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DarkFoxFlerb, what a wonderful post! You said it! I love living in a town that doesn't have a lot of money. Of course, I am one of the people without money, LOL. I chose to get my degree in teaching and now I teach in the elementary school and stay in NM.
I have lived in New Mexico all my life! I can't imagine living in another state. I can't leave the hot springs near here, they are amazing. I found this story on the Las Vegas NM hot springs, and it describes exactly why I love Vegas so much:
35 years ago, my parents left all of us kids and retired in Roswell from North of Chicago. 3 years later we all followed with our families. We were there for 17 years and then Mom and Dad left us, 3 months apart. My family moved to Missouri to be by the lakes and the fishing. We thought we missed it in NM. Then the children had their own families and move to other states. Divorce follows and old age sets in. Retirement is close, very close.
two weeks ago tomorrow I flew back to NM after 14 years. Flew into Albuquerque and rented a car and headed down Route 25. I felt like I came home and had to pull over because I was bawling my eyes out. I called each of my children, crying like a baby and relaying how I felt. So peaceful, like arms were around me welcoming me. I could breathe deeply, I could see so very far. The mountains, the desert, the meadows were a wonderful site to me. I was home, finally home. I can't explain all that I felt while driving to Socorro, but I prayed and thanked God for letting me return to NM.
I missed it so.
I returned to dirty, noisy, crime ridden, elbow to elbow houses, old, Kansas city last weekend but I will survive this temporary residency as I bought a home in Los Lunas and am making preperations to move. I will have a modest home, a modest retirement income and I will have to pinch pennies and lock my doors. But I will have a meadow across the gravel road, a full acre of land, a glorious mountain view in the back and I will have peace and quiet til the end of my days. There is a bible verse, that spoke to me during my trip. Each and everytime I gazed at a mountain..."How lovely are the mountains at the feet of him, Our God Reigns." I have no clue where that is as I don't memorize the bible but I know it exists and I know that my God that made the beautiful, awsome NM mountains sent it to me.
I just came back from a two-week vacation in New Mexico and I must agree entirely with the first poster on this thread by "lukeache" in Nov 2006. I love and hate the same things he did.
The reason why New Mexico is so different it's because its origin and subsequent historical development are different from other states. NM has a very large concentration of American Natives and deeper roots of the Old Spanish Colonies in the New World. The "Americanization" of this state has been a very slow process and still has a long way to go.
You don't find turquoise used in clothing, or jewelry, or architecture anywhere in the world like it is used in New Mexico. I was away for 25 years, and didn't realize how much my eyes missed it until I returned in 2005. And, upon my return, I was greeted with the smell of pinon pine after a light rain: unbelievable!
I dislike the same things now that I did 25 years ago: we dislike progress and progressive thinking, women and minorities are still struggling in the workplace, and our infrastructure has merely inched forward at best. We rank number two in the nation for largest number of trailer houses - if we must be known for something, I'm not sure this does New Mexico justice. Let's not forget corruption in government: we're also one of three states whose state government has failed to approve reasonable open conference legislation - too much transparency?
I'm still waiting to see what we will be when (if) we grow up.
35 years ago, my parents left all of us kids and retired in Roswell from North of Chicago. 3 years later we all followed with our families. We were there for 17 years and then Mom and Dad left us, 3 months apart. My family moved to Missouri to be by the lakes and the fishing. We thought we missed it in NM. Then the children had their own families and move to other states. Divorce follows and old age sets in. Retirement is close, very close.
two weeks ago tomorrow I flew back to NM after 14 years. Flew into Albuquerque and rented a car and headed down Route 25. I felt like I came home and had to pull over because I was bawling my eyes out. I called each of my children, crying like a baby and relaying how I felt. So peaceful, like arms were around me welcoming me. I could breathe deeply, I could see so very far. The mountains, the desert, the meadows were a wonderful site to me. I was home, finally home. I can't explain all that I felt while driving to Socorro, but I prayed and thanked God for letting me return to NM.
I missed it so.
I returned to dirty, noisy, crime ridden, elbow to elbow houses, old, Kansas city last weekend but I will survive this temporary residency as I bought a home in Los Lunas and am making preperations to move. I will have a modest home, a modest retirement income and I will have to pinch pennies and lock my doors. But I will have a meadow across the gravel road, a full acre of land, a glorious mountain view in the back and I will have peace and quiet til the end of my days. There is a bible verse, that spoke to me during my trip. Each and everytime I gazed at a mountain..."How lovely are the mountains at the feet of him, Our God Reigns." I have no clue where that is as I don't memorize the bible but I know it exists and I know that my God that made the beautiful, awsome NM mountains sent it to me.
I LOVE NM!
This is probably the most touching post I've read in the entire city data forum. Congratulations to you for coming home again.
So true, so true............. I want to get back to NM so badly. Cant wait!!!
Greenchili
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The color turquoise and the smell of pinon
