the information that they are new to town or just visiting, do not have any close friends or relatives in town, and/or are far from their intended destination. This person makes a great victim because they will have no one in town expecting them and who would alert the police if they were noticed to be missing. AVOID GIVING OUT THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION, EVEN IF YOU THINK IT IS JUST MAKING POLITE CONVERSATION!
Other safety tips:

Don’t travel alone, especially at night

Cover any revealing or flashy clothes with a jacket

Store all jewelry items in your purse and only put them on when you get inside your destination, then take them off when you leave and before going out again

Walk with confidence and if you feel followed, go into a nearby, open, building until your suspected follower leaves the area

If you enjoyed reading about safety in the city, please visit my martial arts and self-defense website, and if in the Denver area, stop by sometime to try a workout for free! Thanks everyone!
www.fusboxe.net

Denver Children’s Museum

The name says it all: this is a terrific place to spend a day learning with your kids. I tell ya, I have so many great memories of going to the Children’s Museum as a kid with my family. In fact, this last year I even tried to take a date to the Children’s Museum to re-experience the learning attractions and relive childhood memories. We were denied entry. Turns out, you must have a kid with you to enter the Children’s Museum! I respect and understand this rule: its a built in safety feature to make sure no one is entering without a kid and leaving with somebody else’s child.

some featured attractions include:

kid size basketball court

mini-grocery store for pretend grocery shopping

The Assembly Plant where children actually get to build real objects

a real fire truck for fire safety lessons

and MORE! click here for more info

Here are a few Mother’s Day activities that go beyond just individual families:

Mother’s Day Brunch for Darfur Saturday, May 12th 11am at the Mercury Cafe in Denver. Live music, poetry readings, and a champagne brunch. Mercury Cafe is located at 2199 California Street, Denver, CO 80205.

Wellington Walk-a-thon in Wellington, CO, which is actually about 70 miles outside of Denver, but a good event never the less. Wellington Junior High School staff, students and friends, 100 strong, will walk 10 miles in an effort to raise money and awareness for Project Education Sudan. Collectively we will walk 1,000 miles, the same distance each refugee had to walk to try and find safety in Ethiopia.

A word of caution: Mother’s Day weekend is a time for the family to relax and mom to have a day off. My family usually goes out to eat on this day, and this year I thought, why not go eat some great food at the Mercury Cafe and contribute a portion of our bill to others who are not as fortunate and find themselves in life and death situations every day? Like the millions in Darfur that have been displaced. With this in mind, I must be careful not to cause my family to feel overly depressed and guilty over the unfortunate situation. Instead, I am going to work at helping my family realize that we are so very lucky to have been born here in the U.S.A. and to have all the things and opportunities that we do. It really puts things into perspective; to realize that middle class in America may have some bumps and daily grinds, but had we are fortunate to not have to experience true pain and fear everyday, like those born in Darfur. Many mothers in Darfur will not be able to enjoy this holiday, so we must remember our good fortune and provide some to help those less fortunate.

Proceeds from these events go to support savedarfur.org an organization that strives to raise public awareness for the genocide and displacement taking place in Darfur, Sudan. Please visit their website at http://www.savedarfur.org. Even small donations go a long way!

Here’s a fun weekend adventure for ya, or even a quick work day get away: the Historic area of Downtown Golden, CO. Just fifteen minutes from Denver -with minimal traffic- you’ll find all sorts of engaging activities and time-passers for couples, the family, or solo adventure seekers. Golden is nestled in the foothills and boasts a small river with its own kayak course, so there will be plenty of adventure to be had. The Golden Community Center has a pool complete with kid slides, a climbing wall and full weight room, as well as mixed martial arts classes brought to you by the FusBoxe Martial Arts gym. While you’re visiting Denver or if you are new to the area, don’t forget Historic Downtown Golden, CO.!

If you haven’t heard of the 16th Street Mall, or if you know of it and have never been, the next few months of warm evenings would be the perfect time to take advantage of a great experience. The 16th Street Mall is lined with shops that you walk, not drive, to and from. No cars are allowed on 16th street, but you may feel inclined to take a horse carriage ride, offered nightly. Shops to choose from include: The Cheesecake Factory, ESPN Zone, Maggiano’s Little Italy, the movie theater, local merchants selling items from chocolates to books to clothes, fine jewelry, and great clothing store outlets. You’ll just have to see it for yourself!

