Our Best Wishes for the Season ... I think!

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than neither any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere, and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Throw em in the River!

Go to the closet or your kids room or the entertainment room. Get that X Box, Playstation, Game Cube or whatever and throw it in the car or the back of the pick up and drive. Drive so far you know they won't follow and chunk that electronic mind warping babysitter in the river or ditch or where ever you know it won't make it back.

They will scream and holler. They will cry, and maybe even swear - if they have been playing for a long time they might even go into withdrawal. But you will be doing them the biggest favor in their lives. Those games are destroying our children. I am not kidding. You should overhear the conversations I overhear.

I have smart, gifted even, boys and girls who are totally consumed by gaming. They spend every waking moment at school planning what they are going to do on their game when they get home. Theses are the brightest kids at school and the only thing they read is gaming magazines.

You have seen the news reports about the worst games - Grand Theft Auto - all versions. And it is not the worst one. They are worse than any news report can even hint at. They are full of graphic violence and kids think it is funny. Kids think it is funny that a few adults react with horror. After all it is just a game. They think that the adults that are horrified are just too old fashioned. These kids have lost the capacity to be shocked. They could probably watch some of those things in real life and not feel anything. It is scary.

I know this won't sit well with the younger set - but we are raising a generation of kids who have no compassion. They have very little moral compass and what they do have is being quietly eroded by the gaming industry. These are the people who will be in charge when I am in a nursing home. I find that extremely scary.

The Same Old Gripe

I know you have heard it all before, but I can't help myself. What are people thinking? Christmas is way out of control. It is suppose to be the 24 and 25 of December - maybe a week before. I could even live with "The Twelve Days of Christmas". But Christmas should not start on the Friday after Thanksgiving and last until Valentine's Day.

No - I cannot get in the spirit. No, my lights are not up yet and neither is my tree. I might not even put up a tree. I will hang a wreath on the door. I will buy a few gifts. But I feel like I am being held hostage by the entire month of December. Do people really enjoy all this mess and stress? I saw people out in 10 degree weather trying to adjust Christmas lights they hung in November.

Walmart is packed. And no one looks like they are enjoying the season. Wouldn't Christmas be more enjoyable if there was less of it?

Is it just me? Am I turning into a Scrooge?

By the way Christmas on the Pecos is as beautiful as always. And I do respect and admire all of those people who work so hard to make it a successful event. But I'm glad I don't live on the river. Happy Holidays.

December Sunrise in SENM

Am I a Texan?

Evan Smith, the editor of Texas Monthly, writes in this month's issue that he is “of Texas” despite the accident of being born in New York City. His argument is that he is now a resident of Texas, roots for the Longhorns and doesn’t intend to leave. So he asks that we consider him a Texan. In this month’s issue of Texas Monthly the feature articles are “Where I’m From”. And the Texas living legend Willie Nelson graces the front cover. Willie was born in Abbott, Texas.

I was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico. For the geographically challenged, that is the big city near the famous Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeastern New Mexico. It is 29 miles from the Texas line to the southwest, 31 miles from the Texas line to the south, and 76 miles from the Texas line to the east. But it is my contention that this corner of New Mexico is much more Texan than it is New Mexican. The entire southeastern corner of New Mexico is in the oil patch. Carlsbad, Hobbs, Loving, Eunice, and Jal are all “of Texas”. We shop in Midland, Lubbock, and El Paso. We don’t have to pay out of state tuition to attend Texas Tech or Sul Ross. And we have much more in common with Texas than we do northern NM.

In my case, both my parents were born in Texas. My father was born in Hardeman County, Goodlett, Texas in 1913. My mother was born in Comanche County near Dublin, Texas in 1915. They were met and were married in Lubbock in 1937. They moved to New Mexico after WWII. And I arrived in 1952, a New Mexican. I have lived here all my life – except for a while in college when I went to Tech.

Early summers were spent in Texas visiting with relatives in Deleon, Garland, Childress, Burnett, Quanah, and Stanton. Later summers were spent at Camp Mystic on the Guadalupe near Kerrville. Thanksgiving was a trip to Childress and Quanah. Football season we drove to Lubbock to watch the Red Raiders play football. (Daddy had attended Tech in the 30s) Until my mother bought the dress store, my best dresses came from Hemphill Wells in Lubbock, the Model Shop in Midland, or from Neiman’s in Dallas.

I speak and cook Texan. That appliance in the kitchen that keeps food cold is an icebox. The meal you eat at the end of the day is supper. If I invite you for Sunday dinner, you should show up at noon. I don’t put sugar in my cornbread – and I don’t use a mix to make it. Cornbread and sweet milk make a good supper. I fry chicken and okra. I can make chicken gravy, breakfast gravy, brown gravy, giblet gravy, or even red-eye gravy. I can whip up a batch of biscuits –without the can. And we eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s. I do put sugar in my tea and I call it sweet tea. There is a pitcher of sweet tea in the icebox all summer.

So am I a Texan?

November Sunset in SENM

While You Are Shopping ...

Ready, set, Shop! Black Friday - called so because today puts most stores in the black for the year. If you are not a retail person, that means profit. My mother had a women's retail clothing store for most of my teenage and adult years. She worked about 350 days a year and every day of the holiday season. She retired in 1994 at the age of 79 and passed away in 1996. She loved every moment for it. That store was her pride and joy. And Pre-Christmas was her favorite but busiest time. Christmas eve was always her busiest day.

I worked for her as a teenager - my first job was wrapping Christmas presents, a service that was provided for free. Summers during college and on and off before I started teaching I worked in the dress store. There used to be hundreds of these small locally owned stores in small towns across New Mexico and Texas. The salesmen came to us, traveling with their racks of clothes stuffed in their Cadillacs or even motor home showrooms. This was before Walmart. I would venture most of these stores are closed now. It was a different era.

But I learned the meaning of work, and the joy of loving what you do from working in her store. It wasn't my thing. I couldn't work that hard - or spend that much time and effort on my appearance. She was a natural - loved it, loved the fashion industry. She loved being a woman in business. She loved the clothes and the jewelry. She had a good eye and good taste. She was tough and she had class. Locals tell me all the time how much they miss her store. Me too.

Thanks Mom!

Turkey, cornbread dressing, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, baked corn, ambrosia fruit salad, cranberry relish, deviled eggs, relish tray with pickled okra, dinner rolls, pumpkin and pecan pie with whipped cream, sweet tea, and a Texas Chardonney wine.

It was the best turkey ever, really. The dressing was pretty damn good, too. Most everything done "from scratch." First time in a while I didn't either burn the rolls or forget to put them in until dinner was on the table. Remembered to put the giblets on the stove when I put the turkey in the oven this time. So the gravy was perfect. Didn't have to get out a receipe book or call anyone. Had three different people call me for advice.

It is a shame that by the time you get good at this, your kids are grown and no one is impressed. Or that by the time you get good at it - your Mom is no longer around to see it. My Mom was great at holiday dinners; she was the Queen of Thanksgiving. She taught me well. I hope my kids look back and remember me the way I remember her. Thanks Mom!

It's done. The turkey is boned, the leftovers stashed, and the kitchen is straight. Eldest Son took "to go" dinners for him and his boss. The oil patch doesn't shut down for Thanksgiving. The Spare and his girlfriend got here late, ate and ran. Granny popped in and out between other dinners and took hers to go.

Peace and quiet. Full and content. Thankful.

I'm Back!

I'm didn't know anyone cared, but thanks Bill. I had grown kids living with me. Now I don't. Finally! It was semi-tramatic, but is now really enjoyable. I have been enjoying the peace and quiet. And clearing a path through my house. The dust bunnies were becoming vicious. Eldest Son has a good job and his own apartment. The Spare has a new girlfriend. So, this might or might not be permenent. I'm sure The Spare will return eventually.

