“Crisply vivid, witty, and at once far-seeing and a-whisper with intimacies…a rare and splendid pleasure”- C.M. Mayo, Meteor
“…a wondrous collection that reminds us of states of being so fundamental they can only be described as holy.” – Juliet Patterson, Threnody
Back some time in the l980s (do we speak in decades now?) I decided to plant some Arizona Cypress trees at my Vega house. Fast growing, drought resistant. The house sits in the middle of a prairie; I've always said no matter what I tried to do with the yard, I lived in the middle of a prairie. Daddy teased me about the trees. "They're not going to be tall enough to shade your grave," he jibed even as he helped me dig the holes. That was Daddy: he...
Texas Highways magazine has asked me to write an article ("IF there are museums, IF there are restaurants") about Highway 385. I'm talking about 385 from Vega to Boys' Ranch, or as I still like to call it, Old Tascosa. It's a travel magazine, right? So there needs to be something to see--several somethings. The guy sending the email requesting the article allowed there might not be enough to write about. I want to say, yes there is: this was an old bison road (bison being the proper term for...
My neighbor, Jim, here in Picacho Hills in Las Cruces, just hailed me over his wall. "Hey, saw your book reviewed in the Albuquerque Journal last Friday," he said. "Great," I called back. "Glad to know someone still reads the newspapers!" I was starting my midday walk, already sweating in the intense New Mexico sun. Apparently, someone else saw the article as well. All the seats were full at the local Albuquerque Bookworks store on Sunday, June 26th when I gave my scheduled talk and reading. It's humbling, to say the...
