Week ending Friday, November 19, 2021


Dangerously Hot

Exposure to extreme heat has tripled among the world’s population since 1983, according to an analysis of population and temperature data from Columbia University. The Associated Press analysis looked at the period from 1983 to 2016 and found that the more extreme heat now affects about a quarter of the world’s population. Instead of using the more common heat index, the study looked at what is known as the wet-bulb globe temperature, which takes into account temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover. This more accurately measures the amount of stress created for workers and others who must endure the hotter...

I am grateful for our veterans.

KEEPER

Their Marriage was good, their dreams focused.

Their best friends lived barely a wave away.  I can see them now, Dad in trousers, shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in his hand, and dish-towel in hers. It was the time for fixing things.  A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress.  Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.  All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.  Waste meant affluence.  Throwing things away meant you knew there’d always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer’s night, in the warmth...

This is a quote that sits in a little placard on my desk. It was given to me by a friend and mentor, Pastor Reggie Hansome, when I worked as the director for a Christian summer camp during one summer of college.  “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.”- William Feather.  There’s a certain strength needed to work in an often misunderstood economic development arena, so having that little sign always reminds me to hang on and keep going.

My first career, before coming to Gallup, was as an opera singer.  In late 2020 one of the greatest friends, colleagues, and musicians that I collaborated with, pianist Logan Brown, departed this world...

Thanksgiving has always been a time to gather with loved ones and reflect on the year past.

But last year families stayed home, unable to come together because of the pandemic. We went from rooms full of laughter and love, to Zoom Thanksgivings, making the best of a hard and painful year.

This year looks a little closer to what we’re used to. We’ll get to hug our loved ones and laugh around the table again. We will splash red chile on top of our mashed potatoes and gravy in true New Mexico fashion. In reflection, I realize that we can do this again because New Mexicans always step up to help their communities. When things get tough, we come together. This year, I’m grateful for...