Downtown comes alive

By S. Derrickson Moore

dmoore@lcsun-news.com

LAS CRUCES — I’ve been hoping for a dynamic, fun downtown Las Cruces, ever since I moved here almost two decades ago.

Be careful what you wish for, I thought during a grumpy, rushed moment on a recent Saturday.

I decided to park near La Placita, where I was covering the Reuse & Recycle Fashion Show before heading off to my next assignment. I circled all my favorite lots and made the rounds of my own “secret” downtown parking places I’ve always been able to sneak in, even in the old days when the Whole Enchilada Fiesta was held on the Downtown Mall.

For a moment, I flashed back on my last days in Santa Fe, when it was a major challenge to find a parking spot close to anything I was covering on the plaza or Canyon Road, or even to the New Mexican newsroom or the Albuquerque Journal’s bureau office to file my stories. 

Finally, I gave up and realized it would be a lot quicker to return and park in the new Sun-News parking lot, just a couple of blocks away, thank goodness. 

And it wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t make it to the gym that day. I would already have logged a couple of miles, by the time I’d walked the length of the expanded Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market a couple of times, headed over to interview an artist of the week, and headed back to cover the event on La Placita. And frankly, the ambiance was a lot more interesting than a treadmill in a sweaty old gym.

When we hit triple digits, I may change my tune, but right now, I’m pretty happy with the way things are working out in the ‘hood.

And clearly, I’m not alone.

Thousands show up for the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market every Saturday, and, though there are considerably fewer vendors, there is also an increasingly respectable show on Wednesdays, the other regular market day.

And the ready made crowds are attracting more attractions. A few years ago, Denise Chavez moved Border Book Festival Foundation headquarters from Mesilla to a picturesque adobe 314 S. Tornillo St., in Las Cruces burgeoning old town, “original townsite” neighborhood. And in April, most of the festival activities were held around Downtown in the restored Rio Grande Theatre, another major draw, now for a host of activities.

 Rona M. Lujan, coordinator for British Car Days  been held on the Mesilla Plaza for several years said the Saturday Market crowds were a major factor in the decicion to move her group’s event downtown this year.

In fact, that same Saturday, adventurous Las Crucens or ambitious tourists could visit the market, see a fleet of  British Car Days vehicles, drop in and out to catch a dozen dance groups (or join a line dance) at International Day of Dance at the Rio Grande Theatre, see artists  creating street masterpieces in the juried Avenue Art New Mexico competition, or head over to the old Santa Fe Depot  the Las Cruces Railroad Museum’s Railroad Days.

It was a busy day for special events, but there were more enticements to linger that you’ll find any Saturday.

If you still craved a little more entertainment, you could linger and listen to market  musicians, or visit the Branigan Memorial Library and city’s three other downtown museums: Las Cruces Museum of Art, the Branigan Cultural Center and the new Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science.

And if you’re not a morning person, downtown draws include the monthly Downtown Arts Ramble from 5 to 7 the first Friday of each month, plus an increasing number of art galleries and intriguing shops (including CoAs, one of the largest and most eclectic used book sources in the United States), restaurants, and shows at three theaters: the Rio Grande, the Black Box and the Las Cruces Community Theatre.

All of a sudden, it seems, there’s a lot to see and a lot to do. 

S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at 575-541-5450. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore

Missing May Days with Mom

By S. Derrickson Moore

dmoore@lcsun-news.com

LAS CRUCES — It’s been four decades, but sometimes, especially in May, it still hits me. It’s a tsunami of sorrow that ebbs and flows, and sometimes seems almost completely quelled by joyful memories. Then, when I least expect it, it sweeps over me: I want my mommy.

I bought Mom a rose for her May Day birthday. She would have been 94.

I put the rose a vase in my colorful cubicle that reflects her art teacher influences nearly half a century after we painted and did needlework together, admiring each other’s handiwork.

When she left us, my sister and I were young moms in our 20s. Sally presented her with the best birthday present ever: her first grandaughter, also born on May 1. A year later, I followed up with her first grandson, born on May 18.

Brandy and Ryan were still little kids, but Mom made their brief time together count, and both retain fond memories of their fun and creative grandmother.

