I loved Colorado from the moment I arrived. I loved the sunlight. I admired the mountains. The pace was slower than that of New York and was much more to my liking.There were wide open spaces. This was God's Country. .
In 1980,there was an increasing number of churches that felt that God's Country was Reagan Country.
Things were changing in the country,within G.O. and within me.
G.O. in Denver bore little resemblance to it's "Jesus Freak"origins. There was less of an emphasis on communal living,some began to live on their own,and those remaining in the communal homes were now being paid by the chirch owned businesses No more allowances,folks paid rent. The vision was to win more souls for Jesus by "blending in"
Unfortunately,neither Jesus,the jacket and tie, nor the Reagan for President bumper sticker on the back of the car I was driving saved me from having to go up against the back of my car,spread eagle as police were seeking a black man wanted for armed robbery..so much for "blending in"
In December of 1980,John Lennon was shot and killed in New York. I learned about the assassination via Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football on the TV's we were all allowed to have now.While members expressed sorrow at such an act,there were others who reminded us that John Lennon was "of the devil" who had led millions to hell.
People say I'm Crazy doing what I'm doing,and I'm beginning to think so. I'm watching the wheels turn..
Fast forward to 1981. James Watt "A brother in the Lord" who fellowships at a "good" church is appointed by Ronald Reagan to be Secretary of the Interior..Before he went to Washington,I had his home phone number in case we needed to pray together.
James Watt testifying before the House Interior Committee: "My responsibility is to follow the Scriptures which call upon us to occupy the land until Jesus returns."
1982-Efrain Rios Montt became President of Guatemala as a result of a military coup.Prior to the coup, Efrain Rios Montt was an "elder"in the G.O. church in Guatemala and had spent time training in Eureka California with "Apostle" Jim Durkin. Jim Durkin and other G.O. "elders" are now meeting with the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell while I am contact with the office of Republican Senator William Armstrong of Colorado urging support of the Guatamalan government..
One of the programs instituted in Guatemala was one called "Bullets and Beans" where G.O. members would provide food to the indigenous population with the intent of converting them.Those failing to convert would then be killed by the military.
In 1982,my mother Helen Louise Jones Daniels passed away suddenly of a heart attack. She was 57. While going through her room I came across her diary. In her diary,mom wrote about feeling as if she failed as a parent due to my involvement with G.O. along with Howie's involvement with the Communist Workers Party. Nothing could be farther from the truth as it was our mom who instilled us with the courage to stand up for what we believe in. Thing was,she knew something wasn't quite right with the way I was living,and deep down I knew it too.
The night after mom's memorial service,Howie broke out marijuana. Only the sighting of our dad driving up the driveway prevented us from smoking it together. When I returned to Colorado,the primary question asked of me was whether my mother was "saved" or not.
In 1983,I was among a small group invited to consult with Senator Armstrong.This meeting took place prior to the vote in the US Senate as to whether to make Dr.Martin Luther King's birthday a National Holiday. Armstrong,a conservative evangelical was inclined to vote no as his personal opinion of King was not that of my experience of him nor my family's.It was some of those perspectives I spoke of in persuading Sen. Armstrong to vote differently, He did.
In G.O. sermons as well as in conversations amongst members,the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver was often cited as a modern day example of Sodom and Gormorrah. After all hippies,artists of all stripes and gays lived there bordered by the most "sinful" Colfax Avenue,a street noted for its porn shops,dive bars,and offbeat characters
In 1984,I was "freed" from New Life Service Company.Unlike in New York where New Life had a monopoly on the business,there was competition in Colorado,and I wasn't making money for the business nor the church. Took on various odd jobs from advertising salesman to newspaper delivery,and as a result being"outside",I for the first time in years found myself in daily contact with people of all walks of life outside of the G.O or evangelical bubble.Some of those folks I met and befriended lived in "sinful" Capitol Hill. I found it both liberating and stimulating.Didn't Jesus hang out with the outcasts of the world?
Writings by theologian Soren Kirkegaard and mystic writer Thomas Merton began opening up new understandings as to how I viewed God.The David who questioned was returning. These new realities were leading me towards a clash with those within G.O.
For years,I had heard the sermons and testimonies of the "backsliders" who had left G.O. Each had its own particular twist to it,but the overriding theme in it was that BAD things happened if you left.On a certain level it seemed to be true.Once in G.O.,ones friends and ones livelihood was entirely dependent on remaining in good standing. Making a "reentry" into the "world" was not going to be a piece of cake. For me it seemed like BAD things were happening by remaining!
With more time being spent with the "outsiders",and with me increasingly openly questioning the basic tenets of life within G.O.,I was given the ultimatum G.O .or the "world". I chose "the world".
Choosing the world for a short time meant crashing in the car G.O. had sold me,but it wasn't long before I found shelter with a person I had befriended. The place was in Capitol Hill.
