October 5 – If all goes according to plan, the balloons will go up Sunday morning, and then we’ll jockey with everyone else on Interstate 25 north to Santa Fe.
Santa Fe may be in the mild part of the summer tourism season, but thank goodness for our own version of Pilates. The passing of aspen leaf season simply means that ski enthusiasts are once again thinking about the best time to ski and, more importantly, finding the ultimate parking spot.
Welcome, newcomers, to Santa Fe.
One season flows into the next.
Balloons are flying, the weather is changing and we cool down for a while before we get stronger.
Sunday marks one month since I left The News & Observer in Raleigh, NC (I’m not a big fan of organized farewells, because at a certain age, listening to people say nice things about you comes with the comfort of sitting at the front of both In some cases, people cannot decide to celebrate or mourn, but they agree to cut the cake.)
On Friday I said goodbye.
I piled into a then-clean SUV, loaded with white button-up shirts, blazers, and my wife’s beloved houseplants, and weaved through the mountains of western North Carolina one Sunday. It was a postcard perfect ride.
Eventually – including a stop in Oklahoma City to see my 92-year-old mother – my dust-caked SUV found Santa Fe. That was on a Wednesday.
The switchbacks on Interstate 40 west from Asheville, NC, to the Tennessee border can be challenging in sunny weather. Helene has now cleared half a bend on a busy road that is essential for transport vehicles, campers and crowded SUVs.
Raleigh is located more than two hours east of the picturesque mountains and tree-covered valleys fragmented by Helene. But The News & Observer has long had a reputation as a state newspaper, so journalists made the long drive and worked with colleagues from The Charlotte Observer to show and tell stories of tragedy, heroism and uncertainty.
Journalists across North Carolina have been working fearlessly to fill information gaps. Like the small but ruthless staff at Blue Ridge Public Radio. Their website includes this telling statement: “Your source for information and inspiration in western North Carolina.”
N&O visual journalist Travis Long has family in Western NC and extensive experience covering hurricanes. His photos and videos have taken the country to remote places that were once worthy of magazine covers but are now damaged beyond recognition. With Travis, his attention to people has revealed humanity and hope.
I can’t stop thinking about the good people of Western NC and everyone who cares enough to risk their lives to serve others.
In the meantime I…
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Spent the last month enjoying the sun and mountain views during tourist moments around Santa Fe.
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I smiled politely and often as new acquaintances greeted my wife and I love the inventors of green chile stew.
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I’ve consumed enough warm sopaipillas bigger than my head to wonder: Will the New Mexico Beekeepers Association give me an award or a warning?
In fact: happiness and guilt, as charged.
It’s been a good month in Santa Fe and The New Mexican.
There is a lot of work to do. But there is a sunlit path.
There is much to discover. More festivals and outings on fun roads through Northern New Mexico. Moving to a new house. Double the holiday mix enchiladas at Christmas.
There is also a lot to learn. New Mexico is, well, complicated. Rich and poor. Proud and insecure. The City Different is in a segregated state.
I feel happy. And reflective too.
No matter where you’ve been or where you’re going, you never really say goodbye.
