This ain't no New Mexico that I know

Hey folks...the male side of the "Tucker & Rebecca dynamic duo" here. For those of you on the "gramma' train", I realize that my post title is poorly written. There should probably be a comma or question mark somewhere in there. But the things that we saw this past weekend have caused in me a momentary lapse in proper syntax, as I'm just blown away by the beautiful part of the country we live in.

What's that you're saying? "How can scrubby deserts and DWI checkpoints be beautiful?" Well, mythical inquisitive naysayer, say nay no more! We have discovered an oasis in the desert, a place free of red-light cameras and Val Kilmer (sorry ladies): a campground full of maples that were changing into all sorts of golds and brilliant reds. It took some effort to get to, however. I planned a little excursion for Rebecca and I, a 30-minute jaunt to a park that would be so close and so easy to find, that I wouldn't even need to print out directions or plan ahead in any way! I know what you're thinking: "But Tucker, traveling whilst unprepared is dangerous!" Man, my little rhetorical device is a real downer.

So I threw caution to the wind and just drove, my wife and a bag of almonds at my side. We finally called some friends for directions after we'd been lost and driving around for an hour. Preparedness: 1, Tucker: 0. But, armed with new directions and about 2 gallons of gas, we forged again into the byways of New Mexico, thinking that one of the many small little towns along the way would have this new-fangled invention called a gas station. Au contraire, mon frère. We drove for a little less than half the distance our remaining gas could take us (thinking that, if we couldn't find gas, we'd at least have enough to backtrack and get gas back in our hometown). Preparedness: 2, Tucker: 0. Still not finding a gas station that had been occupied since 1970, we pulled out our trusty Garmin to guide us to the nearest gas station. Just as soon as the coveted directions to the nearest gas station appeared (only 6 miles away on some convoluted side roads), our Garmin beeped "Out of Battery...Powering Down...In Your Face!" (okay, I added the last part). Preparedness: 3, Tucker: 0 (shouldn't there be some kind of mercy rule in the game of Life?).

So, we drove all the way back home, got gas, and had a few tense moments. But, being the stubborn man that I can be at times, I refused to let many, many setbacks ruin our fun, spontaneous little excursion, even if it killed me, dang it!!! (pardon my French). We headed back...again, passing the same little towns...again. But we finally found it, the view that we had been waiting for all along:


Okay, maybe this isn't exactly what we saw, but it's pretty close. I later learned that a forest fire had ravaged the area we were going to just months before. Needless to say, I burst out in joyous laughter and excitement (or was it terrible sorrow and depression...I can't remember). But, since we had come this far, I just wanted to see what the actual campground looked like. To our amazement (and I'm sure to Val Kilmer's as well, though he wasn't there), the park hadn't been touched by the fire (except for the fire of awesomeness!). Check out some of the sights that we saw:





I heard one kid say to his mother, "Mom, this is the prettiest hike that I've ever been on!" Doesn't that make you want to do the thing where water comes out of your eyes (being a man, I don't know what they call that crazy process). Here are some more pics:


At the end of a long, though successful, day:


Though it was a tough day, this is all the reward I need:

A LONG WAY GONE
Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

By Ishmael Beah

I just finished reading this book last week. It's a memoir written by Ishmael Beah about his childhood in Sierra Leone. It's a powerfully written book that really opens your eyes to the horrific reality of many children around the world. At times it can be a little hard to read, but there are little breaks that allow the reader to "breathe." This book helped me understand the path of desperation, manipulation, and hopelessness that causes people to commit horrific acts of violence against mothers, children, and fathers. Ishmael is a gifted writer. He has a way of beautifully describing his life, although it was a nightmarish fight for survival.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

When I was very little, my father used to say, "If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die." I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn't know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive....

Many times during our journey we were surrounded by muscular men with machetes who almost killed us before they realized that we were just children running away from the war....

Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my eyes and wait for death. Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body walking with you...

Sometimes night has a way of speaking to us, but we almost never listen...

Gasemu began to cry like a child. It always made me afraid when such things happened. In my younger years I had learned that grown men cry only when they have no other choice....

We left New York City on November 15, 1996.... throughout the flight back home I still felt as if I was dreaming, a dream that I didn't want to wake up from. I was sad to leave, but I was also pleased to have met people outside of Sierra Leone. Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world.