Overdoing It
I enjoy reading Desert Exposure and think the paper has been upgraded substantially since your family has taken over ownership two years ago. Your own editorials and articles are usually excellent, but I found the "Wine Country Safari" (March) to degrade both the people and business involved. Reading about people over-indulging on wine and food diminishes, rather than enhances, one's enjoyment of this beautiful and fascinating region of northern California, which produces some of the best wines in the world.
John Boynton
Silver City
Free Thinking
We have known for a very long time that one rotten apple ultimately spoils the whole barrel. Obviously, there are far too many people on this earth who feel that their opinion must be heard ("What's Fit to Print," April). These opinions are whispered, shouted, printed, forced upon others. And the others, not wishing to be disenfranchised, then want their opinions heard. It seems not to matter whether there are facts which need to be related, wisely and calmly, as long as people can hog the airwaves, control computers through spam, print opinions not well-researched and factual, shout from pulpits and podiums, then more and more disgust at "free speech" will be noted.
Something very important is being missed here. I recommend everyone become acquainted with Masaru Emoto's work with water. In The Miracles of Water he relates his scientific work with water crystals under high-power microscopes. The water that has been given love and gratitude shows a beautiful hexagonal crystalline structure. Those imbued with thoughts and words of hate, fear, etc., are quite ugly and chaotic in structure.
Since we who inhabit this water-based earth are also water-based, it behooves us to stop this madness. Free judgmental speech does not only need to be printed or shouted, but also thought. Every thought has vibrations and causes the crystalline structure in our bodies to resonate either beautifully or with ugliness and ultimately blame and hate.
The blamers have taken over the media. Those who want their personal opinions to hold sway over others, who feel their only power is in their perspective, are the blamers, the judges of others' behavior.
Free speech is nothing when utilized in this manner. Ethics should be the criterion for free speech, not the mere opening of one's mouth and vomiting hatred, blame and judgment.
Just as drive-by shooting is an insanity, so, too, is our conviction that words must be heard as we flail about trying to find some reason in a world gone mad with blame and recrimination.
Thoughts truly become things. Regain your sanity and begin to give love and gratitude for the basic need of our human existence—water, without which we are dust. That is the kindest free speech you can ever utter.
Sally Dunn
via email
Petal Power
I enjoyed reading Kara Naber's letter to the editor in April. I also enjoyed your article about the poppies ("Blooms in the Bootheel"), which was excellent, as usual, except I would have liked to know a little poppy history. Kara works as an archeological assistant at Mesa Verde and sends me interesting notes about her experiences. This is one she had in our back yard that I am sharing with you:
"Let's see, in New England they have Leaf Peepers who come to look at the autumn colors. Here I guess we'd call ourselves Poppy Peepers. There was so much rain last summer and through the winter, these little guys are out in full force. Normally, there are poppies on the lower flanks of the Floridas mountains to our north every several years. They come up only when there has been adequate moisture at just the right times. These intervals between times have gotten longer recently due to a prolonged drought.
"This year, the patches of poppies in the Floridas are not just large—they are huge. There are literally hundreds of acres of them. It looks like someone went wild with large buckets of orange paint. We can see these from a distance on the highway on the southwest, south and southeast sides of the mountains.
"Something that is different this year is that there are also patches in the Tres Hermanas mountains nearer to us and in the low foothills to our west. After much procrastination, we finally did make it out to get up close and take some pictures. We did not get up into the Floridas where the HUGE patches are, but the photos are from an area closer to home. The patches are much smaller but you can get an idea of what they look like.
"These are Mexican poppies. They are very closely related to the California poppy. The coloration seems to be in two different kinds. One is a solid color, the other has the darker orange color in the center and yellow on the outer edge.
"This flashy show of color is a striking contrast in the usually drab desert. Everyone is enjoying it a lot. We don't expect to see it for many more years."
Maya Nothing
via email
More Feathers Fly
Thanks for printing David Pedigo's addlebrained letter in defense of cockfighting in the April 2005 Desert Exposure. Readers can relish his ignorance of the established connection between animal abuse and human abuse, and the indoctrination of children into the shameful world of blood sports.
Bob Young
via email
Let us hear from you! Write Desert Exposure Letters, PO Box 191, Silver City, NM 88062, fax 534-4134 or email letters@desertexposure.com. Letters are subject to editing for style and length.
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May 2005