As someone who lives in the flight path of one of the busiest little airports in the world, I’ve been following the Aspen airport modernization debate with rapt interest. One would surmise that I’m staunchly against any airport redevelopment or bigger planes landing in Aspen — but I’m not. I applaud the county commissioners for making the hard decision they did this week. Perhaps this docudrama too shall go to a vote. I personally would vote in favor if it did. There’s an amusing word for the current state of our airport: “retro.”

Someone asked me the other day if I want bigger planes to come into Aspen. Is it that simple? I guess my answer is yes. Based on everything I’ve read and seen in person, I don’t think bigger planes coming in and out of Aspen will necessarily be the death of our town any more than anything else has. If you look at the arc of Aspen’s history, we’ve seen growth in every single sector. The air travel industry here is no different. Stagnation is not a word in aviation’s vocabulary.

If you’re animatedly against the airport being redeveloped, you have to start by assuming that Aspen is somehow ruined.

Did the four-lane highway ruin Aspen? Did the gondola ruin Aspen? Did timeshares and condominiums ruin Aspen? Did employee housing ruin Aspen? Did real estate sales ruin Aspen? Did Planet Hollywood ruin Aspen? Did developers ruin Aspen? Did tourism ruin Aspen? Did the lack of a train ruin Aspen? Did the new Hero’s terrain, or the IKON pass ruin Aspen? Did codes, rules and regulations, or legislation by previous councils and boards ruin Aspen? Did one person or one thing ruin Aspen, or is our demise a series of coffin nails continuously being hammered into our bleeding hearts?

I don’t think Aspen is ruined, nor do I necessarily feel that bigger, newer planes flying into a bigger, newer airport will be the death of us, either. If there’s one thing that never rests, it’s growth, innovation and progress. Trying to stop it is futile — like trying to stop a train by putting your foot on the track. Look at what a train does to a penny. I guess this particular issue also boils down to the fact that I just don’t have the fight in me anymore — not that I ever did.

I vaguely remember being young and railing against the four lanes, the monster homes, expensive single-day lift tickets, Range Rovers and high-priced hotels; but somewhere along the way I saw the futility. I realized I wasn’t seeing the bigger picture, of which I was a very small part. Oftentimes, I had little to no understanding of the issues, and simply leaving things as they are is unrealistic.

The latest community battle over the airport expansion and redevelopment strikes me as a reboot of the ‘90s anti-airport fight spearheaded by the late Hunter S. Thompson, whose ghost still haunts our town. Aspen is desperately searching for a new, unhinged, drug-infested, philosophical figurehead — teetering on the brink of suicide or an overdose — to wage war against the greedheads and rapers of the land. Dear Lord, please prevent me from being a bitter old man who rails against everything in the town that I peacefully reside in.

Being a local columnist is a real trip. Community members and neighbors have reached out to me on various occasions to support the anti-airport cause. And I have politely declined their flattering offers. My response to people these days is “you write it.” Generally speaking, I’m aligned with the local chamber, the city council, the county commissioners and the Aspen Skiing Co. Call me ignorant, but my rationale is that they’re the ones who have a full understanding of the issues.

The whole anti-airport debate has become too convoluted for me to understand. I’ve heard cries of “industrial tourism” and welps that the new airport will make it even harder to get dinner reservations. The people I’ve talked to who work out at the airport are all in favor of the changes being proposed. And simply put, the Federal Aviation Administration isn’t in the business of crashing planes. There has already been a 737 coming in and out of Aspen for years (and an Embraer, similar to the one proposed to replace the CRJ-700) that no one seems to have even noticed.

The incremental growth of the airport won't be the end of our town, and color me crazy, but I don’t think that Aspen is ruined. I think that we have an opportunity to make a really cool, cutting edge, innovative, new airport here. Imagine the design features we could implement. I hope now that the commissioners have signaled their willingness to move forward, we can all come together to help create a new airport for Aspen’s future, much as the current airport was when it was unveiled in the ‘80s.

I look forward to sitting out on my deck to see and hear the new generation of heavy metal flying overhead. I call it Aspen birdwatching.