Misc.

Did you know that New Mexico is defined as a state by its scandals?  I never knew that.  But right there in the Albuquerque Journal this morning is republican legislative sweetheart Nate Gentry saying it is so.  He is the kind of politician who would say anything to get into the newspaper.  Even if it is B.S. I always wonder when a pol says something like this if he really believes it.  Maybe Gentry is the Michelle Bachman of New Mexico.

I think New Mexico is defined by its great landscapes, cultures and people.  Scandals exist, but they hardly define us.

I am back from the east coast.  Boston's streets are lined with black snow in piles five feet high.  But the city was functioning well and no one was complaining.  They know how to prepare for these storms for the most part because they occur on a regular basis.  Unlike the 40 year record for low temperatures here last week in New Mexico.  So, it seems to me we need to understand that bad stuff happens when it gets that cold and everything won't work well for a while.

Those people without gas suffered but they all got through it.  Busted water pipes and all.  My poor sister Carlota, who just had a hip replaced a couple of weeks ago, got home last Friday after a followup visit to her Doctor and found her house full of water from a busted water pipe.  She rose to the occasion, while using a walker, and turned the water off to the house. She then found help and things are getting back to normal.  New carpets are on her agenda as the old ones are now in a pile outside.

In the meantime, do we spend oodles of money in new gas service charges to build infrastructure for another cold snap like this that might occur with in the next 60 years?  Remember, this was not a gas supply problem but a delivery problem.