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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #146
January 24, 2003
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Dear Subscriber:

I don't know what it's like to accept an Academy Award. I don't
guess I'll ever get a Pulitzer or a Grammy.

That's all right. My lifetime reward is that I've met some very
impressive people.

Funny thing is, most of them don't look at themselves as
particularly impressive.

I wrote an article for The Newsletter some weeks ago about
seeing a Stealth Blackhawk flying over my house. For new
readers, the Stealth (F-117A Blackhawk) is stationed at
Holloman Air Force Base, not far from Cloudcroft.

To be on-page, it might be a good idea to read the article.

http://www.cloudcroft.com/news/news139.htm

The article found its way to Holloman Air Force Base
headquarters. The Public Affairs office at Holloman
contacted me and told me several pilots had invited me to
lunch.

I and my staff (when you're invited to lunch by the base
brass, you should bring a staff) met with several pilots and
officers attached to the the Stealth this past Thursday. I
could list their names, but they know who they are, and with
the recent deployment of some of these pilots to a probable
Middle East conflict, I chose not to publicize their names. As
one pilot told us, "Publicity is a mixed bag. We're glad people
have interest in what we do, but we would prefer to go about
our jobs quietly."

I had to smile when he said that. The Stealth has technology
that makes it hard to spot on radar and makes less noise than
other fighter planes in the Air Force arsenal, but it is
anything but quiet.

They must have confused me with a journalist. They asked that
our lunch conversation with them be "off the record." Suffice
it to say we came away from the base feeling confident that our
Air Force was good to go.

I must be getting old. I was struck with how young these guys
looked. They weren't the Tom Cruise hot shots you might expect.
While they are among the best and brightest, they are also
humble. They told me repeatedly how much they appreciated our
support of their mission. All I did was write a story.
Compared to their contribution, that's like a pebble in the
ocean.

One Stealth pilot told me, "I don't fly any more for the thrill
of it. I fly for a purpose. When I have fulfilled that purpose,
I guess I won't fly any more."

We took a 5-hour tour of the base. I had been on military
installations before, but I hadn't noticed the comradery I saw
among these men and women. These people are genuinely special.
They have a remarkable respect for and trust in each other. I
only saw one officer pull rank. A Colonel asked a Lieutenant to
take our picture.

There were 8 of us at the lunch table. I had a lengthy
conversation with the pilot sitting next to me. He's married
with two kids. While confident in his abilities, I could tell
he was a little nervous about the possibility of going to war.

He had a meeting right after lunch, so he was the first to
excuse himself from the table. We all stood to say good-by and
I started to give him a hug, but pilots don't like hugs, so he
gave me a pat on the back and a firm military handshake.

I told him before he left that if I weren't so old and
untrained, I would be honored to be on his wing when things got
hot in the Middle East.

He looked at me and said, "You will be."

It hit me between the eyes. These aren't legions of faceless
individuals going off to war. They are our sons and daughters
and friends and guys that we had lunch with and discussed the
Superbowl and what they got for Christmas.

I wish I could snap my fingers and this conflict would be over.

God, protect these people.

Don Vanlandingham
Cloudcroft.com

Here's a photo of me and the F-117 Blackhawk.

http://www.cloudcroft.com/photos/stealth.jpg

Here's a photo of my father-in-law, Dr. Gerald Thomas, a WWII
pilot, and the F-117 Blackhawk.

http://www.cloudcroft.com/photos/stealth2.jpg

Here's a photo of the Tornado, flown by the German pilots 
attached to the German Air Force Flying Training Center based
at Holloman AFB.

http://www.cloudcroft.com/photos/tornado.jpg

Here's the Holloman AFB web site:

http://www.holloman.af.mil/index.html

Here's the German Air Force Flying Training Center web site:

http://www.flgausbzlw.net/html/english/index.html

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. SPECIAL -- TEARS
3. VILLAGE NEWS
4. INSIDE THE SHOP -- DUSTY'S PLACE
5. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- VALLEY OF FIRES
6. Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
7. COMING EVENTS
8. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
9. CONTACT INFORMATION
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LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
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Occasional dustings of snow this week, but no significant
precipitation. Still warmer than normal. Highs in the low-50s.
Lows in the low-20s.

Still snow for tubing and sledding. Ski Cloudcroft is closed.
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SPECIAL -- TEARS
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TEARS

(These thoughts for Laurie.)

I kept the small leather thing,
with the metal tags,
this proclaimed my good dog.

One night, years ago, it is hard
to tie down that day as
it floats in the mist of my thoughts.
The Vet handed me that leather thing,
It was still warm.

My life times are best counted
by all the good dogs I've had.
They were all good dogs.

Years have passed and my life moves on.
As I cleaned out my stuff, accumulated
through the years, I found that leather thing,
with the metal tags.
I held it up to my face,
It was still warm.

--Lanty Wylie

http://www.lanty-wylie.com/

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VILLAGE NEWS
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Amanda Kemp, Tice Sheriff and Carroll White were elected to
positions on the Cloudcroft Chamber of Commerce board last
month.