May was a very happy time in our family, full of love and celebrations: birthdays, Mother’s Day, even the occasional dance around a Maypole. Mom taught us how to make one, with the backyard clotheslines as a centerpiece, and how to make May Day wreaths and little bouquets out of whatever was handy: field daisies, wildflowers, the fragrant, big white blossoms that filled the catalpa trees in our yard.

Year after year, spring always seemed like a miracle after brutal Michigan winters, and she had a lot to do with that. 

Nature was something to celebrate, in the best and worst of times. Even winter had its perks, we discovered, as she taught us to find a good sledding hill, make snow angels,  how to sculpt creative snowcritters and whip up a bowl of gourmet snow ice cream with milk and maple syrup.

But May was the start of prime time. I still wonder if she arranged to check out a little early, in April, a month with the cruelest reputation, just so May wouldn’t be ruined for us.

And it wasn’t. But a wistfulness lingers. I want to talk to her and bring her up to date on the bon mots and creative antics and accomplishments of her grandchilden Brandy and Ryan and tell her about brother Tom’s three kids, the grandchildren she never got to meet: how much Dr. Adam, for instance, reminds me of her physician dad, my beloved nature-loving grandfather. 

And the great-grandchildren: the joys of watching her great-grandson Alexander the Great grow from a talented tot to an imaginative teenager sometimes came with bittersweet pangs. I wish she could have known him and he could have known her.

I recently asked Alex, who has inherited his great-Gram’s sunny nature, if he’d heard any good jokes, which seem to be in short supply lately.

“Not really. Usually my friends and I would rather make witty comments relevant to the situation,” he noted.

Mom would’ve loved that ... and him. And the  artistic and musical skills of my son and grandson, and all the traits they share with my kind, creative and loving mom. I want to tell her about it all.

And sometimes I do, especially in May, around her birthday and Mother’s Day.

I believe good souls are eternal, that we’ll meet again, that it some ways that matter more than conventional reality, we are never really parted.

But sometimes, I long to hug her and join all the scattered tribe for just one more family Mother’s Day, for fragrant flowers and a dance around a May Pole.

If you’re lucky enough to have a mom within hugging distance today, take full advantage.

Happy Mother’s Day.

S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at 575-541-5450. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore

Make some Mother’s Day memories

By S. Derrickson Moore

dmoore@lcsun-news.com

LAS CRUCES — I’ve heard about some opulent Mom’s Day gifts over the years: cruises, cars, diamonds, even dream houses.

In these economic times, those grand gestures are out of range for most of us.

Luckily, it’s a timeless truism that some of the all-time best Mother’s Day gifts are free … and homemade.

Whether we can locate the actual objects or not, most moms and grandmothers can summon in our mind’s eye some of our most precious gifts of all time. Kindergarten and elementary school prints and plaques of small hands. Handmade cards. Tiny plants in eggshells or little painted pots.

And the photos. That may have changed a little over the years. Baby’s first cherished photo may be a pre-birth ultrasound snapshot or video instead of a wrinkly newborn portrait. And your little darling’s cutest moments might be immortalized on your screensaver at work, stored in a video or slideshow on your smartphone, or shared with loved ones on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

That’s all terrific, and if you have access and the tech-savvy, most moms would be thrilled to find some surprise new shots or a “then and now” montage … maybe presented on a brand new laptop, tablet or phone, if the budget permits.

If your mom’s more retro, or even if she’s not, there’s still nothing like an old-fashioned photograph or two, just of the kids or grandkids, or maybe sharing a special moment with her. Find some frames that reflect her taste, or make a little scrapbook or photo album with family favorites, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to give something she’ll keep and cherish for her lifetime. Your present may even become a family heirloom to delight several generations.

If there are no photographers among your family and friends (hard to fathom in this point-and-shoot age), you might want to spring for some professional family portraits. It’ll be a great investment in priceless memories.

And there’s more to the memory-making than photo images. Mother’s Day could be the perfect time to start your own oral history project.

Update the family tree. Do an online search for family tree forms and charts. Many are downloadable for free, along with guidelines and instructions for researching and completing family histories.

