Two Weeks in T or C

T or C Post Office, built in 1939, along with a lot of other great WPA projects

I'm feeling very good about my move to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. I can honestly say that I already have some good friends here. I had one, Brian, before I moved here. And since then I've met a lot of great people in and out of AA.

Last Saturday morning, I went to the farmers market for the first time, and I bought some local organic produce as well as a fantastic green chili salsa. I thought about stopping at Black Cat Books for a cup of coffee on my way home, but decided against it because it was kind of late in the morning and I didn't think there would be anybody there that I knew. However, just as I passed the doorway, my friend Dhultky popped out and said, "Hey, Sue, come and have some coffee!" So I did, and then moments later, Stacy and Dick showed up, too. A few minutes after that, Barbara and Joe were at the next table.

It's that kind of town. I see people I know everywhere I go. When I go to get my computer fixed, Dave the Computer Guy knows my friends and becomes another one of them. When I go to the swimming pool, I see people I've met at the Black Cat's monthly poetry reading. I see my neighbors whenever I go shopping at Bullocks Grocery or the CHF Thrift Store.

I have a feeling that this would be a difficult town in which to keep secrets. It's a good thing I don't have any these days!

I tell everybody I meet that I'm new here, that I'm recently divorced, that I'm in AA, that I'm building myself a new life, that I sell on eBay, that I'm a mosaic artist, that I have a transgendered kid, that I recently got my feelings hurt again, and that I'm trying to be healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I have never been so transparent before in my life. There is no point in being anything else.

Imagine a picture of the swimming pool here.
I didn't dare take one, because I recently
heard about a guy who almost got arrested
when he took a photo of a municipal swimming pool.

I've been trying some new things lately. Slowly I try things out and see if they are a good fit for me. Lately I've been to the city swimming pool several times for water aerobics. I'm not sure if this is a good fit. I like the pool itself, but I don't care to have somebody yelling instructions at me all the time and the locker room is pretty gross.

Something I like better is the community garden. I met the garden manager, Paula, at the farmers market, and now I have my own 5 x 20 foot plot. It needs a lot of work. It's been well taken care of for four years, so the soil has lots of amendments, but now it's overgrown with grains and grasses. So I'll spend the next few weeks cleaning it up and then put in a fall garden. Gardening in this part of the country is completely new to me. I'll learn a lot, and I'll have to get up really early in order to get the work done before the day gets too hot for me. Last night I set my alarm so I could start getting up at 5 a.m.

Me, modeling a vintage Pendleton stadium blanket/poncho that's currently listed on eBay

My new eBay approach of selling funky Western wear seems to be working. I'm getting into the swing of hitting the thrift stores frequently so I can be the first one to see a new pair of boots or a brightly colored Wrangler shirt when they come in. I'm going to the Post Office just about every day to mail stuff that's sold.

My 56th birthday is coming up in a few days, and I decided to be proactive and figure out some fun things to do. So I've been inviting my friends from AA to meet me for dinner at La Cocina that evening, and so far there are about a half dozen people committed to do this. So that's a party! I'm also going to have coffee with Stacy that morning, because she has to work that evening, and I'm taking my neighbor Phil out for ice cream in the afternoon.

Phil with his wheels

Phil lives in the motorhome next to mine and he has been very helpful to me in many ways. He's an excellent bicycle mechanic and he's on the lookout for a good used bike for me. I also have put entry forms in at Bullocks to win a cool metallic green Schwinn coaster that they're giving away next Tuesday. Wouldn't that be the greatest birthday gift, if I win? It says Bud Light on it, but I can live with that.

There are a few odd things about this town. Well, more than a few, really. For one thing, in the 1970s when so many mentally ill people were released from institutions, some of them were given one-way bus tickets to Truth or Consequences. From what I've heard, only a few of those folks are still alive, but it kind of set the tone for tolerance of individual differences here. And there are a lot of those.

From this week's T or C Herald

Another thing is, I've never seen so many Chihuahuas in my life, and I've actually had people ask me if I need one myself. No! I don't! But thanks for asking, and don't leave one on my doorstep while I'm out, okay? Leave chard or zucchini or whatever else you can't get rid of, but no little dogs.

I've heard that T or C is the home of some sort of transitory energy vortex, but I'm not going there today.

Something I know for sure is that it's close to Spaceport America, where private companies shoot rockets into space. The first rocket successfully launched from there in 2005 contained cremains of some famous people, including James Doohan, who played Chief Engineer "Scotty" Scott in the original Star Trek series. The payload landed on the White Sands Missile Range, but for a few minutes, Scotty actually went into outer space.

So that's what I know about my new town as of today. Stay posted!