Live and Learn New Mexico!

I watch the local news for stories about the homeless as well as take snaps of them when I'm out and about. It needs to be documented.  I also care deeply about their welfare; what can I do to help? And what is "help"? So I started posting about it on Facebook and people commented. Those comments, combined with the news stories, gave me an idea. First, I'm not the only one who empathizes with the homeless. I'm not the only one who wants to help. We're all on this planet together. Second, many of those living on the streets consider it home. They don't want to be shipped off, away from the neighborhoods they live in.  Third, businesses that have homeless people around them are losing customers and going out of business.  Again, to address the issue, let's think creatively and make use of all the resources available. Let's be kind as well.  If businesses are going out of, why doesn't the City (or State or Feds)...

A day that many of us celebrate along with April fools day...the day recreational weed was legalized in New Mexico. I feel a special affinity as April 1st is also my birthday.  It's been interesting watching the changes in our everyday lives, and it's been amazing watching the cannabis business take hold in Albuquerque and surrounding communities like Moriarty. The local news stations have been reporting that the market is saturated, too many dispensaries for the size of the Abq population.  In the east mountains, there are several dispensaries. What I like about the ones I've visited is that they have good variety, high quality weed, and knowledgeable friendly personnel. They all seem to be successful so far, no competition for business, no oversaturation. I like to visit several and try different strains of their flower.  I'm so incredibly impressed with the medical side of it all. This stuff is so good for anxiety. I've found that the hybr...

Back in the day, when Taylor Swift came on the music scene with her brilliant country songs, I told my son, only a few years younger than she, that this girl was going to be HUGE! I didn't realize just how huge. Taylor is a cultural phenomenon.  I do think, however, that a lot of her mega success has been thanks to the Internet and social media. Taylor knows how to make the most of it. And she does it with a sense of humor, the ability to laugh at herself, and great kindness.  I often think about her impact on world culture. We compare her musical success to the likes of Elvis. I think she has more of a Beatles story, if social media had been around back then. Even now, AI is allowing us to experience the Beatles as they once were. They recently "released" a new song. They could become even more popular now than they were when they were together and all of them were alive. I'm also hearing that colleges and universities are teaching courses on Taylor's...

I've been living in Moriarty six years, and I've watched the kid next door, an autistic child, get on and off the bus every school day since he started attending. He's ten now, and he is growing into a fine young man, much of that thanks to local school teachers.  While his older sister has become unhappy with the local high school and is learning from home, meeting with teachers regularly, he thrives at elementary school. It is so good for him!  I've often thought that we should change how schools serve learners, especially those with special needs. What if we only bused learners who benefit from being physically present at school each day vs those who could get as much or more benefit from remote learning? Special needs learners gain important social skills by attending school and by riding the bus. They don't need the bullying that they often endure in some schools.  So let's encourage remote learning for the kids who don't contribute to a kind school com...

I've been noticing that New Mexico school districts are advertising on TV, appealing to qualified educators to teach for them. Los Lunas comes to mind. Still trying to find answers for the teacher shortage through traditional means... What if we instead networked across the state and enlisted teachers to teach for the district online so that they wouldn't have to relocate?  What if we opened up enrollment to learners statewide? If someone moves from a district they can keep their kids in the same school or continue learning from a favorite teacher. It's a thought. Live classes could be more manageable if there are some learners learning from home. They can still maintain a presence in the classroom with video conferencing. Learners could also take classes with different schools, like a combination of online learning with a school like Pecos Cyber Academy and live classes in their own district. Homeschoolers could benefit as well. One criticism of remote learning is that it ...

You would think that with my background and education, I would be a stickler for correct grammar and punctuation. Quite the opposite. I studied the English language and its history for my BA, and I have come to realize over the years that language changes and we need to stop holding on to what doesn't serve us anymore. Punctuation for example. Let's start with the apostrophe. There are actually two reasons we use apostrophes. The first is to take the place of a missing letter or letters. Contractions are a good example.  When we smoosh two words together to make one word, or when we shorten a single word, a letter or two are dropped and the apostrophe takes their place. "Do not" becomes "don't", "cannot" becomes "can't", and "we are" becomes "we're." Sometimes we drop the last letter of a word to make its tone more casual. "I'm just thinkin'," again, a missing letter. Another u...

1036517156700455div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Yesterday was hell on wheels. Everything went wrong all at once. I found out I didn't win the gymbird 10,000 step contest. I could handle that...no expectations.  Then I got an email saying I didn't make it past the first interview for a job I think I'd love. Sniffle Then, at the local grocery, my card was declined. Thank goddess for Jason, the guy behind me. He paid my tab. You rock, Jason!! You are a kind person. At some point late in the day,  I thought about my pocket rock. I knew when I reached into my pocket, it wouldn't be there. It wasn't. What I didn't know is when I lost it. I checked my bathrobe pocket...my bedside table, the floor...no luck. I had had that rock for quite a while. Losing it when everything was wrong made sense. It's a sign of transition...time to move on somehow. I needed to pick out a new one.  Just days ...