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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #187
November 7, 2003
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Dear Subscriber:

Today is my birthday. I'm 55 years old.

You're right. Who cares?

Birthdays are over-rated. They're promoted by the florists and
the greeting card companies and the cake makers for obvious
economic reasons.

It doesn't make you special to have a birthday. Everybody has
one. Birthdays are a source of stress. When people forget
your birthday, you're stressed. If you forget your wife's
birthday, you're stressed and she's stressed. If you forget
your mother-in-law's birthday, she's stressed, your wife is
stressed and you're REALLY stressed.

The only good thing about a birthday that I can think of is
you're still around to have one.

When I was younger I used to get a birthday cake with the number
of candles on it corresponding with my age.

Then I got to the age when my birthday cake had just two
candles on it...each in the shape of a numeral that signified
how old I was. Those are the kinds of candles you use when the
single candles become logistically impractical due to the number
of them. By the time you light the last one, the first one has
burned out. There's also the issue of minor burns and singed
eyebrows.

When I reached the two candle stage I thought to myself that I
might be getting too old for birthday cakes.

Just give me a Crown and Coke on the rocks. Shaken and not
stirred.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate people remembering me. I
guess one's birthday is a day when you are remembered by others
...or not remembered. Here comes that stress again.

My dogs are a special part of my family, but since they were all
refugees from the dog pound, we don't know what their birthdays
are.

They don't seem to mind. Every day they get a piece of cheddar
cheese or a big kiss or hug or a scratch on the tummy or
something that demonstrates how much we think of them.

It must be nice when every day is your birthday.

-o-

Why can't they find Saddam Hussein?

The experts are sure he's still in Iraq. He's the world's most
wanted person, but nobody can find him. He's becoming an urban
legend...able to elude thousands of coalition soldiers and leap
tall buildings and all that. Maybe a little Kryptonite would
help.

I can't drive 10 miles an hour over the speed limit without
getting caught.

Maybe we should send the New Mexico State Police to Iraq.

-o-

Mountain Standard Time is driving our dogs nuts.

They're used to being allowed into the house at precisely
3:45pm.

I'm not kidding. At 3:48 they get skittish and start barking.
At 3:52 Misty starts pulling the bedding out of the kennel and
organizing a general uprising.

Are they spoiled? Naaa.

I'm supposing they judge the time-of-day by the position of the
sun in the sky and they're deadly accurate.

They're funny dogs. Funny like lots of people. They don't want
into the house that bad. They just want the doggie door opened
at the appropriate time so they have the option. The scenario
is they run in and say howdy to us (lots of tail wagging and
licking)...make a visit to the food bar and then, depending upon
the weather, go back outside or take up residence on the couch.

On extra cold days in the winter they don't go outside at all
except to visit the facilities and occasionally stage bark-ups
directed at raccoons, squirrels and kids coming home from
school. The fence is 6 feet high so the raccoons, squirrels and
kids are in no danger of being directly confronted. Even if
they WERE directly confronted they would just get licked a lot.

We forgot to tell the dogs about the time change. They think
we're letting them in an hour late.

I don't think buying them a watch would help. They'll just have
to get used to it. I don't feel guilty. Think how excited
they're going to be in the spring when all of a sudden they're
allowed in the house an hour early.

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 -- SUMMIT INN
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- SNOW STATS
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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Unseasonably warm and pretty dry. A little windy, too. Highs
in the low-60s. Lows in the upper-20s.
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VILLAGE NEWS
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In a plan championed by New Mexico Senator Pete Dominici, a
"Healthy Forest" bill has been passed in the senate. The bill
provides for a balanced and common sense approach to forest
management including the thinning of forests with respect to
undergrowth, diseased trees and congested over-growth.

The bill provides for 760 million dollars in funds to be used to
correct the volatile fire danger in National Forests.

The bill passed in the senate by a vote of 80 to 14 and now goes
to a conference committee where senate and house versions will
be reconciled.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- SUMMIT INN
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Conveniently located just one block off Hwy 82, the Summit Inn
is one of Cloudcroft´s finest lodging establishments. All rooms
feature wall-to-wall carpet, phones, color cable TV,
kitchenettes complete with dishes and utensils, and all linens.
Daily maid service is provided. The Summit Inn has several
cottages which are ideal for those who desire a little more
space and privacy. Weekly rates are available for both rooms
and cottages.

