Oh, Fair New Mexico - Steve

 “Oh, Fair New Mexico…”

By the end of my four-year stint at Eastern New Mexico University, I learned more about the skeletal structure of the town of Portales and its surrounding terrain than ever expected. It can be a shock to reflect on how much your surroundings can come to play a part in your daily life despite them being totally secondary to any reason for being there. If it’s New Mexico, the impact of the Land of Enchantment is greater than most other locales due to the harsh environment that we call home. It has the capacity to seep into your conscious, subconscious, and unconscious being.

My reaction to Goober Gulch (the town’s unofficial nickname as a peanut-producing center) didn’t even register on my “first impressions” attraction scale. No “that’s an interesting building” or “wow, look at all the stuff in that store window!” I focused fully on getting to know the campus layout and what the buildings served: eat here, register and pay fees here, classes are here and here and here, study here, and shower and sleep here. Welcome home!

I loved Dorm life and class life and the Student Union Building (the SUB). Being on my own fit me like a glove – ah freedom!!!

But, eventually my toothpaste and deodorant ceased to exist! This circumstance brought on ta forced migration that began the accumulation of my intimate knowledge of Goober Gulch’s two shopping areas – ‘downtown” and THE STRIP (really the strip mall, such as it was). A second factor motivating my outreach campaign stemmed from the endless, singular diet of free (and old) movies shown on Saturday evenings in the SUB (the Student Union Building). The only cure? A trip to the downtown theater to see “Lawerance of Arabia” alongside a girl willing to let you buy her ticket and popcorn.

The experience of the journey downtown packed quite a punch – certainly more than expected. One trip morphed into a sweat-fest. Another, a full-body workout from walking the mile and a half back to campus face-forward into a 60-mile-per-hour wind laced with occasional blasts of sand (or as natives like to call it, “Enchantment”). The cumulative benefits of this exposure deposited a knowledge base of the locations of the awnings that would protect you from the rare occurrence of a brief but intense rainstorm.

It was only in subsequent years that the addition of a car to my personal asset inventory brought relief from the pain of ambulatory exposure. It also, however, simultaneously materially expanded the scope of my geographic intelligence. Translation: On occasion, I was able to transport me and a few of my newfound buddies for a social gathering at the nearby sand dunes (peanuts love sand). A full keg of beer and all manner of competitive and engaging activities always complemented these groupings.

Keg parties gave major stress relief from the relentless study load and were especially welcomed after finals. The challenges of some physical always added to the excitement. Inevitably, these exercises became progressively more challenging as the evening wore on. (No comment on the challenges involved in the return trip to campus.)

One special outing to the dunes marked the onset of Lent – otherwise known as Carnival. Late into that special night, our party was honored with some special entertainment. Everyone was questioning the need for such a steep cover charge – $15 per person, but any dispute regarding the exorbitant cost was immediately dismissed once the talent was revealed. Here, on site and in person was a National Treasure. Present was none other than Charene Promise, the renowned drag queen, most recently hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana. Let me assure anyone listening to this story that there was no person left unsatisfied that the performance was worth it. Charlene’s signature red dress, shoes, and painted toenails accompanied her magnificent voice. Indeed, her incomparable stage presence made each dollar spent feel like an Amazon Black Friday special. 

“I’ll be back!” was her departing signature “Promise.”