Then ask moms, grandmothers and great-grandmothers, along with older family members and friends, to share their memories of experiences with those on every limb or the tree. Make videos or transcribe amusing and interesting stories for mom’s collection and pledge to add to it every year.

If you can’t get together with mom this year in person, you can still share memories via Skype or a phone conversation.

And don’t underestimate the impact of an old-fashioned snail mail card and letter. Decades after Tweets, texts and e-mails have been long-lost in cyberspace, you may find your thoughtful letters tucked away in a nook to be cherished and remembered.

It’s also hard to beat the classics: flowers and a festive meal, also improved by a handmade touch.

Arrange mom’s favorites in a pretty vase yourself, or offer to plant annuals in her yard or a container for her home or patio. Whip up breakfast in bed, or buy or prepare her favorites for a picnic or barbecue.

And remember to say those magic words: “I love you, mom.” Nothing means more from her favorite gift of all: you.

S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore.

Welcome to the dust bowl

For April 28 

Las Cruces Style — S. Derrickson Moore

Welcome to the dust bowl

By S. Derrickson Moore

dmoore@lcsun-news.com

LAS CRUCES — Are you new to  Southern New Mexico?

Maybe you’re feeling a little disoriented in your new homeland and wondering about a few basic issues.

Here are some frequently-asked questions I always seem to get this time of year.

Q.: I think I’m a little late when it comes to spring cleaning. When is the best time to start?

A: Don’t bother. At least, not until the winds die down.

Q.: And when will the spring dust storms end?

A.: Nobody knows.

I’ve asked around, and I don’t think it’s just curmudgeonly me. I’ve been here almost two decades and I can’t ever remember seeing this many ferocious dust storms before. Most of the old-timers I’ve talked to (some with memories dating back to the dust bowl days of the Great Depression) are inclined to agree with me.

It seems the extreme weather that characterizes this era of major climate change has not left us unscathed.

In recent years, dust-ups have become haboobs. 

When I first moved to southern New Mexico, I found it rather charming and amusing to watch dustcasts instead of traditional forecasts, especially as a survivor of (in order of their appearance in my life): snowstorms, tornados, endless drizzle, earthquakes, volcanos, floods, and mega-hurricanes.

I once held a little contest to name our local winds (the Doña  Anas) and told chronic complainers they haven’t seen anything.

I washed windows and my car at least once a month, no matter what the season.

I grumbled a bit when everybody else’s leaves, litter, twigs and grasses blew into my tiny evergreen-rock-and-flagstone xeriscaped yard. But I was out there with the leaf blower after every major windstorm, usually three or four times during the windy seasons. And I’d fill up to five giant trashbags with the debris, every time.

This year, after the first cleanup, I decided to wait until the windy season was over.

I’m still waiting.

The good news is that the next windstorm seems to blow a lot of the previous detritus away.

The bad news is that there seems to be an infinite supply of rubbish here in high desert country, and I never know what will sail in on the next Doña Anas tide.

So far, I seem to be slightly ahead, or at least breaking even, in the great airborne trash lottery of 2013. I would like to think karma will prevail, and all the litter and construction cast-offs and improperly-disposed of yard waste will eventually blow back to rest in the yards of the litterers, careless construction workers and lazy gardeners who cast their fates to the wind.

But I’m not counting on it.

Eventually, I’ll break down. I’ll wash my car even through the last time resulted in our only moisture of the season, a dismal drizzle followed by a dust storm that put me in ranks of our characteristic spring polka-dotted automotive fleets.

I’ll sneeze my way through a thorough dusting and wash my outside windows. I’ll spend a weekend trying to clean up the last of the desperado invading yard waste before it decomposes in my rockscapes and invites a legion of weeds. And I’ll enjoy the pristine environs for one shining moment ...  until a last gasp (we hope) spring haboob deposits more.

In the meantime, I try to remember that it still beats endless  snow and drizzle, volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes.

And this year, I’d like to invite you all to join in a prayerful dance to encourage peace and calm in our weather, ourselves and our world.

S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at 575-541-5450. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore

A little trash talk

By S. Derrickson Moore

dmoore@lcsun-news.com

LAS CRUCES — I think it’s about time for a little trash talk.

