Eldorado Springs has been near and dear to my heart for years. I’ve been going to the spring to fill water bottles fresh from the mountain spring source since I was in my teens. Back in that day, there was only an aluminum trough and a hose as a spigot, and we all felt as though we knew a secret about the best water in the world. In our minds, Eldo (local’s-only slang!) was a “hidden canyon” outside of people’s attention, and a sweet spot to retreat to for hiking and visiting with friends.
In recent years, there has been a bit of backlash against the massive all-you-can-buy, American-conglomerate, big-box superstores. Places where you can literally buy a fifty-pound bag of tater tots and stock up on nine hundred rolls of toilet paper. Very low prices, huge quantities, and (generally speaking) mediocre-quality merchandise are all the norm. With this trend, we have witnessed the construction of megastores with parking lots the size of Sports Authority Field and the largest selection of goods you can imagine.
Recently in Boulder, Colorado, residents were warned that the drinking water had exceeded the water standard for haloacetic acids. In other words, haloacetic acid levels rose too high for the water to be deemed safely drinkable.
Trust: a word that gets tossed around a lot these days. It’s in the mission statement of every business, and it’s on every employee’s résumé. It’s a word that has little value if you can’t back it up with keeping promises, revealing the truth, and even admitting when you make an error. We are expected to trust people on a daily basis. Your employer trusts that you will show up to work and fulfill your duties to the best of your ability. On the flip side, you trust that when you put in time at work, your employer will pay for your efforts. You trust that the other drivers around you are going to follow the rules of the road, just as they trust you to do the same. You trust that your loved ones will be there for you in times of need, just as they trust that you will do the same for them. As a business, being trustworthy is more than just asking or expecting customers to trust you. It’s about proving that your company maintains integrity, honesty and sound ethics.