I have a backlog of topics to cover. Not living in a big city, I didn't realize that persons attending NFL games were allowing themselves to be searched - like at the airport - to get into the stadium to watch a football game. That is every stadium except for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the assistance from the ACLU, Civics teacher Gordon Johnston filed a law suit seeking a injunction to end the pat down. NFL officials say it is for the protection of the fans. Johnston says it violates the 4th Amendment to the US Constitution. A Florida judge issued an injunction stopping the pat down procedure on October 28. Way to go, Gordon!

It was the worst of times....

It's not writer's block. It is the feeling that the things that are happening in our country are so over whelming that writing about them would lessen their impact. Americans have their own gulag. What can I possible say that will not trivialize the wrongness of this. The whole Cheny thing. George Bush seems to be a figurehead in the true sense of the word.

There is a sadness that I cannot seem to get past. I am going to quit writing about politics. I'm going to only write about local events and interesting discoveries. I enjoy writing too much to let it disturb me like this. Most people hear enough of political commentary anyway.

My new interest is chickens. I want to have a few hens in my back yard. I wonder if I can get away with it in town. Some say yes and some say no. I think if I don't keep a rooster I might can swing it. Don't like roosters anyway. (see previous post) Anyone have any suggestions?

STUFF - Why Bigger is not Better.

3500 - 5000 square foot houses spaced ten foot apart, no yard. Rows and Rows of theses huge new houses. I have traveled to the city to see other peoples' stuff. What in heaven's name is wrong with those people? What are they thinking? Why would anyone want to live like that?

Three car garages and cars parked outside are common, too much stuff in the garages. All the houses are new and maybe not just alike, but very similar. The people in the houses have lots of stuff. They probably have a TV in every room, stereos, game players, computers, and more stuff. Like as not, it takes both parents working to pay the mortgage.

I just do not see the point. This is a juvenile attitude -- my toys (stuff) are better than your toys (stuff). Or even worse - the guy who dies with the most stuff wins. Yeah, but he is still dead. And someone else has to deal with the stuff left behind.

Maybe this is just overreaction to moving into my parents' house. I had to move my stuff on top of their stuff, and now I have way too much stuff. And if I had a bigger house, I would have more room for more stuff. I can see why people do not want to move; it is just too much trouble. And the more stuff you have, the more trouble it is. And worse yet -- my stuff, it is good stuff, the kind of stuff you can't really throw away.

My parents had been married 59 years when my mother passed away. In that time they had acquired lots of stuff. My mother liked to entertain and in the 50s and 60s that meant china and crystal. Entertaining meant sterling silver trays and flatware - fancy stuff. She had (I have) stemmed glasses, and sherbert glasses, linen napkins and tablecloths - delicate stuff. There are crystal toothpick holders, silver place cards, mint dishes, butter dishes, salt cellars, and I could go on and on. There are 12 silver goblets (shiney stuff) used exactly once -- on their 25th anniversary. Mother had crystal flower vases in all sizes, tiny individual silver salt and pepper shakers, and a, for Pete's Sake, silver candelabra. Who was coming over, Liberace? What do I do with all this stuff?

This Weekend in Carlsbad, NM

Sorry so late - computer problems. Have a great weekend everyone I will be out to town and off line. Take care.

Friday
NMSU-C films series continues. Tonights film Miller's Crossing. 7 p.m. NMSU - C Room 153

Archaeology Fair in Artesia. This is way cool! Noon to 4 today and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Central Park - Exhibits and demonstrations - wool dying, firing pottery with cow dung, throw a spear using an atl-atl, food, venders, lots to see and do and your kids will love it. I promise.

Bulldog Balloon Rally - Hot Air Balloons will lift off from Central Park. Be there early

Dance at the Senior Center on N. Mesa in Carlsbad 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. music by Hearts on Fire.

Saturday

Taco sale at the Hillcrest Church of God 234 N. 6th beginning at 10 a.m.

Girl Scout Troop 12 will host a yard and burrito sale from 8 a.m. to noon at 409 S. Alameda. All proceeds go to help the girls purchase uniforms. Buy some burritos.

Habitat for Humanity Building Blitz - 2702 Prospect St Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to whenever - FMI call 234-9658

Men's Breakfast - Fox and Walnut Church of God - Saturday 8 a.m. FMI call 885-1455

Living Desert Zoo Gardens and State Park is having a Mars party. Visitors may look at Mars through the large telescope 6 - 8 p.m. Saturday. Mars will not be this close again until 2018. FMI call 887-5516

Sunday

Carlsbad Arts and Humanity Alliance plans to present the Lone Star Brass Quintet at 3 p.m. Sunday at P.R. Levya auditorium.

An Eighth Grade Education

Could any of us have passed the eight grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, KS, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, KS, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

EIGHTH-GRADE FINAL EXAM
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.
2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no Modifications.
3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.
4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of lie, lay and run.
5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.
6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.
7. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 ct's/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per meter?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U. S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U. S. History is divided.
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)
1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication?
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Tri graph, sub vocals, diphthong, cognate letters, lingual's?
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'U'.
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America.
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Also notice that the exam took five hours to complete. Gives the saying "she/he only had an eighth-grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it? I didn't even understand some of the questions, let alone know the answers!!!! I later did some investigation and found that even though this is a actual test - the superintendent who wrote it was criticized for making the test too hard at the time.

Fall flowers

Halloween Wishes

BOO! Did I scare you?

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween. Have fun and be careful. If I was better at this I would add my favorite Halloween song, Jimmy Buffett's Vampire, Mummies, and the Holy Ghost. This is my favorite holiday. Last year the neighbors across the street really got into it. They had lights, sound effects and a coffin. He dressed up like Dracula. They had a giant pumpkin and a rock activated by a motion detector that laughed creepily when you walked by. They are really nice people with kids of their own, but maybe they went a little too far. I know at least one little person who thought so.

I had a small string of lights and a cute little witch hat/headband. About half way through the evening, a very short princess arrived on my door step - snuffling. She wasn't crying, but she was close. She said, "Trick or Treat" in a small voice, and when I put candy in her pink plastic pumpkin she said, "I'm glad you aren't scary." Her mom was standing patiently at the end of the driveway wearing a weary smile. There is a lot of pressure on parents this time of year.

The news is full of safety warnings. Children are told not to eat any candy til they get home and someone checks the bag. The Downtown Merchants are having a safe holiday candy give away. And just down the street, the local orthodontist (yes, we only have one) is having a parking lot party where he is paying children money to give up their candy. His costumed staff will be serving health snacks and cider. I think he is paying children a dollar a pound for their candy. Wonder what they will do with the candy he buys? I am curious to how well this idea will work.

Our National Parks

We have two National Parks near Carlsbad, the Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. They are both beautiful and deserve to be protected and preserved. The photograph on the left is, of course, the Big Room underground in Carlsbad Caverns. The photograph on the right is the trail up McKitrick Canyon. This is one of the most beautiful hiking choices in the area this time of year. It is a truely unique ecosystem here in the desert. Take a bottle of water and wear decent hiking shoes. It is not a difficult hike, most enjoyable.

There was a letter to the editor of the Current Argus today concerning OUR parks that was a bit disturbing. It seems OUR national parks are under attack by the Department of Interior. There is proposed legislation that could conceivably open the parks to mining interests. I decided to do a little research before I blasted anyone. And I found the letter was true, but only part of the picture. We do need to be concerned; taking our parks for granted would be a terrible thing.

And since this is a topic I would not attempt to pretend to know enough about to try to correct, I will link you to Kurt Repanshek, the author of National Parks for Dummies, and his blog/column Traveling the National Parks. He explains the problem much better than I ever could.

