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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #76
September 21, 2001
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Dear Subscriber:

At the risk of waxing philosophical, I'm wondering if the term
"back to normal" will have a place in our society's vocabulary
for a long time to come.

The world we lived in on September 10, 2001 is far different
from the world we live in today. Our readers that can remember
the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 will readily
attest to the fact that life changed dramatically after that
infamous Sunday almost 60 years ago never to return to the
same old days or the same old ways before then.

Peg and I drove to Las Cruces this morning on business. It was
a bright and crisp day. We had made the trip dozens of times
before and this trip seemed similar, except there was a
noticeable increase in the number of US flags flying from car
antennas, truck beds and in front of businesses and homes.
Marques that touted specials and prices two weeks ago allowed
short messages like "God Bless America" or "Pray for our
Country".

While the display of patriotism was uplifting, I couldn't help
but long for the days of innocence before 9-11-01. Like others
I am feeling an odd mixture of hate and foreboding right now,
and while I know those feelings will numb with time, I'm not
sure they will ever go away completely. Will Lucy jerk the
football away again when Charlie Brown is preparing to kick
it? Probably.

Upon our return to the village this afternoon, Peggy was the
one to point out the fall colors beginning to show on the
ridges and in the valleys of the Sacramentos.

Didn't anyone remember to phone Mother Nature and tell her
we were in mourning and that she should postpone her concert
of seasons until we all felt a little better?

Maybe old Ma Nature is right. While the yesterdays hang heavy
on our hearts, there are still todays and tomorrows that should
be lived, cherished and yes, even enjoyed.

So I am happy to announce the beginning of the fall foliage
change in the Sacramentos. It seems a little early. Perhaps
prompted by the wetter than usual warm weather season. Perhaps
because the powers of the universe understood that we needed
some cheering up. For whatever reason, it is happening.

No, our trials are not over. Our resolve will be tested...
perhaps over and over. No one knows for how long. Remember
through it all, it's all right to smile. Laughing is allowed.
If you know a good joke, tell it.

Holloman Air Force Base is on the way from Cloudcroft to Las
Cruces. While driving by the base this morning we spotted a
Stealth fighter jet bobbing, weaving and dancing in the blue
sky nearby. The grace of an American Eagle...the dreaded sting
of a deadly cobra.

As an American, if a sight like that doesn't make you smile,
nothing will.

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 -- HARRY WOOD
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- WHITE SANDS TEST FACILITY
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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Fall is slowly subduing the warm summer days. Highs are in the
low-60s. Lows are digging into the high-30s. While the rain is
frequenting less often, it seems still to be a wetter-than-usual
September. As we mentioned earlier, the trees and bushes are
moving through their transition.
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VILLAGE NEWS
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The Rural Tourism Conference will be held Monday and Tuesday,
October 8 and 9 at The Lodge in Cloudcroft.

There are 13 counties served by the Rural Economic Development
through Tourism Project, which is a part of the New Mexico
State University Cooperative Extension Service.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- HARRY WOOD
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New Mexico Big Game Hunts: Elk, Mule Deer, Bear, Mountain Lion,
Turkey. High success, excellent guides. Bow, rifle, muzzle-
loader. Contact Harry Wood Guide and Outfitter, 4184 CR149,
Centerville, TX 75833, email cloudcroft2000@hotmail.com or call
(903) 536-7130.
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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- WHITE SANDS TEST FACILITY
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White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) is a preeminent resource for
testing and evaluating potentially hazardous materials, space
flight components, and rocket propulsion systems. These services
are available to NASA, the Department of Defense, other federal
agencies, universities, and commercial industry.
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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - Is Cloudcroft no longer having an Octoberfest?

A - For this year only, the weekend celebration normally known
as "Octoberfest" will be called "Art in the Aspens". The event
is scheduled for October 6th and 7th.

We were unsuccessful in discovering the reason for the name
change or why it is for one year only. Other than the name
change, the list of events are about the same as years past,
including a juried arts show in the park and a melodrama
performance both nights.
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COMING EVENTS
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September 21 -- Cloudcroft Bears vs Ft. Sumner (football)
(away).

September 21 -- Cloudcroft Dance Theatre Hoe-Down Performance.
The Lodge, 7:45pm.

September 21-23 -- Healing Hearts 2001. For more information,
call (915) 550-3302 or visit http://www.GatheringOfCircles.com.

September 22 -- **NOW CANCELLED** - Oktoberfest. Holloman AFB.

September 28 -- Cloudcroft Bears vs Lordsburg (football)
(home).

September 29-30 -- Aspencade Tours.

October 5 -- Cloudcroft Light Opera Company Melodrama.
Zenith Park Pavilion, 7:30pm.
For more information call (505) 682-3317.

October 6 -- Cloudcroft Light Opera Company Melodrama.
Zenith Park Pavilion, 7:30pm.
For more information call (505) 682-3317.

October 6 -- Cloudcroft vs Faith Christian (football) (home).

October 6, 7 -- Art in the Aspens (Octoberfest). 
Juried art show. Zenith Park, 10am - 5pm.
For more information call (505) 682-2733.

October 6, 7 -- Aspencade Tours.
For more information, call (505) 682-2733.

October 12 -- Cloudcroft vs Capitan (football) (away).

October 19 -- Cloudcroft vs Animas (football) (away).

October 20, 21 -- Apple Festival. High Rolls.
For more information, call (505) 682-1151.

October 27 -- Harvestfest. Pumpkin carving, hay rides.
For more information call (505) 682-2733.

October 31 -- Trick or Treat Costume Contest, Burro Ave.
For more information, call (505) 682-2733.

Cloudcroft Art Society meets the second Thursday of each month
in the Old Red Brick School House. Call (505) 682-2494 for
more information. Beginning in October, the monthly meetings
change to the first Sunday of each month, 2-4pm.

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

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 a wonderful and poignant statement you made to all of us.
You have explained the situation in your usual indomitable
style, and I thank you for that.

I am proud to be an American, and proud that you are, as well.

Cecile Montz

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Dear Newsletter:

I just subscribed to the newsletter and it is very entertaining.
I enjoy the wide range of topics.

I would have to say Cloudcroft is wonderful in winter and the
best time of year up there. I really look forward to seeing a
"LARGE" snowfall this year. To the editor...will Ski Cloudcroft
be open this year? And if it is, who can I contact about open/
closure information?

I hope people in world are praying for this horrible tragedy
on the East Coast! God Bless America and put your flag out
Friday the 14th of September.

Sincerely,
Chris Godlewski
Las Cruces, NM

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Dear Newsletter:

Living here in these gorgeous mountains, we tend to think of
ourselves as somewhat isolated from the world of danger -
dangerous freeways, towering buildings, enclaves of drug
dealings, heinous crimes and such. I was feeling somewhat
smug in my heavenly haven on Tuesday, while watching in
disbelief the events happening in that "world of danger."

Then I reminded myself of the nearby presence of Holloman,
McGregor Range, Fort Bliss, White Sands Missile Range, and
worst of all memories, Trinity Site. Talk about symbolism!

Jack Schuller
Ruidoso

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Dear Newsletter:

My birthdays usually come and go just like any other day except
for my 72nd. You see I passed this milestone on a day that
shall certainly live in infamy, September 11, 2001.

Of course, this is the saddest day of my short existence on
earth. Your thought-provoking and well done editorial of the
events is certainly well thought out and presented. Thank you
for expressing your deep feelings.

Regarding Patricia McNutt's letter in this weeks newsletter:
Sorry, but we "Old Hillbillies" don't remember the Walker
Store, but Jane attended the Froman Art School several years.
We have several still life paintings of Cloudcroft scenes she
painted while attending the schools. As for the Siengenthalers,
Bill was a friend. He was also the Otero County Electric Coop.
lawyer for many years. I'm sure they are missed by many,
especially in Artesia.

The newsletter brings back many joyfully memories of our 25
years in the mountains. Because of health reasons, we moved
back to Carlsbad at the end of 1993, but our hearts and home
are still in the Sacramento Mountains.

Dick and Jane Trone
Carlsbad, NM

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Dear Newsletter:

This has been such a horrific week that I couldn't wait to
read what might be in your newsletter. I went on the Internet
at work and connected with my personal email account (a no-no
for sure) just to see what had been written.

I wasn't disappointed. How can anyone express what's in his
or her heart? The utter destruction of lives, the bravery of
humanity, the loss of a way of life. Thank you for providing a
bright spot in the darkness and thank God for this "land of
the free and the home of the brave". 

God bless all, 
Molly Frederick 
Marion, Texas

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Dear Newsletter:

On Tuesday morning, I went to the Western Bar right before
work to watch CNN, even though I had been glued to the TV since
7 am. I wanted to share the experience with other people, and
needed the cathartic relief of talking about what I had just
seen.

I walked into the bar at 8 am, and already about 15 people were
sitting down, eyes wide open and unmoving from the screen. I
felt a sense of comfort in sharing with others my shock, grief,
anger, and disbelief. Already some were crying--not because
they knew people who could have been directly effected by the
terrorism, but because they felt grief as Americans.

It was a scenario probably played out almost everywhere in the
USA, but I felt a particular kinship this day with my Cloudcroft
neighbors. People I had barely nodded "hello" to before, or
only knew by sight, all of a sudden became close confidantes,
and two days later, I am speaking to these people as if I had
known them my entire life.

We all shared in a tremendously traumatic event, and all of the
"formalities" of becoming acquainted were bypassed--we are all
now on a first-name basis, and I feel closer to these people
than some people I have known for years--small communities work
together in many ways, and I have now experienced one of the
most profound ways.

I am so proud to be a part of this community, for its
patriotism, its ethics, and its solidarity....

Amanda Kemp

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Dear Newsletter:

My heart is so full of sadness over the events of this past
week. I spent the whole week changing moods from sadness to
anger to despair and then just exhaustion.

I truly believe that the good in the world balances out the
bad, so there must be so much good right now. We've heard the
stories and seen the photos of all the brave men and women
helping in the search, giving blood, raising money and spirits.
Good people. There are good people and goodness.

One final word I'd like to add. Okay, two final words :) 

1) Teach your children NOT TO HATE. Without hate things like
this couldn't happen.

2) Live in the moment. Once it's gone you'll never get it back.

Thank you, Don, for giving me a place to voice my feelings.

God Bless America and God bless each and every one of you.

Nina Rycroft
El Paso, Texas

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Dear Newsletter:

I enjoy your newsletter. I worked with your father-in-law for
several years on a couple of his books.

A friend in Ontario sent me this transcript last year. It was
rebroadcast yesterday or today on Canadian and American radio.
Use it if you wish.

Shirley J. Alford
Las Cruces, NM

[Thank you for the article. Copyright considerations prevent
us from publishing it.]

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