Live and Learn New Mexico!

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...

Whew! What a crazy five years it's been, right? I've been going through an awakening of sorts, one that focuses on mental health and finding calm and peace in my life. I was sharing my journey on social media and then stopped sharing; I think I overshared...you have to be careful. But I didn't stop learning. I think it's time to recap what I've learned over all so far. There's a lot. If you want to start your own journey to a more peaceful existence, these are my suggestions:  Start with your diet. I take supplements including lots of magnesium, calcium and zinc as well as a daily women's vitamin. I eat food rich in those things, too. For my high BP I take beet gummies.  I am more than vegetarian, less than vegan (I still eat free range eggs and I like baked goods that might contain dairy ingredients), and I rarely eat fast food. Just cutting out meat resulted in my losing a lot of weight. Already I was healthier. And right there, I was feeling m...

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 discovered that the local paper is delivered free to my driveway once a week, or maybe less. I like local newspapers. That is how I found out about the Juvenile Justice Board meeting this month. When I was running the adult ed program at UNM-Los Alamos, I realized that I was reaching out to the wrong organizations in the community. The schools weren't interested in partnering with me to better serve the kids in the district, and our partnership with LANL really didn't serve the populations I hoped to serve, but the LANL Foundation did. They give grants to schools in northern NM and they really make a difference. It isn't just about Los Alamos. In fact, I highly recommend any educational conference they put on. They are usually at a casino in the Santa Fe area and the schools that get grants attend. The keynote speaker is always excellent. Back to the point...when I realized I was reaching out to the wrong people in Los Alamos, I started attending meetin...