Happy 70th Birthday Dad!!! We Love You!!!

 

Michael

Don't know where to start with the stories, there are so many.

The First time I met Dennis was through work at United Memories and through Tim.  Tim asked me if I wanted to come out after work with him and the Mad Morman.  While shooting pool Dennis cried out during a critical shot I was trying to make that  “if you don’t make this you suck”.  I thought okay, he has some strong opinions.  Our relationship started from there.

Snow skiing with Tim, Dennis and I at our Leadville Cabin.  Sometimes with additional people and sometimes as a couples trips.  Also had several ski trips while staying in a placer valley cabin.   

The conclusions of which was always that "Laughter is the best therapy of all." 

At UMI Christmas parties Dennis could often be seen break Dancing with our CEO Sheff Eaton.  Both were spinning and rolling on the dance floor together. 

Some might say that I tricked Dennis into leaving UMI.  At one point in the late 90's I interviewed and accepted a job with Al Weiner at Atmel.  I told Dennis about it.  He interviewed, got the job offer to move from layout designer to layout manager at Atmel.  He accepted this position.  

Then I proceeded to change my mind and stayed at UMI.  And Dennis left.  A similar situation happened when going from UMI to a company called Ceram with Gary Derbinwick.  Dennis went and I never did. 

Please raise a glass of wine to toast to my great friend Dennis, I love you Man!

  

Michael

Nancy

Happy 70th Birthday, Dennis! What a remarkable milestone for a truly 

kind and sentimental soul like you. Celebrate not just the years, but 

the rich, full life you’ve lived, marked by a wonderful range of 

emotions that keeps you connected to the world and the people around 

you. Your wit is sharp and your sense of humor always brings a smile! 

More than anything, I cherish the way you engage with life —by asking 

those truly good questions that makes one pause, reflect, and 

ultimately, think better. May this decade be filled with boundless 

happiness, love, and many more opportunities to share your wonderful spirit.

                                                - With love from Nancy

Thomas

 Well, brother-in-law you beat me again, turning a year older first. Though we will soon both be 70 it's my wish and prayer that you enjoy 70 on your own for a few months. I know I can’t believe it either, it wasn’t (or seems not long ago) that 70 was a distant age. Well it is here and we can’t avoid it.

Dennis in the years we have known one another and had the opportunity to share life, although sporadically, has been a great joy. I love your peaceful, kind heart, and your sense of humor. I think that is where you and I first connected was in humor. Sharing a joke, some ribbing, or a funny experience seemed to permeate our conversations. I know life can feel like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation but funny thing, it is never quite that crazy. I am sure our being only months apart in age has much to do with our connection. We babes of the baby boom generation have to stick together, from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin and beyond.

On a more serious note it would be an oversight not to note your faith, and strength in the last five years. Your resilience in the face of seemingly poor odds has been encouraging to more than just myself. May your next years be filled with all peace and joy. May grace continue to shine upon your life. Happy 70 Birthday Dennis!

Thomas Strewler

Michael and Marsha

 

Ode to Dennis Hodges

How many times they huddled

Discussing aches and joys.

Michael and Dennis

Our two like-minded boys.

 

Bald pate for Michael, 

Dennis silver grey,

Heads bowed together

Sharing news of the day.

 

Trudy and Dennis,

Romance at its best.

Down in the Springs

In their loving home nest.

 

And now here’s what we send:

Welcome to your 7o’s Dennis, dear friend.

Wishes for good health and giving troubles a shove.

Much love from Marsha (and from Michael, above)

Betta and Thom

 

A Very Vinitok Weekend

There we were, racing through the Arkansas River Valley, Trudy and Dennis in their TT, Betta and Thom in their Acura. It was September, 2018, and we were spending the weekend in Crested Butte for the annual Vinitok Festival. Trudy was driving and we imagined Dennis singing “Ventura Highway” to her as she dominated the tight curves of Monarch Pass like a seasoned Formula 1 driver.

