Come to Albuquerque

by Rudolfo Carrillo

The world called Albuquerque is where you want to build your life. There is no shortage of lumber in the mountains north and east of town; someone decided to build a shanty by the arroyo. If you drill into the clay bearing sand,  the small stones pushed perpetually down to the river by rainfall and large diesel powered tractors, you will find plenty of water to drink.

The hint of petroleum distillates wafting up from your favorite clear crystal vessel and into gas-permeable membranes is there to remind all of us about the inflammatory potential buried everywhere and permeating even the best homes, despite our best efforts to contain it. Somehow all of this has to do with a project designed to take apart very heavy metal objects.

Spicy food is on the menu. Soon enough we all make the transition from bread to tortillas. Notably, some prominent geographic features are called after a watery produce or the tree that bears such pleasant edible forms. The number two breakfast at the Frontier restaurant is decent.

If you wander about town in a relaxed and confident manner similar to that affected by the conquistadors or their minions, you may encounter a snake with two tongues, a rabbit with thin veiny ears, a parrot escaped from a six thousand square foot home. Cactus plants hover, moon-like in their presentation.

Residents here have no problem restoring automobiles to their pre-revolutionary glory and have been known to use autoclaves and special paint made from cobalt in preparation for their clandestine meetings at the train yard, at the ruined chapel, a square building that will always be made from red ceramic bricks.

Of course, the sun continues to blare and is trumpet-like and bright as that instrument, but alarmingly forlorn in sustained utterances, too. I will continue to insist that it snowed here during the last decade of the twentieth century. You may be surprised and fascinated by the lack of insects available for inspection on the wide swath of next summer's conquering mower; digging will result in more ghosts.