earthships.paulgutches.com journal

The initial arrival at my apartment did not quite cascade with the joyous achievement I had hoped it would. For one, it was very rough around the edges, smelled strongly of the funny odor often added to natural gas, and most significantly, I had just left the only family I have in the area; my brother, sister-n-law, and a gaggle of nephews and nieces for whom I had done some gallantly Uncle-like things for during my stay near Denver and just prior to leaving. I won't list them, but suffice it to say they were perfectly thoughtful and appropriate to each one, if I don't say so myself! I was overwhelmed at first with the loss of that, with the shock and challenge of the change and the guilt of having done something which did not even seem possible a few years earlier. In my moment of weakness I made a direct appeal for help. I am not particularly religious, but I unconsciously turned to the mountain for assistance, shed a few tears, and then felt a calm come over me. I quickly unloaded the remainder of my belongings.

I could not have been welcomed to Taos more perfectly than I was by Rose Valdez. She was funny and warm, and had religious faith I only remember in my youth. Again, I am not religious in any orthadox sense, but I found her devotion strangely comforting. She told me how she was known world-wide for her tin creations, especially her angels, which she explained to me as being a creative gift given to her by god. Just about everyone in Taos has one, along with a personal story of protection to go with it, including the entire police and fire departments, and many people the world over who have paid visit to Taos, as she gives one away for free along with a blessing to anyone who comes to her shop. She likewise gave me one, along with some items for members of my family, whom she asked about, and made a blessing for them, which I appreciated. I also met Sam, my landlady's husband; a lanky, slowly paced, friendly man with a cane and a face equally shaped by Pueblan and Spanish origins. He took care of the little problem of the odor leaking from the stove.

My anxieties melted away fairly rapidly after that, and the realization that family is only 5 hours away provided some added sense of well-being. You never outgrow that, especially when you're a bachelor like me still looking for his place in the world. I took a bike trip to the bridge and back, ate some fantastic New Mexican green chili, visited a wild and scenic rivers area, visited the land and picked some sage to kill the lingering smell of gas, paced the recently-staked perimeter for visions of where to build, relaxed on makeshift patio furniture with a crisp view of Taos Mountain, and wrote letters to friends and family on self-styled postcards announcing my arrival in New Mexico.