I do agree with Hal Waters in his plea to let our national leaders know that we value our parks and the people who serve and protect these valuable resources for future generations. So hit your keyboards people, let those guys in Washington know they can't mess with OUR parks.

Guess the Location.

Ok, I guess there have to be rules if we are going to play. Email me the answer. The person from the farthest away who guesses correctly wins.

This is beautiful downtown ....................................?

FALL BACK!

Retro clock from the 50s -



Tonight's the night! Daylight saving time ends. So I guess we get one more hour of sack time - or coffee time. Personally, I wish they would just leave it alone. Permenent daylight savings time would be ok with me. I had rather go to work in the dark than come home in the dark. It would be nice to have a little daylight to do some yard work in the evenings. I don't get why we save daylight in the summer when we have more of it. Why don't we save daylight in the winter when it gets dark earlier anyway? Isn't the internet wonderful. I found the answer to this question, and more - who, what, when, and why they started this.

This Weekend in Carlsbad

Halloween Carnival from 6 - 8 p.m. at NMSU-C Room 101. Every donor of a can of food will receive five tickets toward games. Costume contest for 3 best boys and 3 best girls. Dance from 8 - midnight for those age 15 and over in the gym. Admission is 2 cans of food. Donations are for Jonah's House.

Senior Dance from 7 - 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Senior Center on North Mesa. Country Heirs will provide the music. Must be at least 40 to get inot this one.

Railroad Club meets at 6 p.m. at Pecos River Village Conference Center. Anyone interested in model trains is welcome.

NMSU-C fall film festival continues 7 p.m. Room 153 Eight Men Out. This is a great movie about the White Sox Scandle in 1919. This is real baseball history. Admission is free. for more information call Doug Dinwiddie at 234-9344.

On Saturday the Downtown Lions and the CHS Mummers plan the third annual "Nightmare on Mermod Street" from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the old Heilig Meyer Furniture Store 615 Mermod. Courtesy of the Drs. Harris. Admission will be $3 per person or $1 and an old pair of eyeglasses.

St. Edwards plans to hold a Halloween Carnival from 6 - 9 p.m. Saturday. A safe family event - all community welcome, costume contest, pumpkin decorating contest, haunted house and cake walk. Cost to attend is one bag of candy.

Carlsbad Caveerns National Park is wishing the bats farewell. A variety of free programs including story time with an amazing bat, a sing along with batty songs, and a ranger guided candle lantern Haunted History Kings Palace Tour at 2:30 p.m. Childern 4 - 15 may attend free accompanied by a paying adult. Costume contest at 4 p.m. in the visitor center. At 5 p,m. at the Bat Flight Amphitheatre - the last bat flight of the year. For more information call Marjorie Head at 785-3127.

Pet Health Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Animal Care Center 1302 S. Canal. Pet Show, cutiest and ugliest, most unusual, best costume, a looks most like the owner contests. A doggie drill team and petting zoo, musical paws contest, face painting, clowns and balloons. Give-aways.

On Sunday Hillcrest Baptist Church plans to host J. Alan Payne in concert at 6 p.m. Payne is a singer song writer who plays a dozen instruments. with a blend of original and popular songs ranging in style from Southern gospel to adult contemporary. Admission is free but a collection will be taken. CDs will be available for purchase.

The North Y Drive In

This 1990 photo is my dad and another member of the coffee clatch codgers at the North Y Drive-in on the bend where Canal Street turns into Pierce right next to the Fire Station here in Carlsbad. Daddy was 77 when this photo was taken. The problems of the world have been solved in this diner - more than once. Sometimes more than once a day. The coffee and the ambiance are about the same today. Good coffee, good conversation, good people. good service. Not much has changed in the last 30 years.

My dad drank coffee at the North Y twice a day for the last 20 years of his life. He passed away in 2002 and I took some money down so he could stand for the coffee for a couple of days. He would have liked that. This place gave him a social life after my Mom passed on. The stories told here are the true heart of a small town, and more accurate than the local paper.

I mentioned Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon in an earlier post. Least Heat Moon rates local eateries in his "blue highway" travels as one, two, three, or four calendar diners. The North Y is a three calendar diner. Homemade pies, breakfast anytime you want it, cooked to order, the best cheeseburger in town and if what you want is not on the menu, just ask. When the regulars pull up in the drive way - the cook starts their order. Almost no one needs a menu. Most of the coffee drinkers have their own cup. They take turns tricking each other into paying. There is even a second generation, or third - and a seating hieracrchy. If I came in to visit with Daddy, I got a seat at the table. If I come in with my kids - I get a booth.

These days I try to stop by about once a month. You can go in and eat and not worry about eating alone. Ocena, the owner, will come out of the kitchen and sit with you for a few if you are alone. She is in her eighties now. I think the North Y Drive-in is an endangered state treasure. It will be a shame when all the local diners turn into Golden Arches. This little corner of the world will be less bright when places like this disappear. I hope it doesn't happen for a long time.

The Governor, uh ...Candidate?

Big Bill has traded his behemouth Lincoln Navigator SUV for an economical Ford Escape. Ned Cantwell (a semi local pundit) takes credit. Ned is also the self appointed Czar in Charge of Reminding Bill He is not Running. Governor Richardson has just made a trip to Korea to help start Nuke talks. This relationship developed when Gov. Richarson was Clinton's ambassador to the U.N. and Energy Czar. He also had time to visit with NM airmen stationed in Asia. Richardson has said he likes being Governor and is not running for President, except for that New Hampshire speech he made in Spanish, where he said, "Of course, I'm running." Somehow I think he's running, but I'm just a school teacher, not a real politico. Richardson's name was in a blog quiz the other day. The question was -- Who do you think will be the Demo Candidate in 08? Bill was around number seven on the list. That is real fame now, Bill. The bloggers have you in their .....(sights, sites, or cites). Check out the Bill Richardson Blog. Ned, I had a hard time finding the link for you.

Counting

The Washington Post reports. "Pressure is building on Bush from within his own party to withdraw the faltering Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. And any day the death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq will pass the symbolically important 2,000 mark."

One is too many; 2000 is unconscionable. I offer my deepest respect and sympathy to the families of the soldiers. I support our troops. I want them to come home. I do not want to read the names of former students in the newspaper because they are in Iraq. I do not want the students sitting in my classroom today (some of whom are 14 and 15) to go to Iraq when they graduate. I watch the news constantly, and I have not heard one person say that we would not still be in Iraq in five years. There is not one square foot of soil, nor one barrel of oil in Iraq that is worth the lives of these young people. We need to end this and bring these soldiers home.

Color Quiz is Uncanny - Spooky - Too Close for Comfort

Kate took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Needs to feel identified with someone or something..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Current Reads

I am always reading more than one book at a time, depending on my mood of the moment, so this is a run down of the current menu. I highly recommend anything by Larry McMurtry. On top of the pile - Pretty Boy Floyd by Larry McMurtry - I like this one. I recognize these people (they could be relatives, I have relatives in Quanah, Vernon, and Chilicothe) as I read the book, and that in itself is kind of scary. I'm almost done with this one.

Also on the bed, The New, New Journalism - interesting - about writing nonfiction, going undercover, lots of stories about people who write the stories, along with interviews. I'm somewhere close to half way through this one. And after reading the interview with Ted Conover, I got right on amazon.com to order Newjack. Conover went to work as a prison guard in New York's Sing Sing and worked there for almost a year gathering material for Newjack. Newjack will be follow the McMurtry. I'll let you know when I finish it, but I am expecting great things in this one.

Then right next to the bed, in the on deck circle, is James Lee Burke's In the Moon of Red Ponies. I love James Lee Burke, his descriptive writing is the best in the business. I even paid the enormous amount of $7 to read his online LA Times piece on Katrina and New Orleans. He has his own web site and will actually answer your questions. I am delighted and impressed.