For more information, call (505) 682-2814, (877) 682-2814 (toll 
free), email summitinn@hotmail.com, or see the link to our web 
site on the Lodging page of Cloudcroft.com.

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

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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- SNOW STATS
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Snow play information for North America.

http://www.snowstats.com/

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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - Are there any clothing stores in Cloudcroft?

A - Outside of our specialty shops, there are no regular dry
goods stores in the village.

The nearest stores for socks, shoes, jeans, etc. are in
Alamogordo...17 miles away. Allow about an hour for a round
trip (not counting the shopping time).
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COMING EVENTS
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November 22 -- Cloudcroft Chamber of Commerce banquet.

November 29th -- Santa Land opens. Cloudcroft.

December 6th -- ULLR Fest.

December 13 -- Pet Parade. Burro Street. Cloudcroft.

December 20 -- Christmas in Cloudcroft. Zenith Park.

December 24 - Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, 7pm.
Cloudcroft United Methodist Church

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. For information on
other Senior Center services, see their web site, listed on the
Cloudcroft.com Links button.

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

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:
Just an added note of something you might want to share - a
book discussion club has been formed in Cloudcroft and will
have its second meeting November 5 at high noon at the library.

Everyone welcome. We have read "Whiskey Island," but anyone
is welcome whether you have read the book or not.

Keith Family

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Dear Newsletter:

My husband's family have been coming to Cloudcroft every year
since he was a little boy, he is now 48 years old. We've kept
the same tradition for our two children.

We were here last week and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves one
more time.

It's like getting a cool fresh drink of water in the hot dry
summer time.

One day while shopping downtown Cloudcroft I just stopped and
looked around at all the people in the area, everybody going
about their business and I thought, do these people really know
how blessed they are to live and work in a community where you
can trust your neighbor, walk up to a pick up truck and pet
someone's dog, smile at everybody and say howdy?

We are from Dallas and it is so different in downtown Dallas. 
You'd better not touch anyone else's truck and surely not their
dog. You may draw back a nub. You don't see someone at work
with a bright smile on their face.

You Cloudcrofters, enjoy and thank the good Lord above that he
created such a beautiful place on this earth and you get to live
in the picture!

Hope to be one of you someday when we retire.
 
Albert and Cinda Perry
Dallas, Texas 

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Dear Newsletter:

I thoroughly enjoyed the tale of the "mo-tels" in this week's
newsletter.

Before we became aware of Cloudcroft, Ruidoso and the
Sacramento Mts., our family made an annual trek to northern
New Mexico and on into the Colorado high country.

Your first stay at a motel was apparently in a well named one 
(Tower).

My first stay was in Nurse-A-Nickle in downtown Dalhart, TX!

Don Ammons
Post, TX

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Dear Newsletter:

I enjoyed your story of the Motels, it brought many happy
memories of our family when they were young...and we were
young...traveling was an experience that we all loved.

The big hotel to the smallest was fun for all. As parents, we
never worried about our kids...as we were a BIG family with
the Farm Bureau, everyone was there to look after the kids.
Never thinking anyone would hard them!

Our family has many happy memories of these travels. You
reminded me of all the fun we had! Thanks for reminding me!
 
Look forward to more stories and pictures of the beautiful
mountains of Cloudcroft.
 
Fay Marie King

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Dear Newsletter:

Excellent article about motels. I could smell the disinfectant
and see the paper band on the toilet seat. Reminded me of Ray
Bradbury's prose. Dandelion Wine in your mail box every
Thursday.

I recalled when my parents and I would travel from New Mexico
to Arkansas to visit my mother's family. We would stay in some
motor court in the middle of Texas somewhere, dodging tornadoes,
hail storms and grasshopper swarms along the way.

Mama said the oil wells looked like giant grasshoppers. I can
remember the smell of my dad's Right Guard and Aqua Velva when
he got dressed in the morning. Arkansas smells like Right Guard
and Aqua Velva. We had a little air conditioner that used ice
to cool our American Rambler station wagon. Didn't help me in
the back seat much, but I didn't care. I discovered the hard
way that the fan was not an efficient pencil sharpener.

Today, my sweetie and I haul our four kids from Kansas City to
La Luz, NM, and back twice a year to visit their Granddaddy and
Aunts and Uncles, et. al. The mini-van has a better air
conditioner/heater and the kids have someone to fight with for
entertainment. They have much more room for books and toys.

