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.