In between - in the car - my waiting in line at the bank book - Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. I heard about this one late - everyone else in the world had read it I guess. I was driving from Arizona and listening to Booknotes on CSPAN when Heat Moon was being interview. I love it, but it is disturbing how much of America is disappearing before our eyes. So, any one have any suggestions? By Thanksgiving I will have devoured these and be ready for a new meal.

Since I have discovered the Used Book option on amazon.com, I can afford to read whatever I want. In case you don't know, it is quite a deal - sometimes for less than a dollar and postage (media mail rate) you can have just about anything but the current best sellers. I paid .18 + 1.75 for Jim Hightower's If God Had Meant for Us to Vote... Another author I recommend, smartest man in America. Have a great day and be careful out there!

Morning Glories in the Afternoon

This is the corner of Alameda and Mermod on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Just morning glories covering an old tree stump, I just really like the image.

Are Bloggers Journalists, Reporters, or Who Gets the Shield???

What is blogging? Are bloggers reporters? Are they journalists? The first thought that comes to my mind is from Fannie Flagg's novel, Welcome to the World Baby Girl, set in the 50s - where the main character had a radio show that is broadcast from her living room. Bloggers are journalists in the same way that the character in that novel was a radio personality. Another image brought to mind is the movie Wayne's World, where Wayne and Garth had an underground television show. Blogging is a new form of information disimination. In the same way a personal radio or television show is journalism, blogging is journalism. Some blogging is journalism, some blogging is crap.

I have been watching CSPAN, and the discussion panel whose topic was the Reporter's Privilege to Protect Confidential Sources. The star of this panel was, of course, Judy Miller. Out of jail and having signed a book deal, she looked like the time served did not hurt her too badly.
The question before the panel was the question of a national law to provide reporters with a shield to protect confidential sources. Would a reporter's shield protect bloggers? My blog isn't widely read. I wish I had a few more readers. Maybe if I could find a confidential source and report something juicy --- well, that might increase my hits - but who knows. Naked pictures would do the same - as long as they were not pictures of me. That would probably shut down the entire web.

Judy Miller was protecting Scooter Libby. ICK! If I am going to jail, it will have be to support someone who will do something besides manipulate public opinion in favor of the Dubya/Cheny corporate frat boys. After all, jail can't be that much fun. But on the other hand, I could use a few weeks to read the four books I have started at the present.

On a serious note, journalists need to be able to get the whole story. We do not want to limit the press to reporting exactly what the powers that be give us in their press releases. Getting the whole story will at times require the expectation that sources can speak with some assurance of confidentiality. So, anyone have anything juicy to tell me - I'm ready. I promise you total confidentiality. Give me the dirt, and I will dish it. We will talk about that going to jail stuff at a later date. Have a good day and be careful out there!

This Weekend in Carlsbad

Football game tonight at Cavemen Stadium - kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Go out and support the team. A group of students representing Character Counts will be performing the Six Pillar Shuffle at half time. Parents who go to see their children perform should stick around and support the Cavemen too.

There will be an enchilada dinner before the game from 5 - 7 p.m. at the high school cafeteria. This one is sponsered by MESA. $7 per plate.

Carlsbad Community Theatre is presenting the second weekend of their first play of the season, Grace and Glorie. 7:30 p,m. Friday and Saturday night, and a matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m. $8 for adults and $4 for children. Season tickets are available for $30. Advance tickets are available at the Shade Tree, Kristina's Custom Framing, Round the Corner Antiques, and Blue House Cafe.

NMSU-C's fall film festival will present Escape from Alcatraz at 7 p.m. in room 153. Admission is free. On Saturday they will present Baran - "a visually eloquent film from Iran." 7 p.m. room 153.

Make a Difference Day - Saturday October 22 - is a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors started by USA Weekend Magazine and the Gannett Foundation. One opportunity to make a difference in Carlsbad will be a project to help the homeless shelter. A small contingent of volunteers from Alta Vista Middle School will be working at the homeless shelter located at 1720 W. Texas. In operation since 2003 under the guidance of Rabbi Ray Maccabee, they receive no city or county funds and rely totally on donations. Key items needed are insulation, lumber, paint (white and green) and canned goods. Come and join in this effort to make life a little better for those less fortunate.

3rd Annual Fall Mall Crafts Show Saturday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Sunday Noon - 5 p.m. Fall Mall Craft Show - say that 5 times fast.

Images of Carlsbad Art Show continues at the Museum and Art Center through October 28th - Go see my son's photographs. They didn't win, but they should have (a mother's opinion of course). Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Closed Sunday. Admission is free.

Eddy County Detachment N. 678 of the Marine Corps League is seeking coats for young and old to distribute to those in need. Coats may be dropped off at 1829 W. Texas. Call 628-1226 for pickup.

The Anti Drug/Gang Coalition faith action group is planning a prayer walk. This is a join as you go walk - starting at 9 a.m. coalition and St. Peter Luthern at the entrance to NMSU-C. For other times and places call Emilio Ramos at 628-8147.

There will be a Banner Workshop at the Riverwalk Recreation Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is a joint effort sponsered by Carlsbad Museum and Art Center and Carlsbad Main Street to develop banners for downtown. Residents of all ages are encouraged to attend. The workshop is free, supplies are provided, and no prior registration is needed. Santa Fe artist and art therapist will be there to brain storm and help local volunteers create images that represent the spirit of Carlsbad.

Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park plans to celebrate national Wolf Awareness Week Saturday. This is cool - A howling contest for kids at 12:30 p.m. and a keeper talk at 2:30 at the wolf exhibit. From 1 - 3 p.m. Docents will be helping kids make wolf mask and exhibiting wolf skulls. All programs are free but regular admission fees will apply. For more information call 887-5516.

Garage Sale at Monterrey Elementary School from 7 a.m. til noon. Proceeds to go to the United Way.

United Way and the Elks BPOE 1558 will host the second annual dinner and silent auction Saturday at the Elks Lodge. Steak and shrimp dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and a full evening of entertainment is planned, including Chip Flatow, a comedian and hypnotist. Music for dancing will be provided by deejay, no host bar. Tickets are $25 per peson. A corporate table for eight is $500. Tickets may be purchased at the United Way office - 706 N. Canal or at the Elks Lodge. For more information call 887-3504 or 885-5838.

On Sunday The Carlsbad Arts and Humanities Alliance will present Todd Green, a One Man Band, at 2 p.m. at the P.R. Leyva auditorium. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students. and may be purchased in advance at The Carlsbad Foundation, The Shade Tree, and the Blue House Cafe or at the door the afternoon of the performance. For more information call 885-9041.

Methodist Men's breakfast at 7 a.m. Sunday at Epworth United Methodist Church. All men are welcome to attend for fellowship and prayer.

Buzzards on the Fence

Dick Cheny under investigation in Plame affair. James Wilkinson - former deputy director of Communications at the White House has been questioned. Karl Rove and Lewis Libby in suspended animation. W might be angry, but is circling the wagons. Delay is on ice. The buzzards have come home to roost.

Now, those close to the investigation say that a second Cheney aide, David Wurmser, has agreed to provide the prosecution with evidence that the leak was a coordinated effort by Cheney’s office to discredit the agent's husband. Her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, was one of the most vocal critics of the Iraq war.

