Category Archives: Uncategorized

The annual first release of water down the Rio Grande from Elephant Butte and Leasburg Dam happened Wednesday, June 1. And as usual, large blocks of white foam accompanied the welcome rush of water down the watercourse that had been dry since early last fall. At first, it looks like the entire river has beenContinue reading “Foam means it’s summertime, except not on top of your beer…”

My wife and I were enjoying a glass of wine on the back patio on Wednesday afternoon last week when we were startled by two thundering booms that we could feel. I was pretty sure it was a sonic boom, but we haven’t heard many of those around here in years. Shortly afterwards, something poppedContinue reading “Things that go BOOM in the day…”

(With apologies to Paul Simon) When the New Mexico State University baseball team made arrangements to go to Mesa, AZ, for the Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament last week, the school didn’t have the budget to charter a fancy jet to make the relatively short journey to Arizona. The plan was to charter a lowlyContinue reading “Just hop on the bus, Gus and set your bats free…”

I wrote last week about my grandfather, Charles Hurst, and his talent for writing, painting and creative engineering designs. The post was the result of a friend commenting about what an interesting man he must have been. After reading that, our good friend Cheryl dug a little more into my family’s past and came upContinue reading “Presenting Archibald…”

It was amusing to read last week that the U.S. Forest Service had implemented a 90-day pause on any controlled burn operations in forests the agency manages in the United States. It was also incredibly sad what had prompted that decision. “Wildfires are increasingly extreme because of climate change, drought and dry fuels across manyContinue reading “Closing the gate after the horse got out of the corral…”

My good friend Don from Montana sent me an e-mail recently that made me think about doing a blog about a grandfather I never knew, Charles M. Hurst. I had mentioned in an earlier post (regarding tongue sandwiches) that my mother and her family came from England and that my grandfather had an interesting background.Continue reading “Floating concrete ships, the Johnny Appleseed of oaks, a playwright and an artist…”

Police have arrested two people in conjunction with a shoplifting effort at a Wal-Mart in Edgewood, east of Albuquerque on Interstate 40. According to police reports, a woman set fire inside the bathroom of the Wal-Mart, by igniting paper in a trash receptacle. Then she and an accomplice went to the paper goods section ofContinue reading “A burning desire to shop at Wal-Mart…”

Recent news articles shared that researchers at the University of Florida had succeeded in growing plants in lunar soil harvested from the moon’s surface during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions. In what might be considered an affront to vegetable hating youngsters, the plant selected to be grown in the lunar soil was ArabidopsisContinue reading “Instead of growing plants, New Mexico’s moon rocks grew a spat between governors…”

Another incredible gaffe showing why New Mexico is always going to provide fodder for the “One of Our 50 Is Missing” column in the New Mexico Magazine. Yep, that Arizona’s name plastered over our beloved state on the national ABC Good Morning America broadcast. So who’s that state to the west of us? I andContinue reading “Does anyone outside the Beltway or west of the Hudson know anything about us???”

A few years ago, our late dear friend Alice, called me to help her with a car problem. She said she had run over a nail and had a flat tire on her lumbering Lincoln Town Car. I drove to her house to put a spare on the vehicle and take the damaged tire toContinue reading “Not only bad drivers, but bad roads…”

I ran across this disgusting display a couple of weeks ago at our local Sam’s Club. Yep, a display of cow tongues, and even cheaper if you buy a whole case of them. I recall that my mother made a tongue sandwich for us to eat when I was younger. I think after hearing meContinue reading “Looking at this may curb your appetite…”

The Albuquerque Journal has been writing stories in recent weeks about controversy over a plan to build a mortuary/creamatorium in the north valley just west of Balloon Fiesta Park. Area residents have become alarmed that the facility will emit toxic and unwelcome smells, noting that a nearby animal rendering facility/crematorium nearby is already making theContinue reading “Was that Uncle Vern we smelled at 500 feet above Balloon Fiesta Park???”

I stumbled upon a recent article in the Wall Street Journal which had the startling headline: “I Hate Doodle Dogs”: Endless Poodle Hybrids Spark Backlash “The ultra-popular pets have driven a wedge between owners, breeders and people who say they’re tired of seeing the pooches everywhere“ The story says the growing popularity of the crossContinue reading “Shamed by our dog Chester…”

Imagine that your family has agreed to meet at noon at the bridge over the Rio Grande on Central in Albuquerque to gently toss the ashes of your beloved Uncle Vern into the turgid waters below. Everyone shows up, including Cousin Louie, who was charged with picking up the urn of ashes from the mortuaryContinue reading “Wait, I thought YOU had Uncle Vern’s ashes…”