Life and Death on the Platte

I ventured out on the Platte River in Denver the other day to see what there might be to see. A bike path runs along the Platte and I am able to access it not far from our house near the Broken Tee Golf Course. On one side of the path grew factories and massive churches while the river flows consistently on the other. A cross mourning a homeless man caught my eye. I took a few shots and continued on my way. I found an other memorial. The stump of a cottonwood tree posed as a gravestone for a woman named Liz. Further down the path a man pulled up next to me while I photographed graffiti bordering the river. He told me that slightly of the path some flagstone pieces formed a shrine for homeless people that have lived and died along the Platte. Tears filled his eyes as he mentioned Old Man Shaky who had Parkinson's and how someone found Liz behind Invesco Field. "This is really sad, though," he said while he wiped his eyes, "they found Jane Doe under the bridge. Just a skeleton and rotting clothes. No one knew who she was... But I guess the homeless do have feelings if someone is willing to build something like this for them. I always thought it would make a good picture." I thanked him for sharing and he hopped back on his bike and rode away.