2021-05-24
The Crying Indian

THE CRYING INDIAN

Final and Third Day of the great Soil Health Workshop hosted by Jan-Willem Jansens at Quay Ranch in Tucumcari on Sunday, May 23, 2021.

It was an exhausting, yet equally exhilarating experience, not to mention highly educational.

Much of what we learned, we hope to apply at home at the homestead and Hacienda Dominguez & Chelenzo Farms.

Today, the little ones and I went to the dump. In Santa Fe, the euphemism is “Transfer Station,” as in “let’s transfer our garbage to Staten Island” I guess.

Actually, it seems, by merely surmising from what we observed that this sanitation depot is actually a waste management facility that converts our discards into energy and recyclable matter. Just a guess really, quién sabe?

Admittedly, I was a little disappointed because the kids didn’t get to see what kind of dump I grew up going to - mountains of waste and chingadera scouted by seagulls and trash-to-treasure resellers; tons upon tons of discarded (in)convenience and mass production that few in the Seventies ever gave a second thought to, at least until The Crying Indian commercial began interrupting the hypnotic wave of sugar cereal commercials couched in the convenient babysitting grasp of Saturday morning cartoons. What safer place to put your kids then in front of the TV, mesmerized and sedated by LooneyTunes and a bowl of Captain Crunch?

(The Crying Indian: https://youtu.be/h0sxwGlTLWw)

Anyway, the kids got to see where our garbage goes and as we drove away to a secondhand store called “Savers,” I took it upon myself to pontificate on the importance of using and wasting less.

“You see going to the dump might take a good two hours roundtrip, so if we use less packaged foods and materials or make and grow much of our own, that means fewer trips here.”

I also mentioned that going to buy used clothing for our Hacienda work clothes was a great way to recycle more and waste less, as we avoid the tags and packaging that new clothes produce. (Thanks Yvonne for the awesome idea).

Alas, there were no fitting rooms due to COVID and the store clerks nonchalantly advocated that you could buy and then try at home and return if need be.

Being that we we’re a good 35 minutes away from home, I thought “screw that” and just helped the kids (painstakingly struggled) (in)discreetly try the clothes in the back aisle of the store, which, of course, someone just had to begin leisurely perusing right after we started stripping down.

Everyone, including me, got some nice “new” clothes to get dirty and to protect our arms and legs far better than the casual wear we’d been wearing.

Personally, I was ecstatic to pick up a few soft flannel long-sleeved shirts for a few bucks.

Damn, I’m feeling country already...and it feels good!