Sure we see lots of cool stuff along the way, too, like the
deepest hand dug well in Greensburg, KS, Boot Hill in Dodge
City, KS, Dorothy's house in Liberal, KS, the tallest cross in
the Western Hemisphere in Groom, TX, and acre after acre of
wheat; but the thing the kids remember and enjoy the most is
the motels.

They will say things like, "Oh, that's the motel we stayed at
before with the plants next to the pool!" "Yeah, that's the
one. We watched Wheel of Fortune on the TV!"

I don't even remember which town it is while we are still
there. To me it is just a soft bed and a shower. To them it's
the Ritz. Conrad Hilton can't compete with a pool, cable TV,
and a sleeping bag on the floor.

In between KC and Cloudcroft we have seen dinosaur museums,
volcanoes, zoos, caves, Pecos diamond fields, corn fields, pecan
groves, peanut farms, rocket museums, trains, airplane museums,
a fossil of a fish inside a fish, space museums, the Precious
Moments Chapel, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Palo Duro Canyon, Mt.
Sunflower (the highest point in Kansas), Black Mesa (the highest
point in Oklahoma), oil wells, wind mills, wind chargers,
aliens, pronghorns, mule deer, white tail deer, elk, coyotes,
bob cats, opossums, skunks, raccoons, roadrunners, turkeys and
emus.

Besides visiting with Granddaddy, the things they seem to recall
with the fondest of memories are the motels and curio stores.
Go figure.

Next year for vacation I think we will just check into the local
Motel 6 and watch TV. Later we will visit Wal-Mart and buy some
Chinese plastic. It will be the best trip they ever had.

Ed Buckner
Lenexa, KS

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Dear Newsletter:

I got a chuckle out of your article on motels, especially the
part at growing up in a small West Texas town and getting
excited about the first red light! Isn't that the only red
light Morton has? I'll never forget Loma and the Wigwam or
when the Dairy Queen was built! Big news in Morton.
 
My husband and I made a trip to Cloudcroft the middle of
September. It was my husband's first time to Cloudcroft. He
really enjoyed it. He said he would like to purchase a home
there. Is there a site on line where we can view the real
estate for sale?
 
Also, I have always wanted to ice skate outdoors. That won't
ever happen in West Texas (Lubbock). When does the skate rink
open in Cloudcroft?
 
I would also like to thank you for posting the newsletter 
online, it makes me feel in touch with Cloudcroft.
 
Thanks,
Kelly Coleman Jasper 

[See the Cloudcroft.com Real Estate page for a listing of
Cloudcroft Realtors.]

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

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Dear Newsletter:

I look forward to you newsletter.

We enjoy Cloudcroft and don't get to spend as much time relaxing
there as we would like to. We live in Lovington, having moved
recently from Idaho and miss the mountains and sometimes the
snow. So Cloudcroft is the answer.

Next time you visit our town, try please try my pizza place--
Southwestern Pizza--and we gladly deliver to the Lovington Inn.

Sincerely,
C. Hermandson

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Dear Newsletter:

The day I surfed onto the Cloudcroft web site back in the
spring and signed up for your newsletter was, indeed, a good
day for me and I have thoroughly enjoyed every edition since
then.

My husband and I lived in Alamogordo for 2 years (gosh, was it
really 33 years ago?) as a result of his being based at
Holloman AFB. Both of us were (and still are) native
Chicago-area residents and driving up to Cloudcroft was the
closest thing to being near the greenery we were used to.

I'm yearning to come back for a vacation visit to see if there
is anything left that I recognize. Your weekly newsletters
evoke such vivid pictures in my mind, I don't think printed
photos could do any better.

I see, hear, smell & feel everything you write about. And your
Miss Daisy story caused me to use more than one tissue.

Hope to get back soon, but in the meantime, will imagine being
there through your words. Thanks for loving writing so much!

Pat Nolan

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Dear Newsletter:

I do enjoy so many things about your newsletter!

Just had to write a line about cooking beans in CC after
reading a letter from Mary Lee from NC.

Being born and raised in and around farms all my life, I know
how farmers harvest pinto beans. Often times large quantities
are sold to different companies and they sometimes store them
in warehouses for as long as years.

By the time they are sold on the market they may have had time
to really dry out, thus much harder to cook. Living where I do
means I can buy from locals when they come from the fields. But
I know people who always soak beans overnight and they become
much easier to cook.

Another factor does enter for the mts. though. Some things
take forever to cook in the mts., others faster then in the
lowlands. For me bread rises so fast I am shocked when cooking
in Cloudcroft.

Jean

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