Memories of Aurora, Colo.

It's been a long time since I've been in Colorado. I still hold some very special memories of the place. The names of the towns stay with you. I lived in Littleton for a year.

Yes, that Littleton. The home of Columbine High School. Of course when I was there in the mid-'70s Columbine was not even built yet.

It's the names of the towns that stick with you. Cherry Hills. Englewood. I went to school in Boulder. Longmont. Arvada. Broomfield.

And Aurora. It's a typical suburban town, lying safely outside a major city. Or so it always seems. It's just a few miles away from Littleton.

Aurora is in the news this morning. There has been a mass shooting. Yes, another mass shooting in Colorado.

Aurora sits just east of Denver, the first community as you head toward the plains. It's kind of like what Upper Darby would be to Philadelphia, only in the other direction. It's where the airport used to be, before they built a new one farther to the east on the plains.

Last night, during a midnight showing of the new Batman move, 'The Dark Knight Rises,' a gunman apparently opened fire.

At this point the death count is at 14, with another 50 wounded.

And once again I am reminded of how beautiful Colorado was in the mid-'70s. And wonder why such ugly things keep happening there.