Our roadside image…

Driving back from El Paso on Interstate 10 last week made me draw the following conclusions about how others perceive Las Cruces and New Mexico.

“They smoke a lot of pot, they’re in a lot of legal trouble, the only eat Mexican food and they don’t know how to spell very well…”

That’s the vibe you get when you read the billboards heading north out of El Paso when you enter the Land of Enchantment.

I counted at least four cannabis “dispensary” signs along the highway. There were a couple more heading south, as I recall.

Next seemed like an endless stream of lawyer billboards, many promising big settlements for accidents involving large trucks. Others dealt with basic ambulance-chaser matters. I counted at least half a dozen.

Okay, well, the legendary and imaginary Saul Goodman didn’t actually have a billboard down here, but I’ll be he would have, given the opportunity.

And then next were billboards from several local Las Cruces Mexican food restaurants, all promising the best tacos and enchiladas around. If you counted francises which offer fake Mexican food (think McDonald’s, Taco Bell and others), there were at least half a dozen of those.

Then next was a billboard that has bothered me for years. It is for a desolate looking mobile home/RV park on I-10 about halfway between El Paso and Las Cruces. It is called:

“Western Skys RV Park”

Really? Skys and not Skies?

And, adding insult to injury of the English language, another sign promoting the business is spelled SKYS’ with an added superficial possessive apostrophe.

That’s my rant for the month of August. Stay tuned — I’ll have another one next month.