April is, after all, the month for the Great American Cleanup Day (more than 1,000 signed up to help spruce things up here on April 13). It’s also the month when we officially celebrate Earth Day (April 22).

But more and more people seem to feel that the awareness of humanity has progressed (and alas, the environmental crises has escalated) to the point that every day should be Earth Day, if we are going to save and preserve our home planet.

There may be a lot of discouraging news as the ravages of climate change mount, but there is a ray of hope, and if you’re like me, it’s as close as your home garbage dumpsters.

The last time my son visited from clean, green, way-ahead-of-the-rest-of-us Oregon, he told me that those progressive folks have a pick-up schedule that’s just the reverse of ours. In Portland, the recycled vat is collected weekly, and regular garbage pickup is every two weeks.

When I first moved to Oregon in the early 1970s, they had already cleaned up their rivers. Even in the best of times, it’s always been tough for me to think of our Rio as anything close to Grande, after seeing the mighty Columbia and Willamette rivers. And more than four decades ago, Oregonians had already figured out how to pass and implement bottle return and auto emission control programs … neither of which have managed to make it to the Land of Enchantment.

Though I’d lived in countries and states that were relatively environmentally oblivious, it was still a shock to move to New Mexico, a place with a very fragile ecology, and find so little in the way of conservation, preservation and cleanup.

We do have some admirable efforts made by local groups, including, but certainly not limited to, the Southwest Environmental Center, Keep Las Cruces Beautiful, the Green Chamber and many other dedicated individuals and organizations.

So while I’m trash talking about our failures and limitations, I’d like to also talk about some inspiring bright spots and potentials in the area of  — you guessed it — trash.

Many of my friends and I have noticed that when it comes to being ready to emulate Portland’s trash pickup schedule,  we are already there.

Most weeks, my big brown dumpster contains just one tiny little bag of garbage, which I could probably eliminate all together if I were a little more ambitious about composting. Nearly everything going out of the house goes into the big blue recycling bin these days.

Unlike some critics, I always enjoy seeing rows of those azure receptacles. As it happens, they’re my favorite color, but even if they weren’t, I’d still love what they represent: a whole city thinking about recycling.

Ecologically enlightened progress is being made. And while we’re talking trash, let’s acknowledge that Las Cruces may be in the international vanguard of artistic garbage.

Next time you’re downtown, look down back streets and into alleys and check out the creative dumpster decor created by Alma d’arte students.

And I love that what many consider Las Cruces’ semi-official symbol is sculptor Olin Calk’s giant roadrunner, concocted our of recycled refuge.

Olin recently told me  he’s just gotten the official word: the famed and recently refurbished bird will soon be returning to its old territory at the I-10 rest area just west of Las Cruces. Plans are underway to design and construct a new perch to help protect and preserve the beloved bird.

Yes, we have a lot more to do to protect, clean up and preserve our fragile high desert lands for new generations. I’m looking forward to seeing our mascot again, an inspiring reminder that living green every day can be creative, rewarding, beautiful and fun.

S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; 575-541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore.

Is chile the key to happiness?

