Observations on the Wild Wets
October 3, 2008
First they were known as “wetbacks” or “wets” because of crossing the Rio Grande River into Texas. Then came “migrant worker” followed by “illegal alien” (with elongated green faces and black holes for eyes?), which then got changed to “illegal immigrant” and “undocumented alien.” Whatever name we use, they are all over the country with numbers in the millions and more filtering in every day. My observations on the migrant issue come from living, farming and ranching in Amado, 35 miles north of the US-Mexico border between Nogales and Tucson. In the lifetime I have lived here I have watched the situation change dramatically in the last six years from how it was for many years to what it has become today. In the 1960s and 70s we would hire the migrants to do farm work for a few months. Once they had made some money they would either return to Mexico or move on to greener pastures. In the 1980s and 90s it became unwise to do that, but we were aware of a slow trickle of workers walking north along the railroad tracks and river looking for a better life. Then came the 2000s; Latin America’s baby boom reaching maturity with no jobs in their mother countries and a rich northern neighbor in need of low wage workers. Low wage is better than no wage, so here they all are.
Putting By the Harvest
October 3, 2008
We tend to think of canning and freezing as traditional ways of preserving the gardens bounty, but our great, great grandparents and all of their forebears would not recognize either system as a means of preserving food. The short 100+ years that canning and freezing have been used is a mere blink of time compared to the previous 10,000+ year old system used by our forebears. The ramifications of this major dietary change become clear when one realizes that the rise of modern diseases (diabetes, allergies, heart and brain diseases) correlates with the rise of canning and freezing and other industrialized, processed foods.
Libra
October 3, 2008
The harvest is past and nights are lenghthening. Our work is done for now and it’s time to be sociable, time to recognize and acknowledge the others around us. It is especially that time of year to focus on the special other in our world. This is Libra, September 22 - October 23, the time of relationship.
October
October 3, 2008
When I started college at the University of Arizona in 1990, I had not decided what my major would be. I had decided what it would not be, though. After years of witnessing my father and his co-workers complaining about the politics of education, I was sure that I would never be a teacher. Two years into core coursework, however, I still had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I went to see an advisor in the Old Main building on campus. I was ushurred into a cubicle where a computer was waiting with a program to set me on the right path. I sat down and answered all the questions and pressed “finished” at the end. The program put all of my information together and told me that I should be… a teacher! NO WAY! That night I sat down and made a list of what I wanted out of a career. I was very honest with myself and this is what I came up with (in order of importance, by the way).
S. Fred Noon, Attorney at Law
October 3, 2008
Samuel Frederick Noon was born in San Jose, California in 1879, but came with his family to Oro Blanco, AZ at the age of one. His parents were Dr. Adolphus and Emma Noon, who had come to the area because of mining interests and the potential for a new start in a growing state. Dr. Noon practiced medicine, raised cattle, and mined in the Oro Blanco-Nogales area until his death in 1931 at the age of 93.
October 2008
October 3, 2008
