Issue 5

ISSUE 5 . 14

A New Take on an Old “I Do” --- p.5 Cutest Couples 2014 --- p.9 A Night to Remember --- p.10 In Love with the Lopezes --- p. 12 Living History in Lincoln County --- p.13

Love in Lincoln County --- p. 14 Shade Tree “One Stop Culture Shop” --- p.21

Helping Hands --- p.23 Koffin Kats Interview --- p. 26 What the Dwell --- p. 28 Ink: Egypt to Wolf’s Head --p.29 Hand Guide: Drinking Like an Irishman --p.32

Around the Bar in 80 Drinks --- p.33 Star Power --p.34

ISSUE 5 . 14

ISSUE 5 . 14

As this issue is a celebration of love, I would

be remis not to speak about the largest victory for LOVE that our state has ever seen.

On December 19, 2013, the years-long struggle to legalize same-sex marriage in the state of New Mexico came to a close as the state became the 17th in the Union to legalize this contract.

Jacob Dunlap, whom I call openly credit as the bravest boy I know, was born and raised in Lordsberg, New Mexico in a conservative, Christian home.

“I was raised in a marriage-is-forever home,” says Dunlap. “I’ve always had the feeling that when I get married, I’m done.”

He says that all his life he pictured his wedding, a beautiful ceremony against the backdrop of a fiery New Mexico sunset. But, being a gay man in New Mexico during the last half of the 20th Century, marriage for him was obviously out of the question.

Dunalp is of course joyful that marriage is now a possibility to him in his home state and is relieved to know, should he meet “the one”, that he won’t have to travel afar to tie the knot, nor struggle to have his union recognized on the home front. So instead I asked him what it felt like growing up knowing he might never in his lifetime get to commit to his true love against a crimson sunset.

“You feel different,” he said. “You grow up knowing you can’t have what your parents have, what your brothers have. It’s a big world of, ‘No’… So you put on your big girl panties and deal with it. You go about your life and learn to want other things.

“Instead of wanting marriage,” continued Dunlap, “you learn to just want love. When you take marriage out of the equation, you just start looking at the basis of the relationship, which is love.”

With pop culture teeming with marriage-madness and wedding obsessions -- think “Bridezillas”, “Say Yes To The Dress”, and “My Fair Wedding”-- for a straight, American girl like me, imagining a world in which you can have a first date without picturing how you’d look together on a save-the-date card is almost unimaginable.

We’ve been pretty well programmed from the time we could understand the punch line of any fairytale that among our top ambitions in life should be getting married. Just the fact that many of us consciously rebel against this ISSUE 5 . 04

expectation speaks to its dominance in our culture.

So imagining courting “the gay way,” without wedding bells taunting you on the horizon, seemed incredibly liberating. To simply seek love and companionship, rather than a binding legality and bank-breaking bonanza, seemed more like marriage to me than marriage.

In Lakotah philosophy, gay people were held in high esteem because they could offer worldviews the rest of the community could not. So what if gay couples haven’t had “legal” marriages all this time, what could the rest of us learn, I wondered, from the kind of marriages and relationship they have had?

As with the achievement of any new right, certain cautions and concerns arise as people come to terms with these new experiences.

“Have we really achieved a freedom, or have we allowed the big bad government to insert itself into our lives?” Dunlap can’t help but wonder.

But, if so, is it a necessary evil?

While Dunlap says it was heartbreaking knowing marriage was excluded to him, it also gave him the freedom to live his life and find out what he wanted out of it without finding himself responsible to the state too soon, too young, as happens all too often to straight boys and girls.

Now that same-sex marriage is legal in New Mexico, Dunlap worries that the young gay community will be too eager to “jump on the band wagon” and tie the knot for the wrong reasons. But, marrying for the wrong reasons is a concern that can be extended to all walks of life.

True equality and freedom, says Dunlap, isn’t demonstrated in running to the courthouse just to prove a point but in being able to now enter the dominant conversation on marriage, family, children and everything that concerns them.

“It’s going to be interesting to watch the gay community shift,” said Dunlap.

“For so long marriage equality is what we’ve been

fighting for. What is our new cause going to be?”

There’s no denying the fact that what we call the institution of marriage is on rocky ground, and no, it’s not because gay men can now marry one another, but because, says Dunalp, we are at an age in which we need “a new American dream, a new institution.” Now is a valuable time to re-evaluate the reasons for marriage: What marriage is and isn’t and what it can or should be. In doing so, we open the discussion to family and, ultimately, children and the world parents want to create for future generations.

It is important to realize, I think, that among the significances of legalizing same-sex marriage in New Mexico is the validation of gay couples as parents. With this leveling of the social playing field, I look forward to a day when experiences such as Dunalp’s, of walking down the hallway every day at school and feeling ashamed because every person he passed hissed “faggot” at him, are a thing relegated to history books.

“Now that the fight is over and there’s no more room for blame, we can look, each of us, at what we may have done in reaching this point,” he said. “We can look at what can be improved, talked about and strengthened as we enter into a new conversation and a new ambition.”

Dunlap is quick to point out that just because this civil right has been achieved for the gay community, the struggle for equality is not over.

The next step? Education.

Dunlap wants to see the history of gay rights, such as the Stonewall Riots, be something that is taught in schools, just as the African American struggle for civil rights are taught and Black History Month is celebrated, as this, too, is part of our national heritage.

Photos From Top Left: Courtesy of A Elvis Chapel; Courtesy of Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel; Erin Burns, Elvis Chavez, Megan Speciale at A Celebration of Love Wedding Chapel; Elvis Chavez with 1967 Cadillac courtesy of Jay Bernstein

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If you’re going to walk down the aisle you may as well do it in style, and what better way than with an ultimate Elvis wedding? After all, every lil’ mama has dreamt about the day when Elvis would pronounce her and her sweetheart, “husband and wife.” If rhinestone jumpsuits and a hunka, hunka sounds like your cup of tea, then you will have plenty of options with customizable Elvis wedding ceremonies in no shortage. The allure of Elvis nuptials appeals to couples the world over who travel near and far to experience this wholehearted American tradition. ***

Being in the desert Southwest makes an authentic Vegas Elvis ceremony within a hop, skip, and a jump from New Mexico.

However, you don’t have to go far from home to experience The King’s magic. In fact, you don’t even have to leave the front seat of your ’67 Cadillac. Albuquerque is home to one of the most charming drive-thru chapels around.

A Celebration of Love Wedding Chapel, located in Nob Hill, directly off historic Route 66 at 106 Wellesley SE, is open and

ready for the next happy couple to drive on thru.

“I’m in the love business, and I couldn’t be happier,” says owner Reverend Pearl Gabaldon.

The ceremonies can be performed in a jiff via the drive thru, where love birds can park in front of elegant French doors that open into a crystal chandelier bedazzled room where the officiator stands, or from the cozy and