The POW, the PIX, the PEOPLE.
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September 12, 2011 On the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, Apsen paid tribute to the events.
Click 2 albums for Pix:
Aspen Mac & Cheese Festival (9/10/11)
9/11 Memorial @ AVFD & Aspen Community Picnic
Aspen's first ever Mac & Cheese Festival. Click for Pix.
The Ettlingers scored at the Aspen Community Picnic. Click for Pix.
September 11, 2011 
I was ripping water-ski laps on Pine Lake in W. Bloomfield, Michigan. The sky was crystal clear on that morning of 9/11/01. I remember it being unusually beautiful and calm on the lake. With the exception of my skiing partners Billy and Fred-Dog, the lake was empty...glass as they say.
I had spent almost 10 years living in Manhattan, but I was now back home living on the lake in Michigan. My career on Wall Street which started out with a meteoric rise was nearing it's end. The go-go years of the 90's, in NYC, rockin it at Morgan Stanley (before Dean Witter), were very very good to me. I had sold my book--not once, but twice. But now I was just another suburban stock broker working with some semi-conscious partners at a branch office of a Swiss Bank who had bought out our entire team. I had lost the fire in my ample belly at around the same time as the first internet bubble burst . The great bull market of the 90's was already in turmoil..., I made the trade...I bailed.
As my non-compete was about to kick-in ...and my large paychecks were about to stop, I planned to go back to NYC on 9/20/01 to take film and writing classes at NYU. I was fired up to get back to The City, to feel the energy, to hang with the BIG shots at the CAC and to explore my creative side.
The land line rang. "Turn on the TV" screamed my friend Carol..calling long distance from New York. I couldn't believe my eyes. The attack on America had begun..although we didn't even know what was happening yet. I watched the scene in New York unfold...dumbfounded. That was the moment the World changed for all of us, forever.
Classes started on September 20th. Air travel had resumed in the U.S., but airports were empty. People were afraid to fly. My flight from Detroit to La Guardia was about 15% full. It was raining steadilly. As we entered the NYC airspace we could see the still-smoldering mass at ground zero. Grabbing a cab to the City was no-prob. ... LGA was almost deserted. As we crossed the 59th Street Bridge I could smell it. I will never forget the stench, like burnt plastic, it smelled like death....and this was mid-town. As we rolled toward my sick sub-let on 12th Street in the W. Village, I began to see the memorials and missing posters on every corner. Thousands of them. As I got out of the cab, the rain intensified and that horrible smell was prevalent. The rain was like tears of sorrow. I remember buying one of those $3 umbrellas on 6th Ave and exploring the neighborhood, stopping at many of the impromptu shrines on sidewalks and lamp posts. Photos and notes and flowers were everywhere. I remember walking by St. Vincent's Hospital where many of the injured were taken on that fateful day. The sadness was palpable.
My cell phone rang. The caller ID said Clairvest. Clairvest was probably my biggest client back in the day. I didn't have direct client responsibility anymore---but every once in a while I needed to put out a fire for my soon to be former partners. So I clicked on. "You heard about Ron...right?" I hadn't heard. My friend Ron Brietweiser used to be the main portfolio manager at Clairvest. He had given me thousands of trade orders over the years. We were buddies, but he had left the firm a year previously and I hadn't heard from him in months. I knew he was happily married with a young child, living in Jersey. "He was on the 94th floor of Tower Two...Fiduciary Trust". What? I was stunned. I was silent. It all became very personal very fast.
Over the ensuing weeks I was able to witness how the great people of the great city of New York and the entire region picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and tried to get it together. The massive loss of life, the unfathomable property damage and the previously impregnable cloak of security were all gone after 9/11
You might think being in NYC after the attacks on 9/11 would be depressing or scary. For me, being there made it that much more real. Spending time in NYC in the aftermath turned out to be a great decision, and very therapeutic. Volunteering my time as a counselor allowed me to meet some survivors. I sat with people who were there. Several of my former colleagues, clients and friends were in the WTC. One close friend from Wharton with an office in 2WTC had been reassured; "it's the other tower, stay at your desk" was the message. He immediately gathered a few personals, walked down 60 flights and hiked it uptown to his wife and family on the Upper East Side. That decision, in a moment of crises probably saved his life. 2WTC was hit 17 minutes later and collapsed 73 minutes after the first plane struck.
