Back in ABQ

I had a great birthday retreat! Rather than post an account of the time all at once, I will take advantage of virtual reality and post some of my adventure over the next few days. You can pretend that you are reading this one week ago and it will be virtually as though you were. Got it?

In the meantime, I'm preparing for a party tomorrow night with friends. We'll go to the zoo for a Afro Cuban Latin concert and then back to my place for a pool/dessert party.

Now back to last week....

A Man was away for a couple of weeks and I realized that by taking Saturday off I could have 3 and a half days of freedom. So I decided to use some birthday money sent to me and finally, after 3 years of being here, go explore southern New Mexico.

I tossed my backpack into the car and took off. Hooray! Just what I like to do and the perfect way to turn 40: out on the road.

First stop was Roswell, NM. 110 degrees at 6 PM! And wind steady at 35 mph, with gusts up to 50-60 mph. I swam in the Bottomless Lake (a sinkhole) and was dry within 4 minutes after stepping out of the water. It was like standing in front of a huge blow dryer. Slept at the lake, swam again in the morning (winds died down, at last, around 3 AM) and then went to visit the International UFO Research Center. They don’t clarify if “international” means folks from all over the world come to visit, or that they only include UFOs that are international. Seems like the latter would be a bit restrictive, doesn’t it, considering that most UFOs tend to come from places other than Earth? I gave them the benefit of the doubt and had fun exploring all of the exhibits.

While in Roswell (besides spotting a sign in the window of a local barber that read: “Closed. Docter A.P.”), I also discovered the Alien Resistance Headquarters. With “Resistance is Fertile” as its motto, this center is dedicated to providing a so-called Christian response to the issue of alien abductions. Surprisingly, the goal is not to debunk theories that aliens exist. Instead, they use the Bible to purportedly prove alien existence and to promote the need for humankind to resist alien domination. Apparently there are all kinds of literal references to aliens in the Bible and it is our responsibility to turn to Jesus for protection and to use the scientific resources available to ward off alien control.

The headquarters also doubles as a tattoo parlor.