Trail Rider – Cedar Crest, New Mexico

During the prehistoric and dark ages when I went to school, we were taught a song called “The Bear Went Over The Mountain.”  When that wandering ursus got to the other side of the mountain, all he could see was the other side of the mountain.  Ostensibly, this song recalls a bear’s fruitless journey to see what lies beyond.  It symbolizes the endless nature of life’s constant undertakings, the continuous, sometimes futile, effort in life to find something beyond the current experience.  Now, that’s the allegorical meaning of the song.  In literal terms, a bear (or anyone of us) going over the Sandia Mountains won’t see the same sights or have the same experiences we have in the Albuquerque side…

Trombino’s Bistro Italiano – Albuquerque, New Mexico

One commonality among conservatives and liberals is an unwaivering belief that “their side” is right and the other side is pretty stupid.  Idealogues on both sides wonder how the other side can be so wrong in their thinking. They both wonder why people on the other side refuse to listen to reason and to truths that are so obvious.  On a bilateral basis, both sides stubbornly hold to their beliefs, refusing to concede any merit to any matter contrary to their own.  Partisan affiliations get tied up in personal identities.  Any attack on our strongly held beliefs is a personal attack on us…and our brains are built to protect the self. When our personal convictions and beliefs are attacked, we…