UFO

Zallie Beimer Birthday

Today, August 27,2015 is my mother's birthday.   Zallie Marie Johnson was born in 1918, and she's still around.  This photo was taken in Taos - I have no idea when - 1940ish.  Cowboys amongst you will recognize it's my Dad's saddle - Mom's feet don't reach the stirrups...

Jimmy Carter Reflection

President Jimmy Carter stories come to mind as I learned of his cancer battle.

#1 – The New Mexico Amigos – The Official Goodwill Ambassadors of New Mexico – were on the 1973 trip that included a stop in Atlanta.   Governor Jimmy Carter was a guest at the luncheon held at a downtown hotel.  It was not uncommon for the media to cover a visit of The Amigos  - 120 guys in grey slacks, white shirts, gold ties, and blue blazers walking down a sidewalk turned heads.  

At this luncheon in Atlanta, the media was there to cover us and New Mexico Governor Bruce King and Governor Jimmy Carter.  That night, the only mention on TV was not of The Amigos, but rather the parking ticket the limousine for the Governor of Georgia had received while he was visiting the Amigos. 

#2 – Again in the mid-70s as part of my news responsibilities I was briefed by a couple political operatives who were working on getting Jimmy Carter elected President of the United States.  That meeting was held at the airport hotel, and there were maps, schedules, plans, strategies, etc.   It wasn’t until years later that I realized (perhaps in my own mind) those political operatives were really testing me, perhaps not as a reporter – but perhaps as a staff person to help during the campaign.  Opportunity missed.

#3 – As News Director at KOB-TV in Albuquerque I was invited to a briefing in The White House cabinet room with President Jimmy Carter.  It was special.  Apart from realizing that I was really in The White House, I remember two things a) sitting next to me was the Publisher of The Denver Post, and I don’t think he’d ever been to a news briefing in his life, and b) I headed out from The White House without saying hello to Tim Kraft, a New Mexico guy who was the top ranking scheduler for POTUS.  As I’m leaving the grounds, security stops me and escorts me to a meeting with Tim in The Roosevelt Room across the hall from The Oval Office.

Point of Highway Clarification

In the local newspaper there is an explanation from the New Mexico Department of Transportation that purports to answer a question involving an uneven portion of a recently completed overpass.

Here’s the quote as it appeared in the paper…

”the concrete pavement has a grade break at the ramp gore – where the loop ramp lanes separate from the westbound PDN lanes – which redirects storm water runoff and reduces the amount of drainage that would otherwise cross the loop ramp lanes at that location. The grade break is minimal and is within acceptable tolerance even though it is visible as a driver approaches the ramp. The variation in the concrete pavement addresses a drainage issue that needed to be mitigated while staying within the physical constraints of the bridge, the mainline PDN lanes, and the diverging loop ramp lanes.”

Thanks for the clarification!

70th Birthday Celebration

Throwback Thursday to an evening a few weeks back.

Dining and dancing with some pals. 

Taos Golf

There will be a lot of talking this week in the golf world about St. Andrews, THE Open Championship, etc.

Here's my golf story.

This is a picture of my Dad and a couple of his buddies playing golf at the Taos Country Club about 1960.  It was a private 9 hole golf course carved out of sagebrush (duh - just look at the surroundings) and a clubhouse where lots of the business leaders ate, drank, played poker, and watched 16mm black and white movies of famous golf matches.

This is a picture of the golf course taken last week.  What once was the Taos Country Club, on the road to Taos Ski Valley, became the Quail Run Resort and the home to condos, etc.

I actually worked at a golf course when I was in high school.  It was developed by two of my uncles, Sid and Clinton Johnson in an area east of Taos known as Tienditas.   It is part of a beautiful valley, and the development was ahead of its time.  It remains a hidden valley.

And the golf course remains open.  The summer rains have helped keep it in nice mountain condition. I recall working there - slip sliding around the dirt roads after a summer rain - driving the road grader and dump drunks. And I remember having the responsibility for pin placements on the greens.

This pond - which we called a lake - was right outside the front door of Uncle Sid's first cabin on the site.  The pond remains.

Valley Escondido remains hidden - there are some locals and some Texans who have vacation cabins there - and I can certainly see why.  A beautiful place to get away from it all - and I mean that!

PGA Tour, USGA, PGA of America Should Dump Trump

It's about time the leadership of the major golf organizations in the USA (and abroad for that matter, like Scotland) dump any tournaments that are held on golf courses owned, developed or managed by the Donald Trump organizations.

I am sure it is within the abilities of the PGA Tour, the United States Golf Association, the PGA of America and the Royal and Ancient in Europe to find locations for golf events that don't further the growth of that red mop of hair.

What Trump has said with regards to the Mexican immigration issue should be reason enough - say nothing of his other spout offs.

Anybody with any sense at all knows that much of the labor in his hotels, at his resorts, in his businesses and on his golf courses is done by people who are immigrants.  They are probably offended too, but afraid to say anything for fear of losing their jobs.

I'm waiting for the major media outlets to start reporting on the misdeeds of Mr. Trump and his organizations.  It can't come soon enough!


Update -  The Dump Trump parade is organizing:

1)   Los Angeles school district officials have canceled plans to hold a fundraising tournament at the Trump National Golf Club in response to comments made by Donald Trump about immigrants.   The L.A. Unified School District asked the club to return its $7,500 deposit. So far, the club has declined to refund the money, according to the school system.

2)   The ESPY Celebrity Golf Classic was scheduled for Trump National Golf Club on July 14 but has been switched to Pelican Hill near Newport Beach.

 3)  The PGA of America announced Tuesday that the 2015 Grand Slam of Golf scheduled for this October at Trump National Golf Club will be moved to another location.