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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #126
September 6, 2002
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Dear Subscriber:

I have been accused of falling short in the looks department,
being intellectually challenged, and I've even been called
grumpy, but I don't believe my honesty has ever been questioned.

OK, there was that time I made a par and wrote a birdie down on
my scorecard, but that was a long time ago and I was playing by
myself.

Peggy is much the same persuasion. While I married above my
station, Peggy has good old Southern morals. As she is fond of
saying, "I could never lie. It would be written all over my
face and I would never get away with it."

So, what happened to all that solid honesty the day before
yesterday?

We were about to conclude a day trip to Las Cruces. We were
just leaving the Lowe's Home Improvement Center parking lot and
were headed to Red Lobster for the crab leg special they had
been advertising. Peggy was riding shotgun, checking over the
sales slip.

"We have a problem." she said.

I hate it when she says that.

"What?" I asked...probably a little too harshly.

"You know that cabinet we bought?"

"Sure. I remember. It was about 5 minutes ago."

"It's not on the sales slip."

I flashed back to the big tag under the sample cabinet in the
store. "Solid wood construction. Discounted to $188."

We drove in silence for a minute.

"Did you load the cabinet?" Peggy finally asked.

"Sure, I did." I said. "I have the hernia to prove it."

"Well," she said, "they didn't charge us for it."

It was one of those heavy items you leave on your flat bed cart
and the check-out person peels the sticky bar-code from the
carton and rings it up. I distinctly remember her pulling off
the sticker. I assumed she rang it up. As a matter of fact, we
wheeled out our purchases without tripping Big Brother (the name
I give to that loud alarm that goes off followed by a loud
recorded voice that says "YOU HAVE EVIDENTLY FAILED TO HAVE
THE SECURITY STICKER REMOVED FROM YOUR PURCHASE. PLEASE RETURN
TO YOUR CHECK-OUT STATION")

It's a customer-friendly way of saying "Don't move. We know who
you are and we know what you've done and you ain't gonna get
away with it."

If the airlines would employ the security measures they have in
those big retail stores, we would have little to worry about.

Big Brother didn't make a peep. We loaded our purchases in the
pickup and drove off. Not our problem if they made a mistake,
right?

"We have to go back." I said.

There was a pause and Peg said "You're right, but let's go eat
first."

We sat in an uncomfortable silence in the restaurant as we
waited for our crab legs.

"I guess the sales clerk will be in a lot of trouble if we don't
go back." I said. Just making conversation, mind you.

"I suppose." Peg said. "But they probably won't catch the
mistake until inventory time and that could be weeks from now."

We changed the subject for the rest of our lunch, but I'm sure
we were both thinking the same thing. We paid out and got back
in the truck. We could turn left and go back to the store or
we could turn right and drive home with our free ill-begotten
prize.

The silence in the pickup was deafening. Finally, when it was
time to decide whether to turn honest or dishonest, Peggy said:

"What was it Watts said?"

J. C. Watts is a young congressman from Oklahoma. He's one of
our favorites. A few years ago he made the statement "Character
is doing the right thing when no one is watching."

Peggy went into Lowe's and reconciled the bill while I waited in
the truck (it was another 100 degree day in Las Cruces and
Tipper the un-dog was with us and I didn't want to leave her in
the truck sans A/C). When Peggy came out she said "It was
embarrassing. They were thanking ME for being honest."

I could have used that $188 for important stuff. I could have
re-gripped my golf clubs, made a payment on a credit card and
bought the dogs new collars.

The only problem was...it wasn't our money.

There was never a doubt as to what we had to do in that
situation. It bothers me, though, that I hesitated.

Thanks, J.C.

Don Vanlandingham
Cloudcroft.com

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. VILLAGE NEWS
3. INSIDE THE SHOP -- THE ESTATE
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- APACHE POINT
5. Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
6. COMING EVENTS
7. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
8. CONTACT INFORMATION
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LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
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With the turn of the calendar page from August to September,
the weather turned cool, as if on cue.

