Yes, I remember Annie

I remember, Annie.  I’m certainly not alone in struggling to find the words to describe how I remember Ann, but I found some wisdom that for me brings a bit of focus – A friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.  From day one, Ann touched my heart.  I particularly remember her morning greetings – up front, cheery, self-initiated and warm.  In a world where such greetings are often pro forma, I always felt and knew Ann’s were heartfelt and sincere.  That’s who she was, but not just in the morning.  That was Ann all day, every day.   I enjoyed watching Ann and Scott as they went about and talked about “their” paleo program at Dinosaur and often told folks they were incredibly dedicated employees who levitated through their entire workdays.  After some twenty years their excitement level was still contagious and they infected me – their feet never touched the ground and their program showed it.   On a number of occasions I watched her Dinosaur wall interpretive talks and can still vividly see the faces of the school children who went away in awe of what she did and wanting to be paleontologists.   That legacy is an enormous gift to visitors from near and far.  Having to leave that program that meant so much was difficult, but I talked to her about her new assignment at Colorado National Monument (another of my previous haunts) and she spoke in typical Ann fashion telling me when one door closes another often opens.  She was just as excited about her new responsibilities and feedback suggests she was helping the program there to blossom just like she did at Dinosaur.   Yes, I remember Ann.  She reached out a welcoming-hand when I arrived at Dinosaur and touched my heart forever.   I told a friend recently, a person who dogs loved that much had to be very special.  She was.

Denny Huffman