Category Archives: Uncategorized

I just looked up online how many times the average human heart beats in a day. The number I got from two sources as 100,000. When you load all of those into a year, it totals around 35 million. Luckily for me, the faithful pig valve inserted into my heart five years ago on TuesdayContinue reading “Another 35 million oinks…”

In our neighborhood, especially during their two-month mating season in February and March, we’re always cautious about the presence of skunks when we let our dog Chester out in the back yard in the early morning or at night. Yes, he’s been spritzed once, but the second time he saw a skunk he backed offContinue reading “Keeping a closer eye on my back door…”

I was watching an auto auction show on television last week , mostly because there was nothing else interesting on and because it was still too hot to do much outdoors. During the show, a Chevrolet dealership somewhere in New York, ran an ad boasting that they sold more Corvettes than any other dealership inContinue reading “They still don’t know much about us…”

An interesting article in the Albuquerque Journal last week told the story of an Albuquerque man who had recently celebrated his 100th birthday and claimed that drinking a can of Coors Banquet beer each day was the key to his longevity. When Coors heard about Robert Nolen, Jr.’s, accomplishment, the company sent him three casesContinue reading “The bane of bad restaurants…”

You’ve probably heard the old adage that “it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the street.” Well, here’s a new twist. This week, I read online about a couple of staff members from an Albuquerque television station who wanted to determine if, during our current heat wave, there was enough heat to cook aContinue reading “Cutting edge investigative journalism by yours truly…”

During my career as a journalist for United Press International in the 1970s, one topic that I wrote about many times was the joint effort by the states of New Mexico and Colorado to acquire the old Denver and Rio Grande Western narrow-gauge railroad between Antonito, CO and Chama NM. It was an almost impossibleContinue reading “The little engine that could…”

My regular blog posting has been interrupted by a long-planned 50th anniversary vacation with family and the subsequent grandparent collapse after being flogged by our four grandchildren for several days. The 50th anniversary was supposed to happen two years ago, but Covid and other complications delayed it until this summer. We went to Durango, CO,Continue reading “Recovering…”

Most of us remember the phrase “Iron Curtain” from the cold war era to describe the Soviet Union’s shunning of the rest of Europe and the West. And of course there was the “Steel Curtain” to describe the Pittsburgh Steelers crushing defensive line during the 1970s. I’ve discovered a new take on seemingly rigid andContinue reading “All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall (or window)…”

Our neighboring city to the south, El Paso, had a couple of interesting food-related incidents last week. On Friday, an 18-wheeler loaded with thousands of gallons of Tabasco sauce in large containers suddenly sprung a leak on Interstate 10 in the central part of the city. The problem was discovered when the truck started spewingContinue reading “An ice cream and Tabasco fiasco…”

My blog on Sunday focused on the new book “50 Pies, 50 States.” The book, by author Stacy Mei Yan Fong, focuses on pies which she felt were appropriate for each state based on history, locally sourced ingredients, state culture and other factors. The New Mexico pie, as I mentioned, looked rather unappetizing. It hadContinue reading “Journalistic integrity and the Montana pie…”

I just listened to an interview on our National Public Radio Station with a woman who had created a unique pie recipe for each of the 50 states. The book, “50 Pies for 50 States,” was written by Stacey Mei Yan Fong, an immigrant from Hong Kong who now lives in New York. She setContinue reading “Fifty Pies…”

There is a flock of turkey vultures that live in some very tall trees in our neighborhood. They disappear in the winter, then come back when the weather gets warmer and they can soar on the thermals and spring winds while looking for caron of a squashed frog or squirrel on the road. Most peopleContinue reading “Like the buzzards flying around our neighborhood…”

I wrote last week about our dog’s bout with hematomas in his ears and his “cone of shame” treatment. In addition to the protective cone to keep Chester from scratching or flopping his ears around, he’s been given three medications to take. One is an antibiotic, another is to control any allergies that may haveContinue reading “Projectile medication expulsion…”

Our rambunctious Goldendoodle, Chester, has gotten himself into another fix. Last week, apparently irritated by a bug bite or allergies, he shook his head so violently that he broke blood vessels in the flaps of his ears. He ended up with a hematoma in both ears, leaving them with a squishy mass of blood andContinue reading “We used to just let them limp around…”