A Texas court on Wednesday issued a warrant for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's arrest, and set an initial $10,000 bail as a routine step before his first court appearance on conspiracy and state money laundering charges.
Travis County court officials said DeLay was ordered to appear at the Fort Bend County, Texas, jail for booking, where he'd likely be fingerprinted and photographed. DeLay's lawyers had hoped to avoid such a spectacle.
The warrant, known as a capias, is "a matter of routine and bond will be posted," DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin said.
The lawyer declined to say when DeLay would surrender to authorities but said the lawmaker would make his first court appearance Friday morning.
The charges against the Texas Republican stem from allegations that a DeLay-founded Texas political committee funneled corporate money into state GOP legislative races through the National Republican Party.

Hey, they are in luck - there is a new Hurricane in the Gulf that might be worse than Katrina. That should divert everyone's attention for a couple of weeks.

Make Up Case Time Machine

In 2001 I moved into the house I grew up in because my Dad got too sick to stay by himself. Dad passed away in 2002, and I have gradually made it my house again. However, I still haven't gone through every nick and cranny. I just moved all my stuff on top of all their stuff.

Today I was looking for something and I opened a case that had been put up in the top of a closet for a long time. It was a makeup kit or overnight bag. My mom would have called it a train case. It was sitting in a out of way corner of a closet that is not used very often. I think it was the train case that I took to Camp Mystic the last year I went - when I was 13.

Inside the make up kit, I found: one almost petrified blue jar of Noxema, one bottle of Cover Girl foundation- also petrified, one red Maybellene mascara box - the kind you have to wet the brush and work it over the cake of mascara, one Tangee lipstick, one Revlon Sugar and Ice Lipstick, a small bottle of Ambush, a tube of Gleem, a toothbrush, 12 giant brush rollers, a scarf, a small tube of Prell shampoo, a rat tail comb, and a wooden handle boar bristle hair brush. I also found large, lime green, clip-on, hoop earrings. I didn't get my ears pierced until the year after my last year at Camp.

It was like opening a time capsule. The combined smell and sight was just awesome. I closed my eyes and breathed in and it could have been 1965. This is the closest thing to a time machine I can imagine. And I am so glad it was there. It made me sit for a minute and smile.

16th Annual United Way Car Show

There was lots to look at (at which to look, for the English teachers out there) today at the Car Show. It was a cloudy day with a light rain and drizzle in the morning. The sun came out around noon and so did I. I made a quick trip through the Car Show at Ross Hyden's on Canal Street. Lots of memories were brought to mind; I can see the attraction to the hobby. There were several nice cars: three or four Mustangs, a Corvette or two, a slick surf wagon, a tractor, and a couple of model T's. I preferred the true to the original restorations, but the concept cars were interesting, too. There was an entry from the younger generation, a Neon with Nitro. This little blue dodge Neon with Nitro in the back seat looked dangerous. I liked the kit car with the 1940 Ford hood. So here are a few photographs of the ones I found interesting. Denise, Miles, Jeri Sue and John, and everyone - God Job!

This Weekend in Our Fair City - Revised

Well, back to school today. I survived. Still a little wobbly, but upright and breathing.

This is Homecoming weekend. There is a parade today starting a 4 p.m. The choir is sponsering an enchilada dinner 5 - 7 p.m. at the CHS cafeteria. Drive thru available. The big game starts at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets $4. Let's get out and cheer the boys on. And if you don't have something good to say or yell, shut your yap. The team and the coach need your support and encouragement. GO CAVEMEN!

There is a fire prevention parade Saturday morning 10 a.m. starts at the school administration building. Sorry, heard this one late!

Friday and Saturday night at The Carlsbad Community Theatre on National Parks Hiway the 2005 -2006 season will open with Grace and Glorie directed by Mannie Bemis and Caroly Olsen. Curtain will go up at 7:00. Adults $8 and children $4.

Veterns Health Fair in Roswell on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Eastern NM Medical Center. A bus is leaving from the DAV on Plum St. at 7 a.m. and will return to Carlsbad at 3 p.m. All vets are encouraged to take advantage of this free clinic, membership in an organization is not required. For more information call Frank Ramirez at 627-4003.

The 16th Annual United Way Charity Car Show will be at Ross Hyden's on Sat. admission is free. Looks like it runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lots of cool cars in this one.

There is a National Downs Syndrome Buddy Walk planned for Sat. at 9:30 a.m. call Lea Ann at 887-3269.

One day plant sale at the Living Desert on Saturday. Last Full Moon walk from 6:30 - 7 p.m. Adults may bring a flashlight for use on trails. Regular admission will apply.

Christian men's fellowship breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at San Jose Catholic Church. Male teens are invited to attend. The theme is "Change over Chains."

Singer songwriter Cherrie Simpson plans to perform a concert at the Christian Stampede Cowboy Church 6 p.m. Saturday. No charge - public welcome. Collection plate will be passed.

Foreign Film with subtitles to be shown at NMSU - C, room 153 at 7 p.m. Saturday. The title is "Run Lola Run" and is billed as a German feminist action film.

National Make a Difference Day is next Saturday October 22 - See you at the homeless shelter on Texas Street. They need lumber, paint, and elbow grease. This is a way to help those less fortunate. Plan this week to be there next week. (They need lots of stuff)

There is lots to do. So, have a fun weekend in Carlsbad. And be careful out there.

Flu Season

One of these wonderful children has given me the flu. I will not be posting for a few days. Either I will get better or I will die, at this point I do not much care which. I haven't been sick in a long while. My mother always used to say it was the meanness in me coming out. And she would make chicken noodle soup, and buy 7 Up, and put me to bed with a vaporizor full of Vicks. I miss my Mom. Ack Ack Ack!

Miers - Blind maybe?

Justice is blind, the statue that is. Now, maybe that is how Miers qualifies for the Supreme Court. She is quoted as saying Dubya is the most intelligent man she knows (or was it ever met?). What? You have to be kidding! Either she doesn't know very many men, or she is a blatant suck up, or she is blind and has mistaken a fence post for George W. Bush. George W. Bush is the embodiment of the statement, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." Yes, I am a yellow dog Democrat. Yes, I am.

Rainy Day Woman

I spent all weekend cleaning, cooking, and curled up with a good book. So have you read The New New Journalism by Robert S. Boynton? I read The New Journalism when I was in college, a few years ago. That sounds pretty smooth, doesn't it? So, maybe it was more than a "few" years ago, maybe it was about 1973. I am a school teacher, and teaching is a noble profession. However, I'm a school teacher who, deep in her heart of hearts, would love to be Diane Sawyer. Diane Sawyer is always my answer to the question, "If you could trade places with anyone in the world, who would it be?" You have been in those conversations before. At least you weren't asked what kind of tree you would be! So you have to think of something cool, but not obvious. You can't say Cher, Madonna, or even Grace Slick. You have to sound like a responsible adult. Hell yes, I would want to be Cher. But -- if we are talking possibilities, conceivable outcomes, maybe, just maybe, I could have been Diane Sawyer. She is still cool, even if she did work for Nixon. She is really cool now on Good Morning America. Ten times cooler than Katie. She can ask the hard question. She isn't quite Barbara Walters, but she has been there up there with the big guys. She gets the big interviews, she knows the score. Diane Sawyer, that is my pick.

Mathmatics of the Information Explosion

I have read so many really great blogs since I started this, I am almost in awe. There are many truely fine word crafters out there. The quantity and quality of writing is tremendous. Remember the commercial where the guy is surfing the internet and he tells his wife he finished it? Unlike reading a set of encyclopedias, there is no end. You can't read all the way through volume Z, because there is no volume Z. I assume that the sheer quantity of what is out there is growing expotentially. If every blogger adds a new post even once a week, just think how many bits and bytes that has to be. I feel a responsibility to post about 5 times a week. It is almost like I have taken on a second, or actually, third job. So, say I am about average, I know some bloggers post once or more per day, some post once a week and other somewhere in between. So, say four or five times a week is average. That would mean, without additional new bloggers, the amount of "blogging verbage" out there is five times greater each week. That is mind boggling, 5 to the 52 power in a year. This new journalism is growing faster than any other writing sector. This will change the entire face of news reporting.

