Long Time Coming

1. We got National Public Radio here for the FIRST time! Previously the only radio station I could hear was a religious station broadcast mostly in Spanish. When I turned on my car radio and heard Robert Siegel on All Things Considered, I started tearing up! At last!

2. After more than 120 days without it, we got rain this morning! I heard a strange sound on the roof early this morning, and it took me awhile to figure out what it was. I pulled on a sweatshirt on over my pjs and went outside to stand in the rain. When it rains here, the air smells like sage and creosote bush and wet dust. It smells good, and there's not a whiff of the smell of worms.

If I'm going to be an "Enemy of Freedom" at least I have good company

My efforts to understand the conflicts between tourism and some in the ranching industry has taken an interesting turn. When I called a rancher suggested by a board member, I got the third degree. I told her I wanted to understand the issues, so as we develop tourism in the area our local board of directors can do so responsibly and with sensitivity to local ranching concerns. "I have to decide if I'm going to talk to you," she said, "and I need more information about you and your organization." After three phone calls from her, the calls, and her questions--about me, who paid my salary, who donated to the organization, who was on my board--suddenly stopped.

Friday I learned our conversations were chronicled in a newsletter for "concerned private property owners."
My name and that of my organization were lumped together with the following, all of us called enemies of freedom:

The Nature Conservancy
World Wildlife Fund
Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute (a nature education center)
Sul Ross State University
Rio Grande Institute (a grant-seeking economic development organization for the border region)
National Park Service

And....get this....
UNESCO.

Guess we'll have to forge ahead, without understanding the intricacies of this woman's point of view.

And, I've had yet another lesson in cultural differences.

For the record, we never will enter anyone's land without permission or work with them without their invitation. That was the case before I contacted this woman, and it remains the same today and every day in the future.

Keeping Busy

In the midst of a busy week!

Just spent a day and a half at the Native Plant Society of Texas' meeting in Fort Davis, learning about the flora, fauna, geology and archaeology of the region. "Plant goobers" as a friend calls them, are very nice people and I had a great time. There is an amazing amount of diversity in the region; so much to learn!

I'll spend two days at the Guadalupe Mountains National Park (above right, with wildflowers in the foreground) participating in a workshop to help the park develop its five year interpretive and education plan.

The photos above are a bit of a tease, though we ARE starting to get wildflowers now. I saw my first bluebonnets three weeks ago by the Big Bend National Park, but these are photos from my trip in April when I interviewed for the job.

Thought you folks in snowy territory could use a pretty picture or two.

The Pharmacist Died

Van Horn's only pharmacist died last week, and his family closed the drug store. All prescription records were sent to the nearest pharmacy, an hour-and-a-half away. I've heard of this happening in small-town Iowa, but the distances between towns there is far more manageable for those in need of medication. I know folks are looking at some solutions to this dilemma, but the loss is clearly a blow to the town.

Three Burials

I recently saw the new Tommy Lee Jones movie, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" which was shot in Van Horn before I arrived. I'd recommend it. The acting is very strong, and the story about devotion to friendship is original and poignant. Jones won Best Actor at Cannes for this, and Barry Pepper is fantastic. Jones also won for Best Screenplay.

But it is not for the faint of heart as bad things happen to a horse and a human body, so please keep this in mind.

It shows our beautiful land around here, and is jarringly honest about the town, which is not to most eyes, beautiful. One of the scenes takes place at the paupers' graves in the Van Horn cemetery, which is one of my favorite places to run in town. Yes, those markers are made of rebar and painted wood. Some of them have names on them; some don't. We do not live in the clean, neat, manicured Midwest, but to me, this makes the cemetery much more interesting. (I'll post more photos of the cemetery later. It is fascinating.)

Tommy Lee Jones is coming back to film in Marfa this spring, as he's teaming up with the Coen brothers to make an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's newest book, "No Country for Old Men."

And Daniel Day Lewis fans will get to see him around Marfa this spring, too. He'll be in town to make "There Will Be Blood," an adaptation of Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel, "Oil!" The writer/director of "Magnolia" and Punch Drunk Love" will be making this one.

114 days and still....wait....yes, still counting

When I left for lunch this noon, there were a few sprinkles of rain on my windshield, and it certainly felt like it might pour. But by the time I drove the 3/4 mile to the post office, and checked my box, the drops had evaporated. I've seen that before. This long stretch of dry weather with no real measurable rain, is normal this time of year.

More Books for the Library!

Thanks to all of you book donors! I'm delivering another load to the Van Horn City County Library today, and I can tell you the librarian is VERY appreciative of your help. We have such a poor community and there's no real place to buy good books anyway, so the library is the best source of reading material. Thanks to you, there's more to read!

Our donor list has grown to eight households, making three cash gifts, two donations of gift certificates for magazines, and sending 35 books!

Keep 'em coming! This is an ongoing effort, and I can assure you, your help is needed and appreciated!

Take a look at the updated list of books and donors at, http://vhlibrarydrive.blogspot.com/ or use the link at the right side of this page! THANK YOU!

Women in Terlingua

This weekend, I took a comp jeep tour near Big Bend National Park, and had the lucky fortune to be assigned Elizabeth as my guide. She was terrific, pacing her "Intro to" information on the history, prehistory, geology, botany, archaeology, and zoology of the area.

Towards the end of the tour, she told us a little about herself, and Terlingua, the town at the edge of the park. Elizabeth had "done the power suit thing" in the Big City, in this case, Boston. She'd gone to graduate school and was running a successful non-profit, but wanted more out of life.

She came down here and was entranced by the land, but also by the way women are treated. "People expect women to be competent. They expect you to know how to weld, how to fix the U joint on your truck. But if you don't know how, and ask for help, they're happy to help. They just won't offer for fear of offending you." Elizabeth has been building her own house off the grid for several years. "I don't have any debt; I just build it as I go. I do have lower cupboards, but it will be a little while before I have upper ones in the kitchen." She's also installed solar for power, and built a cachement system to collect rainwater. "I've learned to use very little water, and I haven't had TV for 15 years. You learn to live with less, but it seems like a richer life."

She also said there's zero tolerance for harrassment of women in the area. "I can go anywhere by myself and not be afraid. If a guy bothers you, all you have to do is tell another guy. They'll take care of it and right away."

Remote

1. Brewster County, the largest county in my region and in the state of Texas, is the size of Connecticut in square miles. Yet, it does not have a single red-yellow-green traffic signal.

2. To see a movie on the big screen, you have to drive an hour and a half to Alpine, two hours to El Paso, or three hours to Midland.

3. Barnes and Noble will never infringe upon our wonderful independent bookstores.

4. Everyone drives with a ice chest in their car, so they can do their produce shopping in the Big City.

5. Folks are ready for anything to happen. If you have the energy and the gumption, you can accomplish just about anything here. Nobody is going to tell you you can't.

6. It is possible to stand on top of a mountain, turn all the way around and not see a road, building, or powerline. There's no sign of man.

7. You can hear silence here.