The world that I had now entered was a different one than the one I was part of before becoming part of G.O. For one there was this thing called cable television now. 24 hour news,music videos and Dr.Ruth.All the movies I couldn't watch previously available on a TV screen,and in Denver,one could tune into WOR in New York for Mets broadcasts. First music video I ever saw: Devo's "Whip It"
In walking into a place called Cricket on the Hill,I learned about a thing called punk music. Being part of another world for 8 years made me a little weird,but in Capitol Hill,being weird was okay.
1986- Watched my first space shot in years on CNN. It was the launch of the Challenger.
Back in 1984,I met and befriended a man named Dwight Filley.He was a writer and a candidate for Congress on the Libertarian Party ticket. At his invitation,I began to attend the bi monthly cocktail parties at the home of one of the members. By the end of the year,I found myself managing the campaign of the Libertarian candidate for the State House.
June 27.1986-Rose Harmony Daniels is born. I caught her as she was being born and held her as the cord was cut. Looking at her in the nursury,I could have sworn Rose was the only black baby born that day. Rose's mother was one of the first persons I befriended upon my exit from G.O. and the person I took shelter with after my short stint in my car. She was Myrrena Brakhage,daughter of the avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage.
October 1986- I remember Rose laughing at me hysterically and mom rolling her continually rolling her eyes,as I'm on my knees in front of the TV begging the Mets to hold on in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.They held on in a 16 inning thriller and went to the World Series. I went to New York for Games 1 and 2. The scene with Rose repeated itself a few months later in early 1987 when John Elway's "Drive" against the Cleveland Browns put the Denver Broncos into the Super Bowl.
One of the things I began to reclaim after exiting G.O. was my interest in music.Before joining the Lord's Land,I had a fairly large and diverse music collection.Little by little I began to collect music again. My brother Austin introduced me to reggae music.He had become exposed to it as a soccer player connecting with Jamaican and West Indian players. I picked up Bob Marley.The music and the message resonated with me..
1987-At Beaujos Pizza on East Colfax Avenue,Doug Anderson,a man whom I had met through the cocktail parties and I were discussing the upcoming Denver Mayoral Race. We agreed there was no one we could support. We understood that it took 300 signatures to get on the ballot.That was the easy part. As a candidate with little chance of winning,it was understood that there would be little money for the campaign,and the likelihood was that such a candidate would get to attend maybe a handful of debates. It was decided that one of us needed to run.Remember this discussion is taking place as I'm polishing off a pitcher of beer on my own.We then decided I would be that candidate while Doug would run as Election Commissioner. There were seven other candidates in the race including incumbent Mayor Federico Pena.
What we thought would be a handful of debates I'd be invited to turned out to be over 100. I actually had reporters assigned to cover my campaign. I made the talk radio circuit.Hardly a day went by without the Rocky Mountain News or the Denver Post contacting me for a quote or two. I was the top story on one TV station when American Indian Movement leaders Russell Means and Dennis Banks came to Denver in support of my campaign. Not bad for a guy who otherwise was working an entry level job in a call center. My calls for legalizing marijuana was considered "comic relief" by one writer,and faced a few angry stares when at a debate sponsored by the Police Union,I stated that Denver's biggest gang problem were the police themselves.There were some folkswho liked me however and at the final debate televised live on Channel 9,my claim that I was best qualified for Mayor because "I am not a lawyer,nor am I a member of the Denver Country Club" had the audience cheering.
On Election Night,TV cameras appeared at my home for my concession speech. Thought the night might wind down,but the party that was gathered at my house ended up a Shotgun Willie's,a stripper bar where Doug was employed as a bartender. That's because Doug got elected as Election Commissioner. There we were on Inauguration Day,a call center worker and a bartender from a stripper bar amongst Denver's power elite
Later that year I found myself in Seattle at the National Libertarian Party Convention in support of Russell Means' bid for the Libertarian Presidential Nomination. His primary opponent for the nomination was former Republican Congressman Ron Paul. At that convention I was with the likes of Russell Means,Ron Paul,Karl Hess,Dr.Demento and Robert Anton Wilson. Never before was I at a political gathering where marijuana smoking was prevalent and it was at that convention where I reacquainted myself with the herb. Ron Paul won the Libertarian nomination in a bitterly fought contest spilling over back in Denver where Paul and I found ourself engaged in heated words on the Peter Boyles radio talk show.
Eugene McCarthy decided to enter the ring as a Third Party candidate for President. I received a call asking me to be his Vice Presidential candidate in a couple states.I was constitutionally too young to assume the office,but McCarthy was running in part on a platform of abolishing the Vice Presidency,and besides does one turn down a chance to be linked with one's political hero? Got to spend an entire day and evening with McCarthy.Got to hear all the 1968 stories from the candidate's viewpoint.
Gene also was aware that outside of politics,things were tough for me both economically and at home. McCarthy spoke highly of Minnesota,and spoke of it as a place where given the culture and social climate there,I might be better off. As I dropped Sen McCarthy off at Stapleton Airport,he handed me a check to use for moving expenses,and in September of 1988,as much as I loved Colorado,I piled everything I owned,plus my cat into an oil guzzling beater car I had purchased months before and began the trek to St.Paul Minnesota
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