On September 25 ( exact date?) they opened some of the downtown streets near ground zero. I rode my bike down there to survey the damage myself. I cannot describe the vast field of destruction...and again that terrible odor. Most of the rescue workers were wearing masks. I had no mask. I didn't stick around for long. When I saw the Levi's store with the front half blown out and the jeans preserved in dust like petrified wood...I decided to get out of there ASAP. I pedaled up-town, on Greenwich Street. I saw a still smoking pile of reddish rubble about 5 stories high. This pile was different from the grey concrete dusty and char broiled area where the main World Trade Center towers had stood. "What's that?" I asked a masked policeman. He shook his head and said "that?, that's what's left of 7 World Trade Center". 7 WTC was a 47 story trapezoidal building that I had been inside previously. I was speechless...I got on my bike and never went south of Canal Street again.
As the city recovered, I was a witness. The power and the perseverance that NYC and it's residents showed during this trying time was inspirational. The entire city gathered up their collective strength, as one and kept on trucking. It was amazing to see it. I was lucky enough to attend The CONCERT for NEW YORK CITY. I met some firefighters, police and first responders. I met several 9/11 widows and kids. Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie all played. Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Clapton, Jay Z, Mellencamp, Kid Rock and others. The Who and Bowie stole the show. But seeing those survivors, the Cops, the Firefighters etc. rocking it in the front row, cheering on the acts, forgetting the pain for just one night...that's what stays with me 10 years later.
9/11 changed the world. It's not a better place today. I'll never forget the 90 days I spent in NYC after 9/11. I'll never forget how the Bush Administration used the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to address their own agenda against Saddam Hussein. When Osama Bin Laden was finally neutralized by a set of Navy Seals...I cheered. I truly believe that the political divisiveness and absolute gridlock that exists in America today is a direct result of 9/11. The past 10 years have not been good ones in America. The economic meltdown, the climate change and natural disasters and the complete loss of civility in America, suffice to say we are not moving in a positive direction.
My heart goes out to all the survivors. The Wives, the Husbands and the Kids, the brothers and sisters, friends and relatives who lost their loved ones. 10 years later, the pain of 9/11 is dulled, but it will never go away. We will never forget.
September 9, 2011 
Action!! The Bold and the Beautiful filming in AspenTGIOS. Thank God its Off Season. September is one of the best times to enjoy Aspen. The weather is still great, the crowds have dissipated and we at AspenSpin love a little quiet time. The hiking trails are empty, the middle aged guys in their form fitting bike shorts (sorry no-one wants to see that) are back behind their desks and there are no segway tours in sight.
The Bold and the Beautiful filming in Aspen. Star Kimberly Matula (Hope Logan) meets her biggest fan Joanne in between takes.
Just because Summer is over in Aspen doesn't mean the full-on action stops. The Iconic CBS TV soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful is in town filming an episode. The Bold and the Beautiful which premiered in 1987 has become the most watched soap on TV with more than 30 million viewers around the world. The soap stars and starlets have been spied around Aspen for the past few days and while there is no hard evidence, AspenSpin is under the impression that Wednesday night's impromptu fireworks display on Ajax was part of the filming. Cast and crew were extremely tight lipped about the plot line--but we predict a love triangle.
Aspen Mac and Cheese Festival. 12pm-5pm. Saturday 9/10/11On Saturday, Aspen's restaurant row will be the scene of the first-ever Aspen Mac and Cheese Festival. 15 restaurants and food purveyors will provide free samples of their best Mac and Cheese concoctions. It all happens between 2-4pm on the 300 block of E. Hopkins. Similar in concept to Aspen's spectacular Soup Skol...the Mac and Cheese fest will award a championship trophy based on a public vote. So time to bulk up and get your noodle on in Aspen.
Early Sunday morning... 7.30 am to be exact, a rememberance of 9/11 cremony will be held in front of AVFD. Also see the documentary film, Portraits from Ground Zero at 5 pm at The Wheeler.
Sunday is also the annual Aspen Community Picnic at the Aspen Golf Club between 11am and 2pm. Rain or shine the family-friendly, dog-friendly Aspen Community Picnic will take place. Music, games and a free BBQ catered lunch from Red Mountain Grill are on the agenda. Parking at the golf course will be severely limited ...so hike it or bike it...or shuttle every 30 minutes in from the Aspen Middle School. For more than a decade the Aspen Community Picnic has been a good time...2011 will be no exception.
