Burque
This city can be difficult to get to know well. If you grew up here, you are likely full of its cliches, the stories about Albuquerque we tell tourists. But you also grew up in one or more neighborhoods and have a lived experience to share and deepen. There are parts of this city you don’t yet know about, and if you’re anything like me, you might not have looked enough into the cliches to see the vibrant living stories behind them.
I have a parable from the world of cooking. I grew up with chicken pot pies as a easy-to-make, always-ready dinner. They were in the freezer and you just pop them in the oven. As I grew up and started to appreciate food, I realized these were not that good. It was hard to imagine a non-cynical reason why they existed. And likewise I wrote of chicken pot pie. Many years later, I made a chicken pot pie from scratch and my mind was opened. It was fantastic. This is a food you could get homesick for. Even a poor imitation might remind you of how truly triumphant chicken pot pie could be.
This class gives you license and responsibility to investigate your own prejudices and to take a new look at this city. But just knowing that may not be enough help to get started. Here are some links that may help you start to dig in (and also to realize that part of a modern city is online):
- The Official City Website
- New Mexico Mercury – Indie news for the state. Mostly environmental coverage. V.B. Price helped start this site and is a frequent contributor. He is a retired Honors professor and still teaches here. He has two books we will be looking at. Also, I took my first Honors class from him.
- Only in New Mexico – This is Jim Baca’s blog. He used to be our Mayor among other things.
- Duke City Fix – A metablog and community site. There are discussion forums, regular bloggers, etc. This one would be a good one to dig around for a while.
- Walk Albuquerque
- Duke City Wheelmen
- reDiscover Nob Hill
