A Collection of Small Observations at Week's End

I have been collecting these small observations about visiting, being and living in Silver City.

· When you drive in Silver City, wear your seatbelt. Nick has the opportunity to support the state, if not the local, Motor Vehicle Department because he forgot to put on his seatbelt and got pulled over and ticketed. No warning for anything else – not going too fast, no rolling stop at a stop sign, no light burned out, nothing. Just the seat belt. I know small towns make a living on unwary drivers, but usually with out-of-state plates going 2 miles over the speed limit. But seat belts!?

· When you buy in Silver City, have cash. Many small business cannot afford the cost of credit cards, which can charge a business up to 5% or more (especially American Express) for a purchase. So many have instituted a cash/check-only policy – no credit cards at all. Others have set a limit of $10 or $15 dollars for credit card purchases. Not the big stores or businesses like WalMart or Micky-D’s – they still take your card for $3.15. But a latte? Or a tamale? Cash only, please.

· Javalina, one of the coffee houses, still posts people’s names who write bad checks. There’s someone who wrote them not one, but three bad checks. Dude’s from Colorado, so I doubt that Javalina will see the money. Again, the lesson, though – avoid embarrassment, cash only, please.

· “Yes, we have no tamales…” Oh, but we do – pork spiced with red chili and chicken spiced with green. Real corn husk. Large, plump; two will fill you up. Best part is – they’re a small unadorned storefront, which means the tourists won’t find them. That’s good because even without tourists, they sell out fast. Just increased, with apologies, the price for tamales to $1.50 each. They’re a small family-run business in a little section of a strip; the kitchen-side is screened by a table-cloth and the side you enter has no neon sign, no logo, no advertising, no testimonials – just handwritten signs on lined notepaper telling what they sell, which is about 5 things: tamales, tortillas, Menudo and home cut-and-cooked chips. All fresh. All handmade. All still warm from the fire. I don’t eat peppers. Or at least I thought not. But there’s a difference between bell pepper (don’t eat) and chili pepper (am learning to eat). Tried a piece of Nick’s pork tamale and was instantly hooked. Have been in most Saturday mornings since to purchase six tamales (half pork, half chicken) to take home for lunch

· Getting adventurous now – IF I can eat RED-CHILI PORK, what else might I be able to eat? I’ve been experimenting with some red chili powder given to me by a friend, different, lighter red chili powder purchased from a couple from Hatch – chili capital of the world, self-proclaimed – and green chili. To date, my gastronomical experiments: light red chili and key lime juice homemade salad dressing; dark red chili marinade for chicken breasts; chicken soaked in chili and lime juice on the grill; jicima (raw) with light and dark red chili and lime juice and tonight, a twist on an classic Southern recipe. I grew up with fresh cucumbers and onions sliced into a bowl and fresh pickled with oil and red-wine vinegar, with lots of dill, preferably fresh, plus salt, etc. A favorite! Tonight I soaked 3 dried green chili pods and when they were plump again, stripped out the seeds, chopped them up and mixed them with oil, vinegar tarragon and basil and put that on the cucumbers and onion. Even I liked it! Next time, I think I’ll use one green chili pod less – they were so hot, Nick got the hiccups.

· Learning to use chili, especially green chili pods, means also learning where not to put your fingers afterwards – Eyes! Nose! Although I had washed my hands carefully – I thought – I still had some chili under my fingernails. Scratched my eyelid! Oymygod! Blew my nose!! Ay, carumba!!

· Going to the local theatre means not having to wait in line, even for blockbusters. New mathematical relationship to master: blockbuster only as large as blocks from which to draw theatre goers . Harry Potter hit town. We haven’t been to a movie since we got here. Yes, there is a theatre – two screens, even. In a metal warehouse type building. No marquee to speak of, just an old sign for the Real West Cinema. Really! Real West… There isn’t a ticket booth. There’s a card-table where the lady sells tickets and only gives you one half, because there’s no ticket taker. We arrived ½ hour before the show. That would be almost too late for Harry Potter at 6 pm on a Saturday in Gaithersburg or Bethesda or Arlington. Not sold out, no siree. No line! 3 souls in front of us. No ticket lady yet – too early? Just making popcorn. Mmmm, fresh popped. Theatre seats about 200. But it was less than ½ filled.

· We’re discovering that, without an acre and half of grass to cut, trim, sometimes-rake, plus bushes to prune, mulch or otherwise tend, we have quite a bit of leisure time. If we don’t have a plan for the weekend days, we have time to just be. Novel experience – one I’d recommend everyone try out from time to time. This evening, we sat on the back patio sheltered from the rain, and fell into a drowse watching the thunder storms move across the sky. Woke up in time for dinner and walk the dog. And now time to get ready for the week to come.