Endangered History

Does anyone else get that creepy feeling like something bad is happening in the next room, or the house next door, but it is the next generation you are actually worrying about? Of course, I work with kids every day so it is not really noticable at first. A slip here, a smart comment there, and suddenly I'm old. I used to be cool, in touch, I understood young people. I'm afraid I still do and that is what is scary. They do not give a damn about anything that happened before they were borned. They say it all the time. "Why do we have to learn about dead people?" "Who cares about what happened in the old days (like the 197os)?" "What does this have to do with us?" And all my years ago learned standard answers don't mean squat to them. Old people are not important, experience has no value, there are no boundaries. They do not value much of anything. It scares me, it scares me a lot. I know every generation says these things about the next generation, but I am not reacting to their dress, clothes, or any other fad or fashion. I reacting to the comments made about the people who founded our country, fought and died for our way of life. The women who marched to get the vote, the men who charged up hills with bayonets fixed do not mean anything to them. The concepts do not matter to them. There are good kids who know what they are supposed to say, the right things. Even good kids are not interested in history, they tolerate it. They write the correct answers, but they don't really make connections. I'm not a boring teacher; I add in the good stuff, the blood and guts and gore that gets teens interested. What am I doing wrong? Please don't tell me it is just because I'm old.

Ten Years After - Etc.!

Duck, Duck, Goose. Now it's my turn under the microscope, thanks to my buddy, Cowtown Patty! (Wasn't Ten Years After a band in our youth?)

10 Years Ago: (1995)
I was married with teenagers, Sean was a sophomore and Trent was in eighth grade. Trent played every sport that year. I was teaching at the alternative school, teaching night school, and talking classes to get my administrative license. My mother was ill, but still with us. Daddy was doing great.

5 Years Ago: (2000) My divorce year, the crazy year of learning to adjust and think of myself as one person.

1 Year Ago:Why is it harder to remember last year than 10 years ago? Last year I started to take my writing seriously and I bought a new refrigerator (icebox).

Yesterday: Mixer at the Country Club for my 35th Reunion. Now I can’t decide whether or not to go to the big event. Decided – Didn’t.

5 Snacks I Enjoy:
Klausen Pickles, Rosemary Triskets, garden tomatoes, Raspberry Coconut Ho Hos, Pickled Okra.

5 Songs I Know All the Words To:
"Mamas don’t Let your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" by Willie and Waylon; "For What It’s Worth" by the Buffalo Springfield; “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”; “You Are My Sunshine” and “Jesus Loves Me”.

5 Things I’d Do with 100 Million Dollars:
Restore an old Victorian house, Buy a small ranch in Colorado, Set my kids up in the business of their choice, and build a house in the mountains with a writing studio, library and wrap around porch, Escape.

5 Places I’d Run Away To:
Somewhere in Colorado, Wyoming or Montana; somewhere around Austin or Kerrville; or near Mountain Home, Arkansas; maybe Italy, but if I tell you, then I have to………..!

5 Things I’d Never Wear:
thong (butt floss) underwear; leather pants; a two piece swim suit; a push up bra, shoes that match my purse.

5 Favorite Current TV Shows:
CSI Miami; House; Boston Legal; most anything on the History Channel; Booknotes on CSPAN.

5 Biggest Joys:
Zaaven Hope; my writing, my teaching, reading in bed late at night, poking around any garage sale, thrift shop or used book store.

5 Favorite Toys:
My computer, my hot tub, my Honda, my digital camera, and my propane grill.

5 Fine Folks Who Can Now Consider Themselves Tagged:
Lynda, Ron, Bill, Buddy, and Justin.

Drive By Shootings2

Drive By Shootings

Left Carlsbad around 5:30 p.m. a couple of Fridays ago headed for Arizona with my 24 year old son, Eldest Son. He is a handsome fellow, if you like pirates. Notice the black eye. He has an artist soul and is an outlaw at heart. I might have listened to too much Waylon and Willie when he was a young'un.

Anyway, ELdest Son took these pictures from a moving vehicle on the El Paso highway. I took the one of him. These were taken between Carlsbad and El Paso somewhere around Guadalupe Mountain National Park and El Capitan, or what locals call "the point of the mountain". It was a cloudy afternoon and about 6 p.m. the sun started peaking through the clouds and shooting rays over the mountain tops. We had been discussing some possible magazine articles and that he could take photographs for me. He said, "Hey, hand me that camera." And he started hanging out the car window snapping shots. At first I was scared for the camera, and then for him. I really didn't think they would come out, but they are pretty good. He entered four of them in the novice class of the Images of Carlsbad Art Show this weekend, his first contest. Hope you like them.

Heritage Days in Carlsbad

First, the Class of 70 - of which I am a proud member, is having their 35th Class Reunion this weekend. Also invited are the Classes of 69 and 71. Registration will be 7 p.m., Friday night at Riverside Country Club, a casual dress mixer, no host bar. Everyone is welcome. The cost for all events will be $75 per couple and $40 for us singles, that includes dinner on Saturday. Contact Terry Cappell for more information - cappell@mywdo.com.

Also on Friday night there will be a Chautauqua presentation on the library lawn, a poetry slam presented by the CHS poets and writers. Admission is free, guests are asked to bring their own lawn chairs. This will begin the Heritage Days Festivities.

The Heritage Days Celebration will continue Saturday at the Flume Park. There will be an Historic Photo display from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. courtesy of our esteemed local historian Jed Howard. Entertainment will begin at 11:30 AM and a barbecue dinner ($10) will be served at 12 noon. At 12:45 p.m. there will be a presentation honoring the Magby and Means families. The Chatauqua will continue Saturday evening at 7 p.m. when oral histories of the Magby and Means families will be presented under the tent on the library lawn. Admission is fee.

The Carlsbad Area Art Association's annual Images art show will start Saturday and continue through October 29th at the Carlsbad Museum and Art Center. All local artists are welcome to participate. Entry forms are available at the Artists Gallery, 120 S. Canyon. Entries will be accepted 10 a.m. til noon on Saturday with a reception 7 - 9 p.m at the Museum. First prize in each category, photography and painting, will be $100. All awards will be presented at the reception.

If you haven't already checked out the Zia Quilt Show this is your last chance. There are some fantastic quilts and this show is definately worth your time. Stop by. They will be taking down the quilts Friday evening to prepare for the Images show on Saturday.

As you can see, there will be plenty to do in Carlsbad this weekend. This is an invitation to all who say there is nothing to do in our fair city. Come on, get off the couch and out of your house, and join us.

Hang up and drive!

I had my students write about pet peeves today. Most were not familiar with the term, so we talked about examples of pet peeves. A couple of examples I gave them were drivers who were so absorbed in their phone conversations they sat through traffic lights, and drivers who insisted in sharing their music with me from two blocks away. I have other pet peeves, but the driving thing really brings out the worst in some people. There is something about being alone in a car that gives some people the idea that they are invisible. How many times have you seen people doing these things: singing like they were in the shower, picking their nose, applying makeup, cell phone abuse, and my personal favorite - turn completely around and smack a child in the backseat? Hey out there - you are not invisible when you are in your car. Hang up and drive! And no, thank you, I do not wish to share your latest gangsta cd.

