Dental Despair

If you are a Durango resident

And thus are aware of local activities

You might wonder what was the image

That best represents our city 

An initial thought might be

Some restaurant scene

With more eating places per capita than San Francisco

Everything from the really high priced, to the more casual Steaming Bean 

Since Durango is so sports minded, maybe a runner or a skier

Or a snowboarder or mountain climber, or some other sport you love

If you’re under ninety you’re probably doing one or the other

And for some of us, remaining active, means doing all of the above 

Another symbol might occur, to those with a passion for art

Virtually every block on Main Avenue, has an artistic destination

There are stores selling paintings, hand crafted jewelry or what have you

Modern, traditional, or defying any reasonable classification 

Personally, I think none of the above

Best represents Our Durango traditions

My vote would be a picture which would include

An orthodontic physician 

I’ve never lived in a city

Where so many braces can be seen

Next to cell phones, they seem the most common

Item on a Durango teen 

So my vote for a Durango symbol

Would be an image of a Durango orthodontist whose dental mission

Is to successfully realign a teenager’s crooked teeth

With parents in the background worried that the cost would lead to debtor’s prison

The Steaming Bean

The Steaming Bean

I don't own stock in the Steaming Bean

But compliment management on their presence

The varied decor fairly represents

The cosmopolitan interests of Durango residents

In the alcove, hanging on the wall

Is a high performance bicycle

In the men's room, a painting of a naked woman

Perched atop another cycle

Various paintings adorn the walls

For the most part fairly sensible

Depicting scenes whose intent is clear

An occasional one completely incomprehensible

The bean patrons have many different life styles

And different points of view are almost always respected

But you're in deep trouble while you're there

If your dislike of dogs is somehow detected

Particularly noteworthy

Are Friday night open mike times

Where I can recite

My somewhat oddball rhymes

Illegal Double

After running a 10k charity race

A Durango High runner received a discipline

Because he did not obtain from his principal

The required advance permission

These rules seem  odd

And really seem to mean

A Durango High team member

Can't compete other than with his or her team

So Durango athletes best be alert

To avoid getting into trouble

Whether it's hop scotch or tiddlywinks

Get advance approval, to avoid an illegal double

Dogs in Durango

 

Jewish, Buddhist, Christian, Sikh

Your viewpoint will rarely cause a Durango resident

To so oppose what you believe

That they will become severely apoplectic

But one position

You should carefully avoid

Is to say something nasty

About a Durango dog

So if a victim of violence

You don't want to be

Remember a nasty remark about a a dog

May cause you to be hung from the nearest tree