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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #150
February 21, 2003
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Dear Subscriber:

What's with France?

When I was in high school I had this really good friend. He
said he would come to my aid any time I needed him. I used to
give him a ride to school every day. Then my '55 Chevy broke
down. He found a new friend to ride to school with.

I hadn't thought about that guy for years until I heard about
how France is acting.

To be honest, I've never given France a lot of thought since
back in grade school when we were told to memorize its
location on the world map in geography class, but lately, 
they're the topic of conversation in every coffee shop in the
country.

I've never been there but they say France is a nice place.
Paris is supposed to be a wonderful city. They have good wine
and good cheese. Their language is charming. Their fries are
good.

I do know Hitler marched his army into France and took it over
without so much as a hang-nail. France's friends took a real
beating on the Normandy coast a few years later to kick Hitler
out of France.

Now the French refuse to support their allies. They say they
just hate war...end of sentence.

They have good reason to hate war. They've lost almost every
war they've been involved in.

I'm not disparaging the French and their propensity to shy away
from defending themselves or to stand up for their friends. I'm
just saying they're better at kissing than they are at fighting.

I had a list of 10 places I wanted to visit in my old age. I'm
in my 50s and I've never been outside the country (not counting
Juarez, Mexico where I visited when I was in high school, but
we won't discuss that).

The French strike me as a little less than grateful. I just
marked Paris off my visit list. Maybe I'll go to Cancun, Mexico,
instead.

There will come a day when France needs the free world's help
again (as they did in the first and second World Wars). I'm
sure the rest of the free world will help them again. After
that, I expect they'll have another memory lapse.

-o-

I've been told I should write an article on the uses of duct
tape. It seems I've been scooped by the Office of Homeland
Security.

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 -- ASPEN REALTY ASSOCIATES
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- WHITE SANDS
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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Heavy snowfall overnight (Thursday). Still snowing at noon
Thursday.
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VILLAGE NEWS
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The annual Rails To Trails meeting will be held at 7pm Friday
(2/21) at the First National Bank atrium in Alamogordo. The
meeting will include an awards ceremony. Cliff McDonald will
be the speaker. The public is invited.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- ASPEN REALTY ASSOCIATES
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The chief goal of Aspen Realty Associates is customer
satisfaction. We believe that our dedicated service will provide
you with the confidence and peace of mind that comes with
knowing you made the right decision in the selection of a
Realtor to represent you. Please call, or stop in and see us
regarding your real estate needs at our convenient location at
the east end of the Village on Hwy 82. You may obtain additional
information about Aspen Realty Associates by clicking on the 
link to our Web Site on the Real Estate page of Cloudcroft.com:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/real.htm

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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
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http://www.nps.gov/whsa/

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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - There were rumors that parts of the space shuttle Columbia
(which crashed on February 1) were found around the Cloudcroft
area. Is this true?

A - NASA had reason to conduct searches in the New Mexico
mountains for remains of the space craft, but the search was
concentrated further north of Cloudcroft in the Albuquerque
area. The search was prompted by reports that the Columbia may
have begun breaking up over California or Nevada which, if true,
would likely result in debris being found in New Mexico. No
news of any debris found in the state thus far.
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COMING EVENTS
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February 21 -- Cloudcroft girls basketball at Capitan.

February 28 -- Mardi Gras in Cloudcroft. 5 days of festivities.
Call (505) 682-2733 for more info.

March 11 -- Senior Citizen's Appreciation Prom. Alamogordo
Civic Center.

April 18-19 -- Easter Weekend celebration. Check with the
Chamber of Commerce for events and times. 1 (505) 682-2733.

May 23-24 -- Mayfair.

Cloudcroft Art Society meets the second Sunday of each month,
2-4pm, in the Old Red Brick School House. Call (505) 682-3004
for more information and details on the Cloudcroft Summer Art
Workshops.

Would you like to help deliver meals to the homebound around
Cloudcroft? Monday through Friday deliveries. Call the
Cloudcroft Senior Center at (505)-682-3022.

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 8:30 every Tuesday morning.

Free Vitals Clinic. Cloudcroft Senior Citizens Center, every
Wednesday. High Rolls Senior Citizens Center, first Thursday
of each month.

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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:

After all these years I still love your newsletters. I also
still think you should write a book (it's actually already 
written, just needs to be compiled).

Please thank Kit for the beautiful photos and good luck to you
and Peg with the kitchen! Maybe Kit could do a before and
after...hee-hee....

Texas Mom
Lake Kiowa, TX

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Dear Newsletter:

Just be thankful that Peggy is only getting her ideas from
Better Homes and Gardens. She could be watching HGTV and
really getting some serious ideas about remodeling or better
still she could get in touch with TLC While You Were Out and
completely have your entire home remodeled before you get
home.

So you see Don things could be worse. Keep up the good work.
I really enjoy your newsletter, hope to be up there in June.

Pauline Williams

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Dear Newsletter:

Sounds like you guys are busy with everything going on. There
sure are a lot of things going on to talk about. That was sad
about the space Columbia. We never know from day to day. Just
pray for our country and our President, and our leaders.

This war is a bad thing. Thank you for the nice newsletter.

Shirley Myers

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