Friday Night Lights

Carlsbad Caveman Football. No, it is not the end of the world. Hell, it ain't even Odessa. The Cavemen are having a losing season, again. And the talk of the town is in the "hang the coach" vein. I wouldn't be surprised if he found a few real estate signs in his front lawn a la Friday Night Lights. I am not of the "hang the coach" faction. Football is complex, and the reasons for winning or losing are complex. We need to support the team and quit knocking the coach. There will be plenty of time for that when the season is over. While we are in the midst of football season, I think we should shut up and cheer the boys on. Jumping on the "hang the coach" bandwagon during the season is counter productive, and hurts the boys worse than it hurts the coach. So lets get out there and support the boys! You can't change horses in midstream, and maybe football is just football.

Chile Rellenos - Gringa Style

It chile season in New Mexico. That means it's time to drive to the closest chile farm where they roast chiles right there on the property. I try to stock up for the year. Thirty pounds roasted and brought home in a big black trash bag will at least last through the holidays. The smell of roasting chile makes my mouth water. I drive to Artesia to get mine. It's a thirty mile drive, and I enjoy the aroma all the way home wafting in from the trunk of my car. Then I bag them in gallon zip lock bags and put them in the freezer. Don't worry about peeling them, it's easier if you do the peeling when they are half frozen or half thawed, whichever. Be sure to only fill the bags about one third full, and lay them flat. Then you can easily thaw and use them for everything from green chile cheese burgers to green chile chicken enchiladas. MMMmmmmmmmm!!!!! I love fall.
This is one of my favorite receipes, give it a try.

Chile Rellenos Gringa Style
One pound ground round
grated Monterrey Jack and Colby Cheese
Fresh roasted green chile - Big Jims are my favorite
one package egg roll skins
veggie oil

Cook the meat, season, drain and cool, heat the oil, take egg roll skins, place one strip of green chile on an egg roll skin, top with ground meat and grated cheese add another strip of green chile, tuck in the ends and roll like a burrito (or an egg roll- duh!) fry til golden brown.

No muss, no fuss, no drippy batter and they are wonderful. IF I do say so myself.

Update on Loan Sharks

Last night I paid off a small loan for an elderly lady and closed her account at a local small lender. I asked for a print out of all of this lady's transactions, but was told it was against company policy to give out printed copies. The manager did take the time to go through the account verbally and let me write down the information. She opened her account in March of 2002 and I closed it yesterday September 2005, a period of 43 months. In that period of time, she refinanced her loan 11 times. As far as I can figure from the limited information they would give me, she "borrowed" $1103.00 and paid them $2511.00. It is unclear how much of the $1100 was borrowed to pay on the note. These people loaned $200 to a 76 year old senior citizen living exclusively on Social Security. It was supposed to be paid back in 4 months and supposed to cost her $288.00.



The following article was originally posted in July 2005:

Carlsbad Loan Sharks
Check out the NM Attorney General's web page http://www.ago.state.nm.us/divs/cons/loans/cons_loans.htmShe is warning all NM citizens about the predetory lenders in NM. This is a list of the ones in Carlsbad:

Sun Loan Co., a corporation from San Antonio TX; Liberty Finance, a corporation w/ a Carlsbad mailing address; National Mortgage Co., a corporation w/ a Carlsbad mailing address; Security Finance, a sole proprietorship owned by A.R. Briggs Carlsbad address; 1st USA Title Loans, owner - Anthony Williams Carlsbad address; Hometown Mortgage Service, owners - Rene & Cecilia Salcedo Carlsbad address; Zia Finance, a division of Security Finance - see above; World Finance, a corporation w/ a Carlsbad mailing address; Check n Go of NM, a corporation from Madison Ohio; Fast Bucks of Carlsbad, NM LLC, a corporation - lists Charles Horton, owner; Home Pro Mortgage, a sole proprietorship owner not listed manager- Oscar Caballero; Grumpys Loan Center, corporation w/ Carlsbad address; Associates Financial, no owner listed / primary contact - Mike Sandate; Your Credit, Inc, a corporation w/ Carlsbad address pc - Royal Management; Easy Money of NM, Inc., a corporation w/ a Virginia address pc - David Greenberg; Pecos Valley Mortgage, a sole proprietorship -owner, Tommy Martinez.

This is a list of most of the current loan sharks. At least if they are owned by someone from Carlsbad, the money stays in the Carlsbad economy. The ones that are owned by out of state corporations bleed the money from our economy. Carlsbad cannot afford these businesses.The AG has commercials warning you against these places. If you skip a payment at a payday loan place and don't make it up, all of the rest of your payments just go to interest. You will still owe the same amount in a year. The title loan places can take your car if you miss a payment.Think - Some of these loans cost more than 750% annual interest. No one can afford to borrow from them. Don't do it. The majority of their clients are on Social Security or minimum wage. They are taking advantage of desperate people who can least afford it.

Family Musings

This is a picture of my father, his two brothers, and his sister taken about 1920. The tallest boy is my uncle Thurston, the boy in knickers is my father. The little girl is Ernestine and the baby is Buddy. Ernestine is the only one still living, a retired Army nurse now living in Wichita Falls.
My grandmother and grandfather Brandon called each other Mr. and Mrs. Brandon. “Mr. Brandon, will you bring in some wood for the stove?” “Yes ma’am, Mrs. Brandon.” I barely remember my grandmother, and my grandfather died the year I was born, in 1952. But I remember all of the stories.
I remember visiting the farm in the summers. I remember the creaking windmill and the cistern by the back door. I remember the many cats. I remember the hand-pump at the kitchen sink, a modern convenience. They had electricity in the 1950s, because there were electric lights and an ice box with a motor on top. It contained Dr. Pepper, 10, 2, and 4, a special treat for me.
The facilities were out back, past the chicken coop, and the chickens and rooster had the run of the yard. That meant to visit the facilities I had to go out the kitchen door and cross the yard. For some reason, the rooster hated me, or at least I thought he did. If I attempted to visit the facilities by myself, the rooster would attach himself to my back and peck me on the head. I still do not like chickens, except to eat. After the first couple of times, I convinced the adults I had to be escorted to the facilities.
My father was born in 1913, and he was 6 when the 19th Amendment passed. In November of 1920, my grandfather took the family wagon into the town of Quanah, Texas to go vote for the Democratic candidate. He left my grandmother standing in the yard. My grandmother walked to town and she voted and then she walked the four miles back to the farm. My father says they ate cold beans for the next week, but no one ever said a word about the incident. They were not the type to have cross words.
My grandmother considered playing cards sinful. When my father in the late 1950’s bought his mother her first television, she turned it toward the wall and refused to watch it. However, I remember on our next visit several months later, she had repositioned the devise. Although it was never turned on during our visit, I got the impression she had relented.
Family memories and family history need to be written and saved. There are so many things now that I wish I had asked before it was too late.

Attorney General Patricia Madrid - Shark Hunter and Hero

N.M. Attorney General Patricia Madrid is a hero. She has taken on the powerful to help the unfortunate. Madrid has made giant steps in the right direction to end predatory lending. Payday and car title lenders can be found on almost every corner in most cities in N.M. Old gas stations and Taco Bells are turned into easy lender outlets. They are usually prominently placed, extremely visible (ugly), with large garish signs and “friendly” names like Crazy Sam’s or Fast Bucks. These “businesses” prey on the elderly and the poor, lending money to people they know cannot repay in a timely manner. With Madrid’s action, these loan sharks may be an endangered species.


On Wednesday, A.G. Madrid issued Proposed Rules and Regulations Governing the Extension of Credit for Small Loans. These regulations will cap the small loan interest rate at an annual rate of 54%, the same rate to which pawn brokers are held. Since the first of this year she has issued public service announcements warning people about the predatory loan sharks lurking on every corner. I suspect that during that time she has been researching how to use the power of her office to put a collar on the small loan business. It looks like she has found what she needed in the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act at NMSA 1978 Section 57-12-13 (1967).

