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Columns

  • A work of Art: A fine Dad’s Day tribute

    This unsolicited Father’s Day missive from my Denmark son, Stan Adam, might well be called “Work of Art’s Son.” I love the message and am printing it here in the hopes that readers will discover that some of its spirit will trigger memories of their own route to maturity:

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  • Another Perspective: ‘Rewarding and challenging’

    Almost 100 days have gone by since I was sworn in as city councilor for Ward 3. This was a proud day for me, not only because the citizens of Ward 3 entrusted me with this responsibility, but because it was almost 50 years to the day that my father, José D. “Lolo” Perea, was sworn in as city councilman for the town of West Las Vegas.

    Were he still alive, I am sure that he would have told me to do my best and to always be mindful of the people I was serving. I do plan to do just that.

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  • Palabras Pinturescas: New tourist guides offer plenty of information on state’s attractions

    Those of you who live high up in our mountains have decided summer might just be here. Thirty-two degrees was the low temperature here on May 29. No, the marigolds in pots out on the deck did not freeze, but there was thin ice in cool, shady spots.  So much for early gardening this year.

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  • Work of Art: Give me an ‘A’

    “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.” I hope the words (or at least their promise) from the book of Matthew come clear in this recounting of graduation services I’ve attended.

    Late in May, I attended a complete graduation ceremony and part of another. The ceremony I stepped in and out of was to take a photo.

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  • Dispatch New Mexico - Ali! — and Jack Johnson and Donald Trump

    As I think back on Mu-hammad Ali and his impact on American culture in the aftermath of his demise, I’m stuck by a couple of comparisons. Specifically, Jack Johnson and Donald Trump come to mind, and I’ll get to that in a few paragraphs.

    Ali transcended his professional boxing career by thrusting himself head-first into the struggles of his time. If you remember him in his prime, you know he was not only a great boxer, he was also a polarizing figure:

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  • Work of Art: Going star-craving mad

    The problem may be that we have simply too many easily confusable words in the English language, and because they’re readily available, we often commit malapropisms.

    So what’s a malaprop? An English playwright named Richard Brinsley Sheridan wrote “The Rivals,” featuring a Mrs. Malaprop, whose passion thrived in choosing the wrong word, sometimes a sound-alike. Many people use malaprops for emphasis or for a laugh. Others simply confuse these words with others.

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  • Another Perspective: Maximizing student success

    The number of students who leave college before they complete their education is a depressing statistic. Here in New Mexico, approximately 14 percent of students complete a bachelor’s degree in four years. The six-year graduation rate in New Mexico is only about 42 percent; a better number, but still far too short of where we need to be. Too many students leave with little to show except what too many of them consider a personal failure and debt.

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  • Just a Thought: We are governed by the law of the harvest

    Who you are today is no accident. Where you are today is no accident. You are who you are and where you are because of choices you have made. It is the Law of the Harvest. You will not find the Law of the Harvest written into our federal laws. You will not find the Law of the Harvest written into our state or city laws. Yet the Law of the Harvest governs each of us.

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  • Laura M. Shields: Brilliant professor, researcher

    A great source of daily news for me is the weekly morning news broadcast on KFUN  Radio with Joseph Baca behind the microphone. Once in a while I can add to a story he talks about, mainly because I have lived here so long.

    A very recent item in his talk show was about the beautiful front, the facade of the Coronado Theatre in Las Vegas.

    I am confident the face of this building is still there, just covered up with a fake, a new front. A highlight of my growing up here was being able to attend Saturday afternoon matinee movies with my best friend, Joanie.

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  • Dispatch New Mexico - The demise of customer service

    Editor’s note: This column first ran in August 2013. It’s been edited to update the details.

    Older people, such as myself, like to think we’ve acquired the wisdom of the ages, but when it comes to the modern world, the young’uns have a leg up on us.

    That occurred to me not so long ago when I had some questions about my cell phone account, and I didn’t want to sit on the phone all day trying to get the answers I was seeking. I decided to go to the local office and talk, face to face, with a customer service representative.

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