The Aspen Community Picnic. FREE. 11am -2pm Sunday 9/11/11
September 6, 2011 
Aspen's 39th Annual Motherlode Volleyball Tournament.The 39th Annual Motherlode Volleyball Tournament brought top tier talent to Aspen, Colorado. Over 600 Volleyball teams from all over the World converged on Aspen over labor day weekend for a "block party" Wagner Park, Rio Grande Park and Koch Lumber Park all were packed with nets, balls and long lean super-fit volleyball players. The Motherlode is considered "the top social event " in the Volleyball Universe. The Motherlode, which began back in 1972 is now sanctioned by the National Volleyball League (NVL)
The Men's Open final was a classic battle between top seed and eventual winners Rosenthal and Patterson and a very stubborn duo of Marchewka and Zimet. It went down to the exciting third and final game with each team having multiple match points. The experience of Rosie (former Olympian) and Casey showed through in the end as a crucial block and a diving save led to the match winner in a very tight 3rd game.
The Ladies final was exponentially less dramatic as Lunquist and Caulkins took the math in convincing style needing only to games to dispatch their rivals.
;)
Men's Champions: $12,000
SEAN ROSENTHAL (Calif) / CASEY PATTERSON (Utah)
Ladies Champions: $12,000
KARIN LUNQVIST (Swe) / RAQUEL CAULKINS (Bra) 
September 5, 2011 
Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival, 2011Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) found the right formula for all ages at the 2011 Labor Day Festival. JAS presented 3 days of fun and music to a large and well behaved audience at Snowmass Village Park over the holiday weekend. Over 23,000 music fans, spanning generations took in an extremely diverse line-up of performers (see entire line-up below) on 3 stages in Snowmass.
Aspen's beautiful (and usually unpredictable) mountain weather provided a glorious backdrop for this years JAS Labor Day Festival. JAS in it's 21st year partnered up with entertainment and music powerhouse AEG to book a vast array of musical talent that had something for everyone. Friday night's kick-off show appealed to a younger demographic featuring progressive trip hoppers THIEVERY CORPORATION and mash-up artist GIRL TALK. There was a mellow but upbeat vibe throughout the park with plenty of room for dancing and chillin'. The few raindrops that fell didn't inhibit anyone from having a blast...and the sick rainbow was an added feature.
CLICK for PIX JAS DAY 1
Good times at JAS. Michael FrantiSaturday's main stage featured RODRIGO y GABRIELA, an acoustic guitar duo who set the place on fire. While they really don't fit into a particular genre, Rodrigo y Gabriela are quickly becoming a force in world music and the Aspen audience responded to their set with fervor. 70's rock icons STEELY DAN took the headline spot on Saturday beinging their A-game to Aspen/Snowmass. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen displayed their eclectic, sophisticated and distinctive sound flashing the audience back to the late 1970's. Steely Dan attracted lots of parents (and grandparents) to JAS. The almost sold-out show got a rave reviews from the Aspen / Snowmass faithful. AspenSpin had one pet peeve...no Rikki don't lose that number?? C'mon, son?? Saturday night included an awesome and very exclusive after party in the JAS VIP tent that allowed some of the geezers and their trophy wives to "shake it" until midnight....and they did.
CLICK for PIX JAS DAY 2 (VIPs gone WILD)
Sunday's show was SOLD OUT. 11,000 people, man Brush Creek Road is closed. Sunday's musical offerings appealed to everyone. MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD performed their brand of good-time music and got the capacity crowd into that good-time zone. Franti and his band mates spread their love, peace and social justice throughout the fest. ZAC BROWN BAND is simply the hottest group in Country Music today. Brown and his band of country rockers based in Georgia have paid their dues and are finally getting their just rewards...including a Grammy for best new artist in 2010. There was not an empty swatch of grass in Snowmass, as every inch was packed.
CLICK for PIX JAS DAY 3 (Git 'er Done)
The 2011 JAZZ ASPEN SNOWMASS LABOR DAY FESTIVAL was a huge success. Measure it any way you want to... BIG Fun, BIG Fans, a lively but well behaved crowd and no DUI's recorded. Congratulations to JAS, AEG, the musicians, the Town of Snowmass and RFTA for doing a great job presenting top flight entertainment in a festive, grooving holiday atmosphere. TIA/S. This is Aspen / Snowmass.
Donald Fagen of Steely Dan at Jazz Aspen Snowmass
Zac Brown Band sold out show Jazz Aspen Snowmass 2011
Zac Brown Band members kicking it out in Aspen