Tuesday, July 27, 2004
— New Mexico has the highest per capita number of deaths by lightning of any state in the Union. It’s monsoon season here now, so the hot and sunny mornings give way to big storms in the late afternoon and evening. Two state troopers were struck by lightning (but fortunately not badly hurt) while helping drivers stranded in a flood here earlier this week.
— State Governor Bill Richardson this week attended a presentation to mark the shipment of green chile to New Mexico troops serving in Iraq. The 505 company (named for the telephone area code for the whole of the state) are donating $25,000-worth of green chile, packaged in what they described as the world’s first single-serving green chile sachets. Anything to cheer up the reservists and enlisted men who I’m sure would much rather be anywhere else than Iraq right now, although I don’t know how much competition there was from outside the state to be the first to issue green chile in single servings.
— Buying a carnita from Roque in the Plaza on Friday, I overheard a tourist identify himself and other Texans as ‘your favourite neighbours’. Roque, a native New Mexican and a polite man, declined to comment.
— Signs that America is at least four years behind Ireland in the maturity of its mobile phone usage: lots of guys are still wearing their phones on those dodgy holster things on their belts, and almost all the phones I’ve seen here are silver. Weird.