Shock and Awe

This isn't a political blog, although I do have plenty opinions of my own. The significance of what happened that day in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania did figure into our move to New Mexico. 9/11 and what's followed has changed all of our lives. An event like that can trigger a lot of things, you can start looking at your own life differently. Talking about something theoretically is different than seeing it happen with your own eyes live on television. There's so much coming at you, overload's fast because of the constant impact. It takes time for things to sink in and settle. I knew fairly soon that I needed to get away from cities for a while. The San Joaquin Valley is another name for development and I'd seen a lot of open space I'd spent time in bull dozed into subsivisions. I'd never been to Arizona and New Mexico until April, 2002. Deserts don't really appeal to me but the landscape out here with its vastness and big skies was comforting. Maybe it was compulsive running, it wasn't the most logical sounding plan. Five months later all worldly possessions were packed into a big yellow truck heading east to Mimbres, NM. I've heard a saying that goes "People come to New Mexico to find themselves" and my response is usually "Yeah, there's not much else to do". The truth is I've never met so many people from somewhere else, even in California. Here we all are, looking, looking, looking. I'll be honest, it hasn't been easy going. Making a radical change doesn't mean the rest of life goes on hold and no matter where you go, you always take yourself with you. Maybe New Mexico is where you find that last bit is true.