Author Archives: Patrick Lamb

Yes, readers, they are indeed related. You may recall that earlier this fall, I decided to do a post updating on a story I wrote many years ago while Bureau Chief and State Political Editor for United Press International in Santa Fe. The story involved my curiosity about how many exotic vehicles were registered inContinue reading “Regarding an exotic species found in Catron County and restoring some faith in state government…”

(A SPECIAL EDITION OF MY BLOG FOR YOUR THANKSGIVING DAY READING) Last Saturday, Albuquerque radio station KKOB staged a promotion in which hundreds of rubber duck “turkeys” offering various prizes were dropped from the station’s hot air balloon over a crowd at Balloon Fiesta Park. It was reminiscent of the 1978 episode of the televisionContinue reading “Oh, the humanity!!!”

Warning: This post may include adult content. An article in last week’s Albuquerque Journal focused on the efforts to reduce pigeon poop in the downtown area of the Duke City. Much to the horror of a city council member, the city’s efforts had been focused on trapping pigeons in a cage which, similar to aContinue reading “Did the cats have to do an audition???”

Every New Mexico resident has probably seen it. Our wonderful state being confused with our western neighbor, Arizona. And of course, we regularly discover people who think we’re actually a foreign nation, a rectangular geographical appendage that was somehow transmogrified from the Republic of Mexico. I’ve written about this in several of my blogs duringContinue reading “Arizona (and maybe New Jersey) are creeping even closer…”

Our rambunctious dog Chester, has experienced multiple ear infections, hot spots, clumps of fur ripped out on his paws and other maladies during the last couple of years. Our very competent veterinarian advised us several times that we should probably test Chester for allergies as the probable cause of these things. When my wife andContinue reading “Being allergic to yourself…”

No, this is not going to be my opinion about the 2024 general election outcome — just some observations I made while serving as a poll worker two weeks prior to the Nov. 5 general election and on election day itself. I worked as Same Day Registration (SDR) clerk at the Mesilla Town Hall fromContinue reading “Election reflection…”

There’s something strange going on in southeastern New Mexico. I’ve discovered a disturbing trend where trees have started growing up in the middle of abandoned cars found in a Roswell auto scrap yard and on a ranch southwest of there on the Rio Penasco. Like my recent post about truck parts being highjacked around myContinue reading “Just sprinkle a little Chevrolet on that and it will grow like crazy…”

It’s fairly certain that many of the students at White Mountain Elementary School in Ruidoso lost their homes in the devastating fire and flooding early last summer in the mountain resort community where I grew up. When I learned about how widespread the damage was, my thoughts first turned to the third graders at thatContinue reading “Fishing for normalcy…”

Like any state, New Mexico has its share of strange laws. For example, we may be the only state that has an official question: “Red or Green,” referring to our choice of chile on our favorite Mexican food dish. And I’m pretty sure we’re the only state that has an official aroma: “the smell ofContinue reading “Except for the punishment, maybe it was a good law…”

My son sent me this photo last week of the latest edition to the Irvine, California, police department. Yes, it’s a Tesla Cybertruck, decked out as an intimidating official police vehicle in Irvine, CA, where my son and his family live. Having visited my son and his family several times in Irvin, I suppose thisContinue reading “Well of course, the City of Irvine would have one of these…”

There is a mysterious vortex in our part of town sucking up random truck parts and spiriting them away to places unknown. I have photographic evidence. Clearly, if you were trying to sell this vehicle — as the sign on the front bumper suggests — you’d want to offer it with wheels and tires. ButContinue reading “The Bermuda Triangle of truck parts…”

I learned last week of the death of John Gierach, a writer whose work I’ve admired for years. His subject was invariably fly fishing, but his messages were always far beyond just the nuts and bolts of the sport and his experiences on the water. He had written more than 20 books and countless articlesContinue reading “Skillful writing with a dose of Oncorhynchus and philosophy…”

Mercedes Benz joined with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 1994 to produce the “Smart” brand of very small two-passenger cars for urban markets outside of China. You still see a few of the “Smart fortwo” models buzzing around, but sales in the United States stopped in 2019 because of a declining demand forContinue reading “In a tight spot…”

My wife and I attended the Southern New Mexico State Fair last month to watch the Ranch Rodeo competition, which is always a fun event if you’re never seen one. As opposed to professional cowboys riding bulls, busting broncs and roping calves, the Ranch Rodeo events are closer to what real cowboys do during theirContinue reading “A mooooving chorus…”