Live and Learn New Mexico!

Last Saturday was the 5th annual Comic Con sale at Bethel storehouse and thriftstore, masterminded and organized by Olivia, longtime employee at this beloved Moriarty institution. I visited the day before to see how preparations were going. It seemed fairly quiet.  "Oh, I'll be staying all night after we close emptying that truck out in the parking lot," Olivia explained. "That's anything and everything Comic Con that's come through our doors as donations in the past year. "I'll be clearing off everything on the shelves and putting up Comic Con stuff. I'll be here at 10:00 tomorrow when we open. "I'm hoping for volunteers to help me but I'm not counting on it," she laughed. I didn't visit until after 10:00 the day of the event so I didn't see her open up the store.  But when I stopped by that afternoon, the place was humming and people were enjoying a store full of Comic Con. I had a great time snapping pictu...

I've lived in Moriarty now for eight years, and I believe it is a place of healing, full of light workers, also called angels, who have helped me through difficult times.  These days, for example, when I need hugs and a shoulder to cry on, I go to the local grocery store. Many of the employees there have become my friends. They care and give me pretty good advice when they can. That's what happens in small towns.  In this second post in my series about Bethel Storehouse in Moriarty, I am talking about another light worker, the person who has volunteered there the longest. That dedicated angel is Agnes Salazar.  Agnes has been volunteering at Bethel since day one (Bethel just celebrated its 38th birthday).  "I took a year off during Covid," she said, "My grandson passed because of Covid. I didn't want to take any chances. So it's been a total of 37 years." At that point she proudly mentioned that she would be 89 in the next few days.  "I don'...

Today I celebrated with the Moriarty community the 38th birthday of Bethel Storehouse. It was a grand time with bounce houses and games... friendly faces everywhere.    When I first moved here, I discovered the thrift store was a great place to pick up household and yard items to help me settle on my homestead.   During Covid, I was among those who were generously given food boxes from the storehouse. They even gave me dog food for my furry friends.  Now, living alone on the homestead, I go to Bethel to see friendly faces and share stories. I also get good quality clothes and shoes. I love thrift stores!  Friendly staff and volunteers Linda Smith has led the nonprofit for 37 of its 38 years. When I praised her success, she said, "It's not me. It's the community. They make Bethel work so well."  They live up to their mission statement : "Our Mission for Bethel Community Storehouse is to be a Christ centered non-profit mission providing food, clothing ...

We walked out of Walmart today with our groceries packed in paper bags, bags like the ones grocery stores used back in the day, no handles or ties. I'm old. I remember them well.  My son complained a little at the inconvenience, and I said, "Maybe they actually care more about saving the planet than they do about making your life more convenient in the short term." Good for Walmart, I thought, whatever their motives. And that led me to think, what would happen if businesses simply quit selling meat and started selling plant based foods? What if they did the right thing despite inconveniencing their customers?  I've been wondering this for a while. When Carl's Jr. came out with the Beyond burger, I was encouraged; all they had to do, in my opinion, is go vegan across the board. Who cares if customers don't like it as well as dead cows? Who cares if it helps save the planet?  Look, you don't have to like it as well as meat but you can...

You might think that someone like me, an educator with a degree in English, would be preaching correct grammar and spelling, holding onto traditional ways of expressing ourselves in the written word.  Lately I've been bitching about the misused apostrophe in the word "it's".  I'm not insisting, however, that we relearn it all and do things traditionally; I'm saying let's move with the times and make new rules that reflect change. Might be easier that way.  After all, once upon a time, contractions were not allowed to be used in academic writing. You could not smoosh two words together to make one, even though we did that when we spoke. That changed quickly. It was impractical not to.  We're looking at the same thing as we progress to an even more technical age. Ideas are more important than spelling. Conciseness is valued.  Most importantly, no one can spell anymore. I mean, why the hell do we continue to spell it "though", "enough"...

I was watching a news story about microschools and thought WOW! The final piece of the Be Kind Network mission...with a twist. If you haven't seen earlier posts about the Be Kind Network, please check them out. Now let's get to the point with a basic idea of how it would work.  The Network would be set up as a statewide K-12 microschool. Credentialled educators, community leaders and a learner team (students/parents) will be the hub of the Network.  They will look for weekly learning opportunities statewide and put the word out via radio, television and Internet, etc. for anyone  interested -- parents and homeschoolers, public schools, private schools, you name it.  Learners/parents/schools register with the Be Kind Network and report to them community activities they participate in. There may be connected assignments to complete. They get credit/recognition for their work at whatever school they "formally" attend as well as at the Network.   Th...