[Originally written 7/20/04. I think I got it right, then.]

It was 20 26 years ago today that I arrived as a new resident of Albuquerque, of New Mexico, of the Southwest, Atzlan, the Four Corners and the Rockies. Praise be.

I sometimes think of this as my second life, although it may be my third or more. Strictly speaking, my first life was from birth to six in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, Hawai’i. I have few accessible memories from those days (I look forward to old age dredging up more), but I can’t help but feel that living in a mellow multi-cultural paradise had to be a good start. Let’s call that my gestation.

In which case my first life took place in the area of Washington, DC — in and around Alexandria in Northern Virginia, to be more precise (accent on the northern, eliding the whole Virginia-thing — we considered ourselves in a separate state from Dixie).

Those 23 years were a great life with great friends. I can’t begin to do them justice here. And, unlike Death, moving to New Mexico didn’t end the things that matter. I hope it made my heart a little bigger that it might reach across the miles.

This life is … well, I don’t want to jinx it. I’m not really superstitions, but I am a devout Ironist. I know trouble is inevitable, I just don’t want to look back at this blog entry as the turning point. So, let me just say I’m grateful to the Universe for leading me here (and its agent, Merri Rudd).

I live in a state where people step outside when it rains; where we talk about that last rain and the next. Where people stop to watch the sunset, or a hawk or roadrunner. Where you can look at mountains 100 miles away or next door. A state where the calendar is set by the smell of roasting chiles, a thousand hot air balloons, a million luminarias/farolitos. Where the wind may drive you mad, but the weather changes hourly. Where people who have been here for 10,000 years were gracious to people who arrived here 500 years ago, who, in turn, were gracious to people who arrived here 150 years ago, 20 years ago, today. That generosity permeates everything. Thank you, New Mexico. May you walk in beauty forever. mjh

PS: It is also the 35th 41st anniversary of the first step on the moon. Ah-Ooo!

It was 6 years ago today that I started using blogging software on my own account. The software was called Greymatter and it still runs years later:

mjh’s Weblog Entry – 11/24/2002: "hello, world!

After Greymatter, I switched to MoveableType and, then, settled with WordPress.

I think I posted my first web pages in 1993, although I don’t believe I have a copy of those. The wonderful Internet Archive Wayback Machine has my AOL pages starting in 1998. Good thing, too, since AOL just discontinued that service and I can’t find other backups.

My public writing goes back at least as far as the letter I wrote my high school newspaper protesting the showing of the Three Stooges at lunch time in the auditorium. I objected to their adolescent violence. The editor added this headline: Lovers of Decency Unite! That was probably 1971.

peace,
mjh

PS: Coincidentally — if you believe in coincidence – today, the 2nd quarter of my third book, Digital Photography For Seniors For Dummies, is due to Wiley and this is the first day my second book is available on Amazon: Digital Photography For Dummies. There is no doubt that blogging has helped me as a writer — and has put me in touch with readers. (Although, I am supposed to be working on my book as I write this.)

[updated 7/8/08]A friend emailed today. One of my webpages came up as one of the few results when he searched Google for a phrase no one could ever associate with either of us: “bear tranquilizers” rape. Even more curious, the link Google provided was a dead-end, perhaps related to changes in blogging software over the years. My own site-search had trouble matching the complete search string.

I found the main entry and the secondary entry that probably created the match when the two entries were merged in an archive that may no longer exist, except in Google’s memory. I re-read both of these entries (the second is a series of four to five entries) and I enjoyed them again. Perhaps, you will, too.

http://www.edgewiseblog.com/mjh/mine/you-are-what-you-eat/
http://www.edgewiseblog.com/mjh/mine/left-undone/

peace,
mjh

PS: Testing that Google link above turned up another of my pages for the first time. No, not this one, which should appear in search results eventually. Instead, this page was listed — and it’s still out there. The Web is the trash heap future archaeologists and comedians will mine.

PPS: CKO points out that 12 hours later, Google lists *this* entry in that search — that’s fast. See Behind the Scenes of a Google Query, By Brian Ussery, to see just how fast Google is (responding to a search, not indexing, which was quite fast).

Before Pat Robertson slips completely from our short attention spans and the 24 hour news cycle, let’s take a moment to remember not only what an ass he is but what kind of Christian he must be to call for killing and then lie about that and, in classic right-wing fashion, blame the media for misrepresenting him. Pious scoundrels like Robertson, and a long list of cohorts, will not only bring about the downfall of the Republican Party, but possibly Christianity itself and god help America in the process. mjh