Occasional showers with highs in the low 70s and lows in the
mid-40s.
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VILLAGE NEWS
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Terry Buttram has been appointed to the Cloudcroft School Board
of Trustees, filling the position formerly held by Jeff Farmer.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- THE ESTATE
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The Estate is an upscale resale shop featuring high-quality
vintage and estate clothing and accessories for men and women.
We specialize in unique vests and sweaters, evening and cocktail
dresses, Hawaiian shirts and vintage hats. Friendly, courteous
service to all our customers is a priority. Open Fridays,
Saturdays, and Sundays from 11am-5pm. Call us at (505) 682-3900
or email ragdealer@aol.com.
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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- APACHE POINT
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The web site for the serious astronomer.

http://www.apo.nmsu.edu/

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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - What are the chances of getting an insect bite around
Cloudcroft?

A - Unless you make one of the otherwise docile bees mad, not
much chance. There are no mosquitoes at this altitude. Bites
from little crawly creatures is possible, but simple precautions
can prevent such confrontations. Spiders and centipedes like to
hide under rocks and in wood piles.
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COMING EVENTS
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September 14 -- Dinner with Governor Johnson, 6pm.
Tickets $30.00 per person available at Copper Butterfly.

September 15 -- Governor’s 10K Run/Walk. For more info, call
(505) 682-2733.

September 16 -- Meet the Candidates Night. Otero County
Fairground, 6:30pm. Hosted by Otero County Association for
Family and Community Education, (505) 687-2133.

September 20-22 -- Gathering of Circles Healing Hearts event.
Call 1-915-550-3302 for details.

September 21 -- Lumberjack Days. Chainsaw and ax competitions.
Zenith Park. For more information, call (505) 682-2733.

September 28 -- Mountain Garden Club Fiesta of Fashion style
show. Middle School Cafeteria. Mexican buffet. Tickets
12.50. Proceeds go to local student scholarship.

September 28-29 -- Aspencade tours (fall foliage at its best).
For more information, call (505) 682-2733.

October 4-5 -- Melodrama. Open Air Pavilion. 7:30pm.

October 5, 6 -- Oktoberfest. Juried art show. Zenith Park

October 5, 6 -- Aspencade tours

October 19, 20 -- High Rolls Apple Festival. High Rolls, NM.
For more information, call (505) 682-1151.

October 26 -- Harvestfest. Pumpkin carving, hay rides.

October 31 -- Trick or Treat. Costume contest. Burro Avenue.
5-7pm.

November 23 -- Santa Town at Zenith Park. 5pm-7pm.

December 7 -- Santa Town at Zenith Park.

December 14 -- Santa Town at Zenith Park.

December 21 -- Santa Town at Zenith Park.

December 31 -- New Year's Eve torch light parade at Ski
Cloudcroft.

Cloudcroft Art Society meets the second Sunday of each month,
2-4pm, in the Old Red Brick School House. Call (505) 682-2494
for more information.

Mountain Garden Club meets every third Monday of each month.
Call (505) 682-2910 for more information.

Senior Van from Timberon to Alamogordo leaves the Timberon
Lodge promptly at 8:30am every Tuesday morning.

Free Vitals Clinic. Third Tuesday of each month starting at 6pm
and last Thursday of each month starting at 12 noon. James

Canyon Fire Department, 2346 Highway 82.
If you have news of public events in the Cloudcroft area, email
us.

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For an online calendar of area events, click the Events Calendar
link in the left column of our home page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/index.html

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Dear Newsletter:

What is usually the latest in the year that folks are able to
go tent camping in the Cloudcroft area? I'd appreciate a prompt
response. Thanks.

Eduardo
Las Cruces, New Mexico

[We are pretty far South, so our weather stays fairly mild into
the fall.

The Forest Service campgrounds will close for the season on
September 9, but one (Silver Campground) will be open until the
middle of October.

