Las Cruces NM 2019: Temporary Home

Las Cruces, New Mexico, temporary home. March 2019.

In my month-to-month amble from Missouri to Tucson, it has looked like this:

Opelousas, Louisiana
El Paso, Texas


... and then Las Cruces, New Mexico.

As with the El Paso hang-out, my Las Cruces pad resulted from the power of networking. In this case, I met my host back when I lived in El Paso. We both attended a music-related Meetup at one of El Paso's Al Fresco Fridays.

"Drake" has a sharp wit that he uses mostly for good. Sometimes evil. One has to stay on one's toes around him.

Drake's dad, "Beck," lives with him in a DIY assisted-living arrangement.

Drake loves to get out and travel; Beck needs someone on site to support his semi-independence.

While still in Missouri, I thought, heyyyyyyy ..... what would it be like if I were to spend a month in Las Cruces at Drake's house in an arrangement where I could step in to support Beck's at-home independence and Drake could disappear to some global dot for awhile? If Beck, whom I'd previously met, was amenable, it could be a win-win-win!

I called Drake, proposed the idea, he said ..... Yeah!

And six or so months later .....

A roadrunner greeted me upon my arrival at Drake's house!

Las Cruces, New Mexico, temporary home. March 2019.

... and so did a relative of Drake and Beck's, "Susie," who is a newish nomad herself. Susie was hanging out in Las Cruces waiting for Montana to warm up some more. Thus she was my housemate for the month. Good news for Beck, as he now had two "minders," as he called us, to support his independent living.

Drake had already departed on his semi-plotted road trip when I arrived, which meant that I enjoyed: 


Another comfy bed, vast room, and a wicked-good shower due to its ample size and exhilarating water pressure.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, temporary home. March 2019.

A nice space for my portable office.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, temporary home. March 2019.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, temporary home. March 2019.

 A view of the wrinkly Organ Mountains that I love, with extravagant sunrises thrown in for free.

Las Cruces, New Mexico, temporary home. March 2019.

I am reminded of my early rootlessness, when I was the grateful guest at My Exclusive Vacation Homes on the Missouri Riviera.

Las Cruces NM 2019: Poppies

Poppies near San Agustin Pass, Highway 70, New Mexico. March 2019.

On the way back to Las Cruces from our field trip, we stopped for poppies. The "we" included me, Beck, and Susie. We'd already been to White Sands here and here, plus Rockin Zs for their green chile burger, and up to Cloudcroft for the high view.

Poppies near San Agustin Pass, Highway 70, New Mexico. March 2019.

Poppies near San Agustin Pass, Highway 70, New Mexico. March 2019.

Poppies near San Agustin Pass, Highway 70, New Mexico. March 2019.

Poppies near San Agustin Pass, Highway 70, New Mexico. March 2019.

Poppies near San Agustin Pass, Highway 70, New Mexico. March 2019.

Poppies near San Agustin Pass, Highway 70, New Mexico. March 2019.

A satisfying day.

Las Cruces NM 2019: White Sands: Dead Moth

Dead moth, White Sands, New Mexico. March 2019.

My Las Cruces housemates, Beck and Susie, were my travel companions to White Sands the other day.

Dead moth, White Sands, New Mexico. March 2019.

Susie noticed this exquisite moth, sadly dead. She picked it up, held it for awhile, appreciating its beauty, handed it to me.

Dead moth, White Sands, New Mexico. March 2019.

I admired it, too.

Dead moth, White Sands, New Mexico. March 2019.

I laid it in various spots on the sand, tenderly. 

Dead moth, White Sands, New Mexico. March 2019.

Dead moth, White Sands, New Mexico. March 2019.

Dead moth, White Sands, New Mexico. March 2019.

An addition to the carcass collection in the slide show below:

Las Cruces NM 2019: White Sands Study

 

My new vehicular mate at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. March 2019.

I've established a home base for a month at friend Drake's house. Neither Beck nor Susie, my housemates, had yet been to White Sands.

White Sands Study 2019, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. March 2019.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure to take us on a field trip to White Sands, Alamogordo (at Beck's recommendation for lunch at what he and Drake believe to be the best green chile cheeseburger in the land, notwithstanding this establishment's claim to same), and to Cloudcroft.

White Sands Study 2019, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. March 2019.

On one level, you get to White Sands, and you think, huh, a whole lotta white sand. Then, it begins to creep on you. A whole lotta white sand in the middle of the desert. No beaches. No ocean, no sea, no lake.

White Sands Study 2019, White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. March 2019.

From a distance, it gleams.

When the wind comes, the sand lifts up and swirls like a figure skater executing a graceful double axel.

A slide show of our March 2019 visit below:

A plethora of White Sands posts here, sheesh, going back to 2011.


And my cumulative collection of White Sands photos in the slide show here.

Las Cruces NM 2019: Jazz 3

Willie Green Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

On Monday, a local brewery hosted a pre-Mardi Gras kickoff with a mostly-jazz band from New Orleans: The Willie Green Project.

Willie Green Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

My housemates, Susie and Beck, accompanied me. We sat at a small square table close to the stage, on hard-seated chairs, the discomfort of which would delight even the sternest of Calvinist preachers.

Willie Green Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

It is not uncommon for alcohol-selling venues in the area to allow customers to bring their own food. Little Toad Creek Brewery and Distillery, which presented Willie Green, is an example of such a place. I brought my dinner with me: tomato sandwich, some roast chicken breast, a sweet potato, and a sliced red pepper. Susie bought a quesadilla from the food truck that parked behind the brewery, while Beck abstained.