Question: where do you go enjoy a good concert, movie, or even a workout in the Denver area? Possibly enjoy all at the same time? No, its not a trick question, all can be achieved in one location: The Red Rocks amphitheatre. About fifteen minutes just west of Denver in the beautiful Rocky Mountain Foothills is nestled the geologically-formed Red Rocks open-air amphitheatre. The open air structure and the location provide a tremendous atmosphere for an outdoor concert like nothing you will ever experience. The acoustics are top notch, thanks largely to the natural formation of the rocks. During the summer, Red Rocks puts on a Film on the Rocks series that involves some bands performing live followed by a large screen movie.
As far as exercise purposes, many athletes can be found at Red Rocks throughout the day, any given day of the week. The unique stair and seating area at Red Rocks provides a truly aerobic challenge for athletes to run up, over and over again. Family, retired folk, and children even take advantage of Red Rocks for an afternoon walk, and can be seen traversing around the amphitheatre, the trails nearby, or exploring the visitors center.
Indeed, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a must for any citizen or visitor of Denver, if for no other reason than to get a breath of fresh air and enjoy the scenery!

I took my dogs for a long walk last evening, trying to make up my mind on what feature of Denver I should blog about. In the area of night life we Denverites are privileged with great restaurants, clubs, theaters, sports teams, etc. There is always something exciting to do, so what should my quick blog post focus on? I continued on my walk and, by accident, happened to gaze up at the night sky, and realized the answer was there in the stars.
We’re so busy and focused on getting things done that we often overlook the natural beauty of nature. We have so many interesting architectural designs and art within Denver that we sometimes forget those designs that have been around for thousands of years, all feats of natures accomplishments. Not too long ago I heard a tourist here from New York comment that we had such a big sky over Denver. It’s really not any bigger than the sky anywhere you are standing, but ours is certainly more open and the view is less obscured by giant buildings. If you’re visiting Denver, or have lived here and can’t recall spending some time looking up at our ‘big sky’ in the last week, month, or even longer, I strongly encourage you to do so. And if you have the chance, try to catch a westerly view of the sky at dawn or dusk, when the mountains, clouds, and sky are illuminated in such a combination that will bring anyone joy. Nothing is required to enjoy this free production of nature, but I recommend having your camera or video recording device ready!
Until next time!

Working in Denver has its ups and downs, highs and lows, just as I’m sure working anywhere would. My twin brother (did I mention I have a twin) recently lost his job due to downsizing and is struggling to find a new one. Me, I’m an entrepreneur, which will hopefully carry me through the highs and lows of the workforce. Right now I co-own the martial arts gym I spend so much time teaching and training at and I am an apprentice for a motivational speaker/success & business consultant. And I love my job, I truly do! I enjoy helping people to exercise and I get to see, on a daily basis, positive change happening in the lives of my fellow martial artists, and in the lives of business clients.
My main goals in life, and thus my re-occurring themes in this blog, are to find success and happiness in life, with my main focus on the areas of martial arts, business, success psychology, and play a part in creating equality for all the people in the world. I want to be able to accomplish success and happiness in these areas not just for myself but to be able to help others create success and happiness in said areas as well. I know if I focus, educate myself, and work hard in these areas, that I will be able to achieve ultimate success and happiness, just as any of you could for areas you seek fulfillment.
I know this is supposed to be a blog about the great city of Denver, but I wanted readers to gain some understanding of the individual behind the blog, so that those who are interested in more than just reading about Denver, but also about the people of Denver, etc. might get to know me. As I have already said, I am entirely open and accepting of feedback and I will personally answer everything sent to sean.doherty@451press.net
Really now, enough about me. Tomorrow’s entry will detail some great parks of Denver, great diners, shops, libraries, history, or whatever I may feel like exploring. See you then, and keep your eyes open for my overriding themes throughout these blogs. Let me know what you think!