This is a benefit to all N.M. citizens, not just to those being victimized by taking loans. Many of these businesses are owned by out of state corporations and the money they take in is drained from our state’s economy. Since this is a direct service and the employees do not make much more than minimum wage, there is no positive benefit to the communities where they are located. Even the ones that are locally owned hurt the economy because they reduce consumer spending power. Patricia Madrid should be given the full support of the citizens of N.M. and be commended for her efforts.

Cleaning Closets, Old Letters, Meeting your Parents

Mom passed away in 1996. Dad lived by himself until he just couldn't take care of himself anymore, and in 2002 I moved into his house to take care of him. He passed away that June and I still miss him like the devil. I didn't start cleaning right away, procrastination is my middle name. This summer I did a lot of cleaning, and a lot of shredding too. My dad had kept every bank statement since they moved to Carlsbad in 1947, and some from Roswell and Lubbock. Fourteen boxes full of nothing but bank statements, all with rubber bands and little adding machine tapes paperclipped to them. One four drawer filing cabinet was filled with memories of his life, his honorable discharge from the Seabees at the end of the war, a file with bad investments including a uranium mine, and an entire drawer of newpaper clippings he thought interesting. He had maps, menus and lunch counter placemats from trips that were before my time. There were brochures, museum tickets, and receipts for everything he ever bought.

Dad and Mom were married in Lubbock in 1937. Mom kept letters in boxes. There were letters from Dad to her before they were married, and letters when he was working out of town right after they married. One box contained WWII era V-mail, and almost used up ration stamp books. She kept letters from her "lying in." I found the hospital bill from when I was born. ($204.00 and she was in the hospital for 33 days) That was in my Dad's stuff, not Mom's. All of his stuff was organized in filing cabinets. I learned a lot about my parents. He was romantic and sweet. She was proper and a little sneaky. I found three Roswell bank statements with one check for each month. She put a mink on layaway, bought it, and closed the account. I'm sure my Dad had no idea. Finding all of this was like meeting people I had never known. I'm glad I waited, I might have tossed things away if I had started too soon. I kept some things, shredded a bunch, cried a little, and laughed some too. All and all, I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Should New Orleans Be Rebuilt?

I know lots of people are going to disagree with this, but I do not see why we should rebuild New Orleans. Maybe part of New Orleans, but not the areas that were below sea level and poverty sticken, these areas received the hardest hit. The physical geography of New Orleans is not naturally inhabitable. Over 70% of New Orleans is built over drained cypress swamps, the pumping stations were not there because of the floods; they were there for everyday life. If FEMA rebuilds, they need to rebuild where flooding is not going to happen again. This is not a slam at the poor of New Orleans, I think the same thing when I see the mud slides in California or huricanne victims on beachfront property and people say they are going to rebuild. Why? Our tax dollars need to be spent wisely - not building houses for people over and over and know they could eventually be washed away again. New Orleans sits over a swamp. There are no jobs, and 27 % live below the poverty level. 87% of the people who lost homes were living below the poverty level. 44 of the schools in New Orleans did not meet basic proficiency last year. If New Orleans had these kinds of problems before the flood, what will happen now? I am not talking about leaving people homeless, I think the government should and must do something to help every person who has lost their home, but I don't think a responsible government would put people back in the same place from where they were washed away. Maybe this would be a opportunity to relocate people to a place they can find work and be productive. Maybe they will not all want to go back to New Orleans. I just do not see how anyone can say it will make sense to rebuild in that location. Draining cypress swamps and building housing was not a good idea when it was first done. It is not a good idea now.

I wish I lived in Texas

If I lived 35 miles to the south I would be a registered voter in Texas. If I was a registered voter in Texas, I would skip the primary, sign the petition, and vote for Kinky Friedman, Texas independent candidate for Governor in Texas. His motto is either "Why the Hell Not?" or "How Hard Can it Be?". If he is elected he will be the first independant elected since Sam Houston. Check out his web site at www.kinkyfriedman.com and I think you will like what you read. We need honest politicians. Vote for Kinky if you can.

Reality Check in Hell

A few weeks ago I wrote in my personal journal (where I usually try to contain my pity parties) that I was living in Hell. I had quipped questioning why no one noticed they were calling long distance. Now I am watching Hell live on CNN and am ashamed of my self centeredness. Yes, we all have problems in our everyday lives, but what I am watching on CNN is unbelieveable. I read several articles from the newspaper to my history class, and actually had a moment where my voice broke, and I had tears in my eyes. It was an account of a 57 year old woman who had to leave her 94 year old mother to drown because she could not get her into the attic. Her mother's last words were, "I give up." Today on CNN a tough looking older sheriff broke down during an interview because his coworker's mother had called on Tuesday from the nursing home she was in and asked if they were going to be rescued, and her son told her yes. She called on Wednesday and was told again yes someone is coming, and on Thursday she was told yes they are almost there. On Friday she and the others in the nursing home drowned. This scene must have been multiplied by the hundreds. That is truely Hell and it is unbelieveable that it happened in America.

An Opportunity to Discuss Survival

The disaster on the Gulf Coast left by Hurricane Katrina is a good opportunity for you to discuss the American spirit with your teenagers. We must all do whatever we can to help those who are in desperate need. This could be the largest disaster in American history. Some people will never be able to return to their homes. Other families will be out of their homes for months, if not years. The entire city of New Orleans will have to be rebuilt, schools, hospitals, and all public services. But that is what we do in America; we rebuild and go on. We do not give up; we do not quit. We help those who need help. Use this opportunity to show young people the whole picture, the good, the bad and the ugly. Good people are trying to help others. The conditions are bad – even terrible, and the ugly side of any disaster is shown when people are looting or price gouging. This can show teens that breaking up with their boyfriend or girlfriend is not the end of the world. Making an F in English is not the worst thing that can happen to them. People can lose everything, absolutely everything, and pick up and go on. Most will go on, rebuild, and make things better than they were before. That is the American way.

Gas Prices and George W.

Wake up people - gas prices are a smoke screen! While you are desperately looking to save 40 cents a gallon, Bush is spending your grandchildren's money in Iraq. And he is making his already rich friends even richer. Declaring he will open up US reserves will do absolutely nothing about gas prices, and will affect the futures market. A fact I am sure his cronies took full advantage of, before the announcement was made.

Bush's latest request of $61 billion for Iraq puts the total tally at $210 billion— and climbing by $5 billion a month. Is Iraq worth that? Not to worry, for you and I aren't paying for it. The Bushites are financing their war by borrowing, mostly from central banks in China, Japan, and Europe.

This means your grandchildren will be paying for W's war long after we are dust to dust. Is this the legacy you intend to leave for your grandchildren? Shock and awe are luring us into a deep sleep, and we will wake up stripped to our skivies wondering what the hell happened.

W and Co. have highjacked America, and we better wake up and get her back!!!!!
America, wake up and stand up!!! Now is the time for all sane men and women to come to the aid of their country.

Hurricane Katrina

Can you imagine what it must be like in New Orleans standing in line to get into the stadium? Or in bumper to bumper traffic with a car full of kids trying to get out of the city? If there is a direct hit on New Orleans, this is going to be a horror story to put the TV dramas to shame. As a matter of fact, there was a tv show with a storyline very similar not too long ago. Hurricane hits Gulf Coast, Saudis sell all their oil to China, and US economy goes down in flames. I remember the trailers but did not watch, I'm not crazy about fake disasters. This real disaster could be terrible. I hope the weather and news channels are wrong. And I hope the Saudis don't watch anymore tv than I do.
I can't stop thinking about the elderly people who are scared tonight and the young people who still think they are bullet proof. What will the next few hours be like for them? The storm of a lifetime, the disaster of a lifetime, families with children trying to get away and old people who are sitting alone in their rooms all at the mercy of the weather God.