If you're camping in the fall, be sure and come prepared for
unexpected weather changes (lots of warm clothes, etc).

Don]

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Dear Newsletter:

I enjoyed your snapshot of time with your daughter and friends
as guests. Thanks. 

I have a son, now a junior the Penn State University, Smeal
School Of Business. As I currently reside in Waco, Tx, I hate
to see him go off for months at a time. He too is doing so
well, nonetheless, letting go ain't easy for fun. 

I remember gasoline at 29.9 cents per gallon-early 70's. 

Bill Prochurch 

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Dear Newsletter:

I received my second copy of your newsletter and noticed my
friend Joe Mancillias was mentioned by one of the letter
writers. Joe's sister Esther and I were business partners in
Ft. Walton Beach, Fl for more than a dozen years. My wife and
I have visited Cloudcroft on two occasions and Joe, his
family, his three other sisters and their families have visited
us here in Ft. Walton Beach. Most recently, we all got together
just outside of Philadelphia during the 4th of July week.

Sadly, Esther and her husband have just left here to return
to Cloudcroft. They will be missed by the many friends that
they have made during the years. On the brighter side, it
provides a good excuse to visit your area again.
So, if you see two people wandering around Burro Ave this
Christmas who are obviously freezing; and who probably don't
have the proper warm clothing, it will more than likely be two
Floridians who are out of their element.

Roger Donnelson
Ft. Walton Beach, Fl

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Dear Newsletter:

My husband and I have been reading your newsletter for over 2
years now and fell in love with Cloudcroft and New Mexico as a
whole.

We made two cross country trips from Florida to California to
see our kids and grandkids and made it a point to stop in
Cloudcroft on one of those trips. It was just as we had
imagined.

When we arrived in Cloudcroft during the end of June and 1st
part of July 2000, we were dressed as typical Florida
flatlanders - shorts and a tank top. That was OK until it
started to rain and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees.

We ran to the van, where I found a sweatshirt that I had
available just in case I got cold. We just continued to enjoy
the area and checked out the little shops on Burro Street. It
was just as you had always described in your newsletters.

Well, I am happy to report that we made the decision to
relocate from Orlando, Florida to New Mexico and at least 2/3
of us are in New Mexico. We relocated to Las Cruces due to
availability of job transfers in that area. My husband,
unfortunately is still back in Florida trying to sell our home.
Hopefully he will be able to rejoin us soon so that he can
enjoy the "Land of Enchantment" with us. I am so overwhelmed
by the friendliness and helpfulness of everyone I come in
contact with.

I know this is pretty long, but I just wanted to say a big
"THANK YOU" to you for your newsletters and for helping us to
make that big decision to relocate to the "LAND OF ENCHANTMENT".

Keep up the good work and hopefully one day we will run across
you on the streets of Cloudcroft or you may even run into us
at the Home Depot in Las Cruces.

Once again, thanks Don.

Kathy Davis
Former Flatlander from Florida
Currently from Las Cruces

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Dear Newsletter:

In today's world, all too often if and when one does mess up
and do something wrong or not exactly like others think it
should have been done, you catch merry ^#LL. However if you
do something right, good, or noteworthy, nothing is ever said.

Being Born and raised in Artesia and an adopted citizen of
Cloudcroft, and now living in Lubbock, I have seen the two
sides of Don and am proud to say I knew Don back when. One
of his many fine traits is, what you see is what you get. 
No muss, no frills, just a plain ole common salt of the earth
type who has a heart of gold the size of a barn. He does his
best to to change things as much as he just tries to improve
that which is all ready in place.

His leaving Lubbock was our loss, but Cloudcroft sure gained
one fine man and family. Don, I congratulate you on the fine
job you are doing and wish you and your only the best that the
world has to offer a man who only wants a simple thank you for
his many unseen efforts.

I Thank you and wish you many more cool mornings and pleasant
days.

A friend,
Paul G. Houston

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