𝄞  “…Ventura Highway in the sunshine

Where the days are longer

The nights are stronger than moonshine…”

We spent the day exploring Crested Butte and then came the festival that night. A wonderful dinner, interrupted by pagan dragon warriors and Earth mother fairies singing songs of redemption as they marched through the restaurant. We wrote our wishes and regrets on little pieces of paper that we tucked into allotted boxes for the bonfire. Dennis and Thom wore curved horns while Trudy and Betta wore garland in their hair. Out into the street to join the torch-lit procession, the entire town and guests marched the length of the city, carrying the effigy of The Grump – all those bad things, bad thoughts, bad emotions, bad politics – heading toward destruction and renewal.

The Grump was monstrous, but suspiciously familiar in his oversized blue suit, unnaturally orange face and criminally tiny hands. His unrealistically long red tie draped down the length of the parade float. We marched alongside him as we chanted “Burn the Grump! Burn the Grump!” all the way to the giant stack of logs that would soon be lit.

The Grump was set upon the pyre along with the boxes filled with our private thoughts, and torches were added to start the conflagration. The fire burned hot, and Dennis and Trudy’s faces glowed joyfully in the night as we chanted “Burn the Grump!” letting our past transgressions and wishes turn to smoke and disappear into the starry night. We made our way back to the condo, exhilarated and tired.

The next morning, we luxuriated in our pajamas in the condo and Dennis and Trudy taught us to play the “Kings in the Corner” card game. Then we went to the farmers market and enjoyed the Fall colors and golden aspens before we packed our things and left. Again, we could imagine Dennis serenading Trudy on the drive back to Colorado Springs. 

𝄞  “…'Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair

And the days surround your daylight there

Seasons crying no despair

Alligator lizards in the air, in the air”

Betta and Thom

Glenn

 I’ve known Dennis for about 25 years.  We met at Atmel and often wandered to the Blue Star – usually AFTER work.  Nancy, Dennis and I were all going through some level of relationship disruption and found in each other kindred spirits. Nancy dubbed us the Popsicle Sticks which morphed into the p-sticks.  The name stuck in that like a bundle of sticks, versus just one, we supported each other, together - sort of like the Diamond Dogs in Ted Lasso.  Not sure we howled, but on occasion a growl or two was heard...

We ended up smoking cigarillos on the Cliff House veranda and drinking fine wine while floating in the pool at the Biltmore in Arizona.  Many good times were had. Through the good times, and probably more so through the hard times, we forged a deep friendship.

We’ve come as close as anyone in solving mankind’s perennial challenges.  How best to skate ski in Crested Butte, how best to yell at the Broncos when they are stinking, and other earth-shaking matters.

But seriously, there is no man I would turn to for counsel on how best to be a father, or a lover... er, I mean about matters of the heart.  I’ll always remember and frequently dust off his wisdom, that "a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways".  I think he stole that from the bible.... Is it ok to steal from the bible???

Anyway, it was a pivotal moment for me, at the Blue Star of course, when he made the powerfully simple point that when we split our energies or intention, try to hang onto the fence if you will, that we subvert both options.  Best to walk one path in life at a time.  This was on apt display a few years later when Dennis and I were sitting outside Rico’s wine bar when up walked Trudy.

It was like lightning struck.  Pretty sure I hear the thunder-crack!! Following his own advice, Dennis went all-in with Trudy and within a year’ish they were hitched, and a better pardner I could not imagine for my dear friend.  In fact, Trudy has become a match-stick – a mere splinter away from a full-fledged p-stick!

Since then, the years have flown by it seems. And now, Dennis is the point-of-the-spear as the p-sticks head in our seventies.  We have sung together, cried together and laughed together and I look forward to teasing him, when he starts wearing a diaper. 

But seriously folks, I’ll happily help him change his, if he’ll return the favor.

But really, seriously, to my brother from another mother, I love you and look forward to all the joy these next years will bring.

Glenn