By S. Derrickson Moore dmoore@lcsun-news.com

 LAS CRUCES — The question: What makes people happy? And the answer is… Green chile! It was one of those “what I should’ve said” moments. I was visiting Mark Walker’s philosophy students’ class outreach quest for happiness information, outside New Mexico State University’s Corbett Center. In a creative “chocolate for wisdom” exchange, students dressed in togas offered little chocolate bars for thoughts on what makes people happy. I played it straight: after basic needs are met — shelter, clothing, food, water and affordable health care — I think to be truly happy, most people need someone/something to love, something to believe in and some kind of meaningful work or way to offer your own unique contributions to the world. I’ve lived in some of the richest and poorest societies on the planet, and my conclusion is that everybody needs everything in the preceding paragraph to have a decent shot at happiness, along with the freedom to pursue it. On the other hand, I’ve known people who have somehow retained a cheery sense of hope and faith in the face of devastating tragedy, disaster and deprivation. And I’ve spent long, less-than-blissful years (misery may not be relative, but it could be contagious) in the midst of incredibly wealthy people who could not seem to find solace, despite opulent material goodies, leisure and yachts and private jets to take them anywhere on Earth. Desperado souls who had come to the end of what money and power could buy, found themselves spiritually bankrupt. All week, I thought about my Socratic dialogues with Walker and his students. The fact that I had the opportunity for Socratic dialogues under a lapis blue sky in the middle of a beautiful April day made me pretty happy all by itself. My happiness continued as I visited the impressive annual student art show at the Williams Hall Art Gallery and checked out American Indian cradleboards and the New Mexico Placitas exhibits at the NMSU Museum. I was feeling happy about a job that encompasses covering everything from art, style, culture and cutting edge health issues to the Chile Pepper Institute, when the happiness answer hit me. Think about it. Chile brings joy to all the senses. The aroma of green chiles roasting. The sight of it in verdant green fields and fiery red ristras as it ripens, and on our plates in diverse and colorful dishes which delight our tastebuds and make us tingle. The sounds: its crisp crunch as we dice it for salads and enchiladas, the (usually joyous, if sometimes surprised) exclamations of those who savor its complex flavors and exciting SHUs (Scoville Heat Units). Chile has well-documented healing properties, including triggering release of endorphins which enhance our sense of well-being, maybe even blessing us with bits of joy and euphoria. Chiles, and indeed happiness itself, may not be the answer to the ultimate question: What is our purpose in life? But chiles can surely make our life’s quest a little happier. S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at 575-541-5450. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore

Stroll to rediscover Main Street Downtown

By S. Derrickson Moore dmoore@lcsun-news.com LAS CRUCES — Have you strolled Main Street lately? Kindly persons operating in official capacities have reminded me from time to time that we should not refer to the area in question as “the Downtown Mall” since technically, it’s no longer a mall. But in my heart, it may always be. And I’m not alone. It was a mall when I arrived here in 1994, and its history stretches back to urban renewal projects in the late 1960s, so generations have grown up knowing it as the Downtown Mall. Though the yellow brick road is gone and it’s finally open from stem to stern, when I suggest meeting someone in “historic Main Street Downtown,” the area’s official moniker, I’m usually greeted with a puzzled look, followed by, “Oh, you mean the Downtown Mall.” Whatever you call it, it’s changed dramatically — and for the better. And I still think a stroll is the best way to appreciate the area’s transformation. When I arrived two decades ago, there was a lot of urban decay, enough scary people and situations that I was wary about visiting at night and sometimes, during the day. There were a few bright spots, and they’ve survived: Coas My Bookstore, White’s Music Box, the Branigan Cultural Center, the Las Cruces Community Theatre and the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market, which now stretches, on Saturday morning, its busiest day, from almost to Amador on the south to the new Las Cruces City Hall on the north. Some old favorites have been transformed or rejuvenated. Las Cruces Furniture morphed into the ultra-modern New America School. The Popular, a department store cherished by generations of local shoppers, now houses two popular restaurants. The Rio Grande Theatre has been restored and updated to become a community performance center and headquarters for the Doña Ana Arts Council. With the addition of the intimate adobe Black Box Theatre, we have our own downtown three-theater district, with additional performing space in the beautifully renovated Court Youth Center, home base for artistic students at the Alma d’arte Charter High School. When I arrived, downtown hosted just one major museum (and its little used, since-relocated log cabin annex). Now, three more have joined the Branigan Cultural Center: the Las Cruces Museum of Art, Railroad Museum and Museum of Nature and Science. We’ve added the sprawling new Federal Building, a new city hall and the artistic La Placita. We have enough galleries in and around downtown to make each first Friday Downtown Ramble an adventure. The Downtown Las Cruces Partnership, the city and businesses and civic organizations have worked together to add some facade spruce-ups, landscaping and some fun fiestas that showcase the area, including WinterFest, SalsaFest!, Avenue Art New Mexico (a street art event that runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27) and seasonal parades. And, as of this year, we’re back, too, in the beautiful, brand new Las Cruces Sun-News building, overlooking it all. It’s good to be back in the ’hood. S. Derrickson Moore may be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; 575-541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore.