25 Years

Today, 25 years ago we arrived in Santa Fe,
in a red beat up Toyota pick up truck, down to a few bucks.
we would spend the night aside on the road, not far from this site.

The magic of Santa Fe had lured us, little did we know,
we thought we were close to Mexico,
but soon enough snow surprised us then, as it still does now.
First snow sprinkled Mount Baldy today
and offered foreboding of what is yet to come.
Who knew that a frosty season might last 8 months out of 1 year?

Brown, thick, round walls of dirt and straw against blue, sunny skies seemed like a perfect antidote for way too much time spent in New York. Soon we were settled along a charming narrow dirt road, in someone's library turned to guesthouse for welcome additional income, as most working Santa Feans had then, and certainly need to use ingenuity now, to make ends meet.

Roosters would wake us before dawn. He found work that very first day in construction. I stayed home alone. I had not yet learned how to drive, had overstayed my visa, - and was at a loss. Still reeling from life's harsh lessons and yes, losses of love, money and things, but most importantly loss of naiveté and a simpleton's trust.

Every new beginning is a bit like a new birth. I do not do well with birth. I prolong, resist, hesitate, and moan and groan. No, I say, I am not ready! My mom was 2 weeks overdue with me and still I did not make it easy on her. Neither did they make it easy on me with their forceps.

25 years ago, bewildered, at a loss, resistant, I wondered; who am I now?

Today, more then 30 years ago, I arrived in New York after midnight and after all buses suspended service until morning. Not one to spend when not necessary, I settled in to a seat in one of the waiting areas to snooze until service would resume. And so began my US adventure,
when I yet had no inkling of ever becoming a US citizen and never even had heard of what must be considered my home town now, Santa Fe, the City Dipherent.