Category Archives: Uncategorized

Every year, it seems like merchandisers rush toward Christmas even earlier, hoping they won’t miss out on the shoppers who really really like to get a jump on the holidays. I fear the next early Christmas sale at Hobby Lobby will be on Dec. 26, 2024, when it will be promoted as “Get ready forContinue reading “And you thought they were rushing Christmas…”

When the word “wilderness” is mentioned, I suspect most people visualize a towering range of snow-capped mountains, unending lush conifer forests, broad meadows with rushing rivers flowing through them and waterfalls tumbling from cliffs into a valley below. In the Gila Wilderness of southwestern New Mexico, you don’t get much of that. It’s a placeContinue reading “Tough love…”

We just completed our annual Fourth of July sacrifice of more than $200 in fireworks for the benefit of our grandchildren and some visitors from a state where such shenanigans aren’t allowed. The finale was a device called “Kooky Caterpillar,” which shot crackling sparks of vivid colors out of various orifices, whistled loudly and concludedContinue reading “How about a little combat for a Fourth of July celebration?”

Things continue to improve in the Ruidoso area following the two devastating fires earlier this month. Police have now confirmed that they have now located everyone who was feared missing. The fires are largely contained and rains continue to dampen the area. Stories of kind gestures in the aftermath of the fire are starting toContinue reading “At twenty bucks a bottle, it was apparently worth it…”

The situation in Ruidoso continues to unfold as residents have finally been allowed to return to see if their homes, businesses and favorite places in the mountain community have been destroyed in the devastating fires. At this point, there is good containment of both the South Fork and Salt fires, but officials still estimate moreContinue reading “It shouldn’t take a disaster…”

Growing up in the southern New Mexico resort community of Ruidoso, my father always said he feared that some day there would be a catastrophic forest fire that raced through the canyon and destroyed much of the community. As you’ve probably been reading or hearing on electronic media, that very thing seems to have happenedContinue reading “The sum of all fears…”

The Albuquerque Journal’s Business Outlook section this week had a story about young kids — mostly teenagers on summer break — getting their first paying job. There was a lot of focus about Dion’s Pizza, which has always made an effort to hire teenagers for work in their statewide franchises (including two here in LasContinue reading “Don’t tell any of the cool guys about this…”

For reasons that probably won’t interest anyone, I have rejoined the Boy Scouts of America (soon to be renamed Scouting America) as an adult member of troop 66 in Las Cruces. In order to join, I had to pay dues and various entry fees of more than $100 and take a course called “Youth ProtectionContinue reading “Maybe I’ll compete in the Pinewood Derby…”

During World War II, Britons dubbed the German VI rocket that terrorized London as the “Doodlebug.” It alerted residents of its approach with an annoying pulsing buzzing sound from its primitive rocket motor, then became silent when the engine quit over the city and then after a few moments exploded when it crashed randomly aroundContinue reading “More than you wanted to know about doodlebugs…”

Anyone who’s been in New Mexico for a while knows about the burning of Zozobra, the effigy portraying gloom and doom that is torched every year around Labor Day during the Santa Fe Fiesta. The burning of Zozbra began in 1924 when Santa Fe artist Will Shuster decided to have a private Fiesta party inContinue reading “I guess I should have notified NTSB every time I flew…”

There was a sad story in the Albuquerque Journal last week about a young man from the Boston area who had died from ingesting too much capsicum in chile extract from participating in a “One Chip Challenge” that was circulating on social media. The story noted that the young man had a congenital heart defectContinue reading “Don’t think you can ever get enough of that great New Mexico chile? Think again…”

I’m easily entertained by people watching at airports when I’m waiting for a plane. I wonder why people are traveling, what their lives might be like and who they might vote for in the upcoming elections. (Actually, I don’t think you can guess that by mere appearance, given my experience as a voter registration clerkContinue reading “She shouldn’t be a fashion accessory…”

My wife and I have become fans of the “Father Brown” mystery series on Brit Box. A meddling Catholic priest in the mythical town of Kembleford in the Cotswold region of England is an amateur sleuth who always manages to upstage the local police in their investigations of murders in the otherwise tranquil British countryside.Continue reading “Cars eliminating human jobs…”