The Rage of Dust Devils

As another dust storm rages and the spring winds pick up, I'm reminded of the question that so many people from out of state ask me "Why do you live here?" I always reply  "Misery loves company" not that I'm a big fan of the dust and wind, but I have learned to more or less accept it as a fact of life.  "Why isn't your pool open yet?" they ask, "Well, because the wind blows around here, this time of year" I tell them, outdoor pools are a bad idea in New Mexico. The fact that we're in the grip of a sustained drought hasn't helped things any. Whenever the winds pick up, the tumbleweeds get to moving, it really is a losing battle, but I finally figured out that they can't roll if you smash them up. It seems like I've spent most of my life either in the midst of a dust storm or fighting to keep something from flying away (hats, papers, money etc.) I recall playing in a junior high basketball game while an especially persistent dust storm raged on. The dust filtered through any and every opening as it floated onto the court in layers. A dusty fog filled the gym, the game was stopped every few minutes, in order to sweep the floor with push brooms and wet towels. Breathing became harder as the physical exertion combined with the intake of fine silica left everyone hacking and spitting.  Back then we had a sticky substance that you could spray on your hands or shoes for better grip, those of us who sprayed it on our shoes soon found ourselves sliding across the tile floor like ice skaters.  At least we were at home, our opponents had to brave the weather  back to Lordsburg.  

A couple of years ago, the entire town of Deming, froze in it's tracks as a huge pinkish brown wall  of sand swept in from the west and deposited a good portion of Arizona across the landscape. People who had never seen such a sight, were actually in fear for their lives. I had seen it before, but it was still awe inspiring and you really need to experience it at least once. My parents caught the tail end of the dust bowl era when they first arrived in Southern New Mexico, my mom would tell us stories of pink snow and dust storms that would last for days on end. It's a wind swept and sun bleached landscape for sure, but I wouldn't live anywhere else. Here I can sit on a hilltop and watch one dancing dervish after another grow to full size, wreak their havoc and then dissipate. In some strange and surreal way you feel totally connected with nature when you actually see the birth of a dust devil and feel the sting of the elements. I think our state motto "It grows as it goes" describes the plume of dust that our pick-up trucks kick up along our many dirt roads and it does suit us well.  However, our state mantra seems to be "It's gonna blow again today" said in that hoarse drawl, that those of us down here know and love so well.  Ah Hell! just give me my zero visibility and a long stretch of country road, so I can wind my truck up to 70mph and sail off into the sunset.  I won't wax poetic, the land speaks for itself, welcome to New Mexico, we've been around longer than anybody else.