Willie Green Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

The band included a sax/clarinet player, keyboardist, drummer, and a double bass musician. The drummer is the band leader, Willie Green.

Good sound in the room and huge, complicated jazz energy.

A long drink of the jazz below, with the drum highlight beginning around minute 6:30:

Some sips of other tunes here and here.

Willie Green Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Willie Green Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

An interesting dynamic, though, when the drummer is the leader and you've got a sax player with a lot of presence at center stage.

If you're the drummer and the band leader, you better have a lot of stage presence of your own because you've got to compete with heavier-weights under the lights, such as sax or string players. Willie Green doesn't have this .... yet. 

On one hand, I'm thinking, "Willie Green, you've got some big chutzpah to head up your own band - including gathering Grade A musical talent around you. Whew, good on you!"

On the other hand, I'm thinking, "Willie Green, you've got to grow some voice because I can't hear you in the background."

Willie Green Project, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Las Cruces NM 2019: Sunrise Sequence

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 1, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

What is it that fascinates us so by sunrises and sunsets, that we never seem to tire of them? Is it the colors of red, orange, yellow, indigo blue which attract us? The intensity of the colors?

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 2, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Perhaps so, just like a hummingbird is equally attracted to my brightly-flowered tablecloth as it is to authentic blooms?

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 3, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 4, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 5, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 6, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 7, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 8, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Sunrise over the Organ Mountains 9, Las Cruces, New Mexico. March 2019.

Las Cruces NM 2019: Jazz 2

Jazz jam at Mom's Coffee, Las Cruces, New Mexico. February 2019.

I invited friend Beck to join me at Mom's Coffee for an evening of jazz jamming.

Jazz jam at Mom's Coffee, Las Cruces, New Mexico. February 2019.

Super close to the university campus, Mom's Coffee attracts students, of course, and on this evening, a range of elders-in-age, including parents and aunts and uncles of student jazz jammers.

Jazz jam at Mom's Coffee, Las Cruces, New Mexico. February 2019.

Mom's decor vibrates with color and cheer, which the staff enhance with their own cheery selves. 

Jazz jam at Mom's Coffee, Las Cruces, New Mexico. February 2019.

Beck pointed out that the sax player was also a member of the Canyon Quintet, which played at the February Mesilla Valley Jazz and Blues Society meeting.

Jazz jam at Mom's Coffee, Las Cruces, New Mexico. February 2019.

Check out a tune here:

Flashback: Istanbul: The Cats

After completing my year in Caucasus Georgia, I laid about in Istanbul for several weeks before returning to the US.

Here's a flashback about the ubiquitous cats in Istanbul:

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Istanbul: The Cats

Istanbul cat, Turkey. July 2012.

Cats are everywhere in Istanbul.

They don't appear feral. Indeed, they curl up anywhere they please in shops and restaurants, including on strangers' laps in restaurants.

Some Istanbul cats below:  

Some other commentary on Istanbul cats:

Legal Nomads: A History of Cats in Istanbul

Boston.com: Cat Culture Thrives in Istanbul

Word of the Year 2019: Action: Penpal

The mail goes on. Roots n Blues in Columbia, Missouri. September 2007.

Many years ago, while attending university, I met an Ethiopian post-graduate student named Taye Woldesemayat. He was a TA and a student in the school's political science department, which is where I did my work-study job.

Taye made a big impact on me by way of a story he told while we shared a pizza one day:

In Ethiopia, as land was handed down to sons by their fathers, their descendants - subsistence farmers - owned smaller and smaller pieces of land as it was divvied up with their brothers. The plots of land were becoming too small to support cattle, the traditional livestock of choice. Some smart people, perhaps with USAID, had a great idea: Encourage the subsistence farmers to switch from cows to goats. The goats provide meat and milk like cows, but take up less space and consume fewer resources.

Upon hearing this, I said, "Hey, that is a great idea. Creative!"

And Taye said, "No, it's forcing the farmers to do all the changing. The oligarchy doesn't have to change anything. They keep their wealth and vast properties. What needs to happen is land reform."

Years after we both left the university, I learned that Taye had been imprisoned by the Ethiopian government. The government accused and convicted Taye of treason, which was just one of the usual covers that governments use to quash contrary citizens.

I began to write Taye monthly letters. My goals were to:

• Offer a friendly voice to someone in an unfriendly situation;
• Let Taye know that another person on the outside was thinking of him; and
• Put the jailers on notice that Taye had another ally on the outside. 

Penpals for people imprisoned in US detention centers
(including actual prisons with actual convicted felons, which immigrant detainees are not)


There are a number of organizations that sponsor letter-writing to detainees. The group that sponsored my penpal training yesterday is AVID in the Chihuahuan Desert. AVID is an affiliate of Freedom for Immigrants.

A primary goal of correspondence with detainees is to offset the isolation they feel due to the forced separation from their loved ones, their homes, jobs, communities, and from the routine of their lives outside the detention camps.

I can be a penpal regardless where I live, so this will be an ideal action for me to participate in.

In fact, before I left the training, AVID gave me a list of detained folks who'd expressed the desire for correspondents. I selected an individual who speaks English. He is from East Africa.

A small act for the cost of a little time, a stamp, some paper and printer's ink. But an act, nevertheless, and one which might shine a little light on both the sender and the recipient.