Author Archives: Patrick Lamb

Yes, you read that right. Here’s the story, and it’s not as sordid and you might have been wanting. In my freshman year of college at the University of New Mexico, my fraternity brothers learned that Playboy magazine was going to be on campus to do a photo shoot for next year’s male college fashions.Continue reading “I was a teen-age Playboy model…”

For several years, my long-time fly-fishing buddy Bill and I used a guide on the San Juan River who was quite the character. He would work on his guitar music in the winter, then guide on the San Juan in the spring, summer and fall, living in what we suspect was not much more thanContinue reading “A brief diversion into (almost) bathroom humor…”

Last week, police in Roswell apprehended a California man on charges of kidnapping, robbery and carjacking. Taken to the police station to face further questioning, the suspect — wearing a blue jumpsuit from the Chaves County detention center — managed to break free from officers and run away. About two hours after the escape, policeContinue reading “Maybe it was the red beard that gave her away…”

It’s said that most pilots can sense the smallest nuance of change in the performance or “feel” of their aircraft. Being attuned to these clues usually results in quickly identifying the source of the change so necessary safety measures can be taken, if necessary. I experienced one of these incidents many years ago while flyingContinue reading “A whole lotta shakin’ going on…”

The City of Sunland Park, located on the Mexico-New Mexico Border just west of El Paso, has gained a bit of a reputation over the years as the poster boy for bad local government. Because of constantly changing managers, elected officials, clerks and police officers, stability has not been a phrase used to describe cityContinue reading “The phrase “revolving door” was probably invented here…”

On Monday of this week, I received mail from an organization called the “Neptune Society.” My first thought is that because of my interest and involvement in fly fishing that it might have some connection with fly fishing for bonefish or permit in the flats of the Caribbean. Okay, I thought, I’m intrigued and I’llContinue reading “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, Version 3.0…”

In the chaos surrounding our election, you may have missed the story about a French bulldog named Wilber being elected as mayor of the town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. https://apple.news/AGRIqeVrVRWm0lkgvtjCUdw Well, Rabbit Hash, Kentucky has nothing over Vaughn, New Mexico in efforts to empower four-legged furry friends. In 2012, a police offer in the tinyContinue reading “Throw me a bone wasn’t such a bad thing in Vaughn…”

In the past several weeks, I had been thinking of calling my long-time friend and banking colleague Tom Mobley to see how he was doing. I also had a bit of an ulterior motive, wondering if he might need me to do grunt work at his ranch in the fall to help sort cows forContinue reading “If you’ve been thinking of someone, call them…”

In 2012, a sheriff’s deputy in Luna County spotted a battered vintage Honda Civic driving erratically and carrying four passengers — one of them rather unusual looking. He stopped the very small car and found two men in the front seat and another man in the back seat. The man in the back seat wasContinue reading “I’ll bet they’re glad it didn’t call shotgun…”

No, I’m not that old — well almost. Read on. In the late 1960s, New Mexico became a hot spot for “hippie” dropouts, most of them ending up in communes near Taos and Santa Fe. As you might expect, many of these people had interesting stories about why they joined the counter culture and movedContinue reading “I interviewed Ulysses S. Grant…”

In the 1970s when I was Santa Fe Bureau Chief and State Political Editor for United Press International, I covered eight sessions of the New Mexico Legislature. I met and wrote about many colorful characters and incidents during that time. One of those that stands out occurred when the Senate was debating a proposed lawContinue reading “They got the “L” out of there…”

My WordPress program, which I use to create my website and post blogs, does not have an easy way to go back to read earlier blogs. You can do it, but it’s a cumbersome process. You have to go to the oldest blog that shows on the blog page, open it, then click on theContinue reading “If you’re really bored…”

Some of you may remember a blog I wrote a few weeks ago about a good friend of ours who stunningly discovered she was dead, even though she felt very much alive and looked just fine to us during a Zoom meeting. It turns out that an online ancestry search listed her as having kickedContinue reading “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, Version 2.0…”

About a month ago, residents of our quiet neighborhood learned that the city was planning to cut down a large number of trees growing along an iconic street that is a beautiful gateway to the area. The trees overhang the street, forming a canopy that is especially refreshing in the hot summer and spectacularly colorfulContinue reading “An orange dot becomes a plot…”