ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST. OR ARE THEY?

I wonder if I’m wandering or if I’m lost.  Not all the time, but occasionally. I think I’m doing the next right thing, which leads me to my leaving Guatemala and returning to the U.S. I still don’t know if it was the right decision, but what’s done is done.

I will always love Antigua, Guatemala. It is easily the kindest place I’ve ever been even if it was for only six months. The weather and the scenery was amazing, and that is what drew me to it. But in the end, it was the people that kept me there, and the people are why I will return to live one day.

I accepted a job in Taos, New Mexico with the Public Defender’s Office of New Mexico. I said yes for two reasons. For as much as I loved Antigua, I didn’t really have a support system there. Yes, I knew people there and in time I am sure I would have developed a network of people that I could count on. But, as a man in his 40’s, I kept thinking that if I fell and really hurt myself (I fall a lot) or something else happened health-wise, nobody would find me for days. Steve would end up eating me before someone found me. At least here in the U.S., if I didn’t come to work, people would look for me.

In addition, I wasn’t sure I was quite ready to check out of the legal field yet.  The reality is, if I was going to get back to practicing law, I needed to go ahead and do it. There isn’t much of a market of an over 40 attorney who hasn’t been practicing in awhile.  While I was in Guatemala, I added (limited) Spanish and an Immigration Law certification to my skill set, and I guess the New Mexicans found that attractive, so here I am in Taos. 

I’ve been to Taos before on vacation, but never to live, so it was basically a leap of blind faith. The biggest fear is that Taos would be a mean town like Orange Beach. I lived there for three years, and I met two people that I didn’t already know before I moved there. I mean, I met more, but people whose numbers were in my phone? Two. Not the friendliest of places. So, I’m hoping like crazy that Taos isn’t like that. I know it won’t be friendly like Antigua. I don’t think anywhere is, but I just hope I meet some cool people and fit in better here.

So Taos. I rented a house sight-unseen (picked mostly because it has a hot tub on the roof-I’m nothing if not practical),

My House

packed my stuff from storage in Mobile, bought a car and drove out here last week. So far, I really dig it. It’s a mountain town with skiing and such. I’ve skied but I wouldn’t call myself a skier. A twice broken ankle from soccer probably won’t help matters, but I’m going to take some lessons when the mountains open and see what happens. Also, the weather is amazing right now. 75 in the day, around 45 at night. Nobody has air conditioning. That’s great and all, but it does get in the mid 80’s in the summer, so I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about that. I’m also wary about the cold and the snow. I don’t mind the cold but I have no idea how to drive in the snow. So I’ll probably die of some hilarious snow driving episode.

Everything’s adobe. Everything. So I wander around saying “a-do-be” a lot. This won’t mean much to you if you aren’t a Pee Wee Herman fan, but I crack myself up. Georgia O’Keefe and some other famous artists lived here, so there are galleries and artists everywhere.

Like, every other storefront is a gallery. And there are a lot of people who think they are artists, but aren’t.

The rain is weird and the sky is weird. Rain just feels different, and I don’t know how to describe it. You know how rain in the South feels like it’s coming from the sky? Here it feels like it formed a few feet above you. It’s softer, and the drops are bigger. You have to feel it to understand. And the sky feels like it’s lower, like it’s right on top of you.

Next time, I’ll have done some exploring and can give you some pics around town. So far, I’ve been trying to set up utilities and what not, so I haven’t had a lot of time to get out and about.

So, I’m here in Taos and all are welcome as usual. If you like to ski, I am 15 minutes from a world-class mountain. 

Taos Ski Valey

If you like to drink beer, we have some pretty neat breweries (4 drink maximum is on the sign, which will never not make me laugh). If you fish or raft, the Rio Grande is 5 minutes away with some great fly action
and rapids. I haven’t had the chance to check all of this stuff out yet, but I’m excited about the adventure.

Rio Grande Gorge