memories and georgia

What does “New Mexico” mean to you? What basic images, for good or bad, does the mere mention of the state conjure for you?

I have lived in New Mexico all my life.  I was born in Presbyterian hospital in Albuquerque and so were all my children.  I grew up on the reservation and enjoyed the wide open spaces (see the song by Dixie Chicks).  I learned how to drive a tractor at 10 years old and throw hay bales into a flatbed trailer.  When my dad had no eager volunteers, he would call on me to drive the old ford truck up and down the beds of alfalfa while he stacked hay in a criss cross pattern.  I would sometimes hit the water ruts, much like speed bumps on steroids in the city, and my grandfather would be seen flying in the air in my rear view mirror.  I would be dismissed of my duties and then I would grab my quarter horse by a lead rope and jump over the mini grass mountains.  I love New Mexico and the images I have instilled in my mind during the 40 years I have been here. 

Do you have a favorite New Mexican author? If so, who and why?

Okay professor, this may be a far reach but hear me out.  I like the writings of Georgia O’Keeffe as she adds words to the images she paints.  She has a book compiled of notes between her and her assistant.  It talks of Georgia when she was living in New York with Stieglitz and her travels back and forth to New Mexico.  She loved the land.  She found beauty in everything… cow skulls, red hills, chamisa bushes, clouds, and of course her big images of irises and lilies.  She talks about waking up early to see the light come over the hills as well as laying on top the roof and looking at the stars.  One of the most amazing things she has said when asked why she paints flowers so big she responded “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.”  It makes me laugh to think that she has to force someone to enjoy nature.  It is like she is saying “You don’t want to take the time…. well I do…..nature is beautiful and I will show it to you up close and personal!”