Patricia L. Ballard

Hope this doesn’t come off as just another whine about having to move two years ago. Due to the ailing US economy and a great job opportunity for my husband, we’re splitting out time between Santa Fe, NM and Chapel Hill, NC. Mostly because we couldn’t sell the Santa Fe house. Both great towns, but Chapel Hill just isn’t home. When people ask me what I miss most about New Mexico, other than the food, I tell them the eccentric people. People from the East Coast of the US usually look shocked and make some remark about Chapel Hill being full of eccentrics. Usually, I say, “Not even close.”

The first night back in NM, we usually hit Whole Foods for groceries and a noodle bowl. Whole Foods Santa Fe is a people watching trip. The latest look among New Mexico baby boomers seems to be gray hair dyed pastel. We saw a woman with blue and green stripes in her “do.” The topper was a “man” in cycling clothes with breasts, makeup, green hair in a ponytail and a mechanical parrot. If you smiled at him, he’d wind the parrot up for a concert. He ate his dinner then put on his cycling helmet, took his bird and groceries and rode off.

Love it!