Six Seconds at the Science Fair

INEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL--Five adults accompanied grandson Robby Bennett to check out his first grade classroom science fair. Robby did one of my personal favorites, the bubbling volcano.

Robby loves science. We love Robby. And, as can be seen in the short video, time passes FAST.

The six second video clip features Robby and (from left to right) Simone Knudsen, Jorja & Michael Brasher, and the Beautiful MaryAnn White.

Sunday Wallpaper: Old Albuquerque High School

EDO--Taken from in front of The Daily Grind, this view of downtown and "EDO" gives a sense of both the old and the new.
Remember, to use as a desktop background, click on picture to enlarge, then right-click and select "use as desktop background."

The Sunday Poem: Sue Ellen Thompson...Wallpapering

American Life in Poetry: Column 109
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

One big test of the endurance of any relationship is taking on a joint improvement project. Here Sue Ellen Thompson offers an account of one such trial by fire.


Wallpapering

My parents argued over wallpaper. Would stripes
make the room look larger? He
would measure, cut, and paste; she�d swipe
the flaws out with her brush. Once it was properly

hung, doubt would set in. Would the floral
have been a better choice? Then it would grow
until she was certain: it had to go. Divorce
terrified me as a child. I didn�t know

what led to it, but I had my suspicions.
The stripes came down. Up went
the flowers. Eventually it became my definition
of marriage: bad choices, arguments

whose victors time refused to tell,
but everything done together and done well.

Reprinted by permission of the author. Copyright © 2006 by Sue Ellen Thompson, from her book, "The Golden Hour," published by Autumn House Press. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

Debate Results? Johnny Ranks the Democrats

OSUNA & VISTA DEL NORTE NE--MaryAnn and I ate brats and watched the whole thing at the home of Joaquin Guerra last night...over two head-busting hours of circuitous reasoning and nuanced performances. Oh...I got pages of notes. But what it comes down to is this: THE RANKINGS. Let's see who won, who lost, and where everybody finished in the pack.

1. Clinton - Surpassed the expectations most people had of her. Well spoken. Knowledgable. Looked good ...even presidential.
   
2. Biden - Able to explain Demo Senate position the best. Seems to have more hair than what I remember.
3. Richardson - Complex answers to complex problems. Only person to talk about gun owners in a positive light, Africa, splitting up Iraq, and (later in the spin room) a de-authorization of the war. He did seem a different kind of candidate.
   
4. Obama - Said nothing he hadn't said many times before...but with less passion. Few specifics. High expectations led to an underwhelming performance.
5. Kucinich - Warm and fuzzy view of America's future. Came off very well, but not regarded as a serious contender.
   
6. Gravel - Been 'under a rock' for 30 years so he pretty much started the night at zero. Curmudgeonesque performance. Is Gravel the new Ross Perot?
   
7. Edwards - Soft sell too soft. Disappeared into the crowd. A lot less interesting than his wife.
   
8. Dodd - Invisible man. One too many senators.
   
   
   

I Had a Short Conversation With a Man in Hip Boots Yesterday

CORRALES BRIDGE--A man playing in river water is enough to arouse the curiosity of most men...including Yours_Truly. The interview is posted on the Duke City Fix.

Johnny_Mango's Sunday Wallpaper: Downtown View from Barelas

BARELAS--Route 66 ran right through Barelas prior to 1937. This view from south 4th Street still has a few remnants from earlier times, but nothing that goes back that far. The appliance store has been around for over 40 years. But probably the most interesting feature is the ghost of the "Royal Fork Buffet" sign that is visible on the right hand side of the street.

For years I had seen the points at the top and the word 'royal' always came to mind...sort of a crown in the sky. It wasn't until a few years ago that I also clicked to the 'fork' aspect of those points.To use as wallpaper, click on the image to enlarge, then right-click and select "desktop background."

The Sunday Poem: Naomi Shihab Nye...Supple Cord

American Life in Poetry: Column 107
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

Naomi Shihab Nye is one of my favorite poets. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, and travels widely, an ambassador for poetry. Here she captures a lovely moment from her childhood.

(For a transcript of her Frontline interview with Bill Moyers click here).

Supple Cord

My brother, in his small white bed,
held one end.
I tugged the other
to signal I was still awake.
We could have spoken,
could have sung
to one another,
we were in the same room
for five years,
but the soft cord
with its little frayed ends
connected us
in the dark,
gave comfort
even if we had been bickering
all day.
When he fell asleep first
and his end of the cord
dropped to the floor,
I missed him terribly,
though I could hear his even breath
and we had such long and separate lives
ahead.

Reprinted from "A MAZE ME," Greenwillow, 2005, by permission of the author. Copyright Naomi Shihab Nye, whose most recent book of poetry is "You and Yours," BOA Editions, Ltd., 2005. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

Johnny_Mango's Sunday Wallpaper: Prickly Pear in Full Bloom!

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS--Just beautiful...just breath-taking.
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The Sunday Poem: Judith Kitchen...Catching the Moles

American Life in Poetry: Column 106
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

By describing the relocation of the moles which ravaged her yard, Washington poet Judith Kitchen presents an experience that resonates beyond the simple details, and suggests that children can learn important lessons through observation of the natural world.

Catching the Moles

First we tamp down the ridges
that criss-cross the yard

then wait for the ground
to move again.

I hold the shoe box,
you, the trowel.

When I give you the signal
you dig in behind

and flip forward.
Out he pops into daylight,

blind velvet.

We nudge him into the box,
carry him down the hill.

Four times we've done it.
The children worry.

Have we let them all go
at the very same spot?

Will they find each other?
We can't be sure ourselves,

only just beginning to learn
the fragile rules of uprooting.

Poem copyright © 1986 by Judith Kitchen, whose most recent book is the novel, "The House on Eccles Road," Graywolf Press, 2004. Reprinted from "Perennials," Anhinga Press, 1986, with permission of the author. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.

Little Luke Tames the Halfpipe

NOB HILL--How many dads build a halfpipe for both him and his son? Well, Vitus did. Here is Luke on the day after Vitus finished it. By the way, Vitus, Luke, and Sally live in the big log cabin across the street.

More on Sitting Bull Falls

CARLSBAD, NM--There is more information about the Falls and nearby camping posted on this morning's Duke City Fix. If you are thinking about going there, you might want to check it out.

Johnny_Mango's Sunday Wallpaper: Yucca in Bloom

BRANTLEY LAKE, NM--On a trail that winds through the hills around the Brantley Lake campground, we came across this yucca. We saw many on our trip through southern New Mexico and the Big Bend country of Texas, but this was the first we saw about to bloom. No wonder it is the New Mexico State Flower...and has been since 1927.
Remember...to use as wallpaper, click on image to enlarge, then right-click and select 'set as desktop background.'

The Sunday Poem: Ruth Moose...Laundry...from Making the Bed

American Life in Poetry: Column 105

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

I've talked often in this column about how poetry can hold a mirror up to life, and I'm especially fond of poems that hold those mirrors up to our most ordinary activities, showing them at their best and brightest. Here Ruth Moose hangs out some laundry and, in an instant, an everyday chore that might have seemed to us to be quite plain is fresh and lovely.


Laundry

All our life
so much laundry;
each day's doing or not
comes clean,
flows off and away
to blend with other sins
of this world. Each day
begins in new skin,
blessed by the elements
charged to take us
out again to do or undo
what's been assigned.
From socks to shirts
the selves we shed
lift off the line
as if they own
a life apart
from the one we offer.
There is joy in clean laundry.
All is forgiven in water, sun
and air. We offer our day's deeds
to the blue-eyed sky, with soap and prayer,
our arms up, then lowered in supplication.

Reprinted from "Making the Bed," Main Street Rag Press, 2004, by permission of the author. Copyright © 1995 by Ruth Moose, whose latest book of poetry, "The Sleepwalker," Main Street Rag, due out in 2007. This weekly column is supported by The Poetry Foundation, The Library of Congress, and the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This column does not accept unsolicited poetry.