The Mountain Garden Club will host a Meet the Candidates Forum
at 6:30 pm January 30 in the Village Council Chambers. It is an
opportunity to meet the 5 candidates for School Board.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- DUSTY'S PLACE
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Come to Cloudcroft and enjoy this lovely 3 bedroom, 2 bath with
fully-equipped kitchen, fireplace, satellite TV, HBO, telephone,
full-sized washer and dryer, and large deck. Sleeps 8 very
comfortably. Coffee is furnished along with firewood. Two night
minimum. For more information, call (888) 543-3600, email
dustys_place@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 -- VALLEY OF FIRES
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A great day trip from Cloudcroft.

http://www.recreation.gov/detail.cfm?ID=1803

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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - Do the sons and daughters of the German Air Force personnel
stationed at Holloman Air Force Base attend public schools?

A - In an attempt to preserve their own methods of education
and to limit the amount of adjustment it would take when a
student returns to German schools, German officials decided to
build their own school in Alamogordo.
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COMING EVENTS
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January 23 -- Cloudcroft boys basketball at NMMI.

January 25 -- Cloudcroft girls basketball at Hatch.

January 30 -- AARP#3790 meeting. Call 687-3550.

January 31 -- Cloudcroft girls and boys basketball vs. Tularosa
at home.

February 1 -- Cloudcroft girls and boys basketball vs.
Lordsburg at home.

February 3 -- Cloudcroft girls and boys basketball vs.
Tularosa at home.

February 6 -- Cloudcroft girls and boys basketball vs.
Capitan at home.

February 8 -- Cloudcroft girls and boys basketball vs.
Hatch at home.

February 14 -- Cloudcroft girls basketball vs. Tularosa. away.

February 14 -- Cloudcroft boys basketball vs. Tularosa at home.

February 15 -- Cloudcroft girls basketball at Lordsburg.

February 21 -- Cloudcroft girls basketball at Capitan.

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

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.

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:

Please stop writing your newsletter!

I read about all these non-citizens of Cloudcroft (like myself)
writing about how wonderful Cloudcroft is and how much they are
looking forward to moving there one day. I agree with them 
completely, but I don't want anyone else to hear about how
wonderful Cloudcroft is!! Please keep this wonderful Village a
secret for those of us who are privileged enough to already know
about it. Besides, I miss Cloudcroft every time I read about it.

Thanks for giving us a glimpse of heaven every week.

Lee Phillips

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Dear Newsletter:

I really enjoyed your letter regarding the computer lesson.
It's hard to believe that you can't think of anything to say.
That's a joke.

As always, enjoyed reading Cloudcroft Newsletter. Keep up the
good work. I can't wait to visit Cloudcroft again. It's one of
the finest places in New Mexico, and we've have been all over
New Mexico. We Love the peace and quiet in Cloudcroft, we try
to play golf there every summer. We have taken many of our
friends there and recommended to many other friends.

Keep up the humorous newsletters; makes my week go better.
Thanks,

Shirley Myers
Amarillo, Texas

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Dear Newsletter:

My wife and I have just returned to the frozen tundra of
Minnesota after spending the last ten days in the Great
Southwest.

It is minus 4 as I write this, it really sucks. Anyway a week
ago Saturday night we stayed at the Lodge and had the time of
our lives. We would like to thank all the staff, specially the
lovely young lady at the desk that let us check in early (my 
wife was looking kind of ragged after being on the road for
two days), and the lovely little lady in the bar that got us
into the hot tub.

I tell ya sitting up there in the tub sipping on a rum and cola
with a little bit of snow falling on our heads is about as
close to heaven as I'll ever get. 

Thank you kindly.
D. W. Nordstrom

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Dear Newsletter:

The Toy Train Depot in Alamogordo is New Mexico's first railroad
museum. We offer a particular emphasis on the Cloud Climbing
railroad from 1898 to 1947, as well as being the home of
America's National Park Ride Train Museum.

We have many old photos of the Alamogordo/Sacramento Mountain
Railway in our museum, but we are still looking for more. If
you have any photographs of this railroad, or related
photographs in your family albums, please contact us at
railfanewmexico@hotmail.com. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit
foundation and all contributions monetary or material are tax
deductible.

Thank you,
Richard Haskell 
Chairman of the Board of Directors 
Toy Train Depot Foundation Inc. 
1991 N. White Sands Blvd. 
Alamogordo, New Mexico 88310 
IRS recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation 
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Dear Newsletter:

And now for a little NFL trivia.

Actually, in 1952 Dallas gained an NFL team, the Texans, which
had previously been the NFL team, the NY Yanks, which had
previously been the NFL team, the NY Bulldogs. The team lasted
but one year to move in 1953 to become the new/reconstituted
Baltimore Colts--just down the road from Washington.

Here's the timeline: 

1950: New York Bulldogs became New York Yanks 
1951: Baltimore Colts (original team) disbanded 
1952: New York Yanks became Dallas Texans 
1953: Dallas Texans became new Baltimore Colts 

In 1960, both the Texans, of the old AFL, and the Cowboys, of
the NFL, both began playing in Dallas, so there never was a
time when the AFL Texans left Dallas and that Dallas was
without a team...as the Cowboys were already there in the NFL.

No tears were shed in Dallas when the AFL Texans left. Judy
McFarland was right...Dallas had no NFL team from 1953 to 1960,
between the time of the NFL Dallas Texans (not the AFL Texans)
and the NFL Dallas Cowboys. Don't remember? Go to:

http://www.shrpsports.com/nfl/explain.htm

And now you know more about Dallas pro football then you ever
wanted to know! 

Donald Skipwith 
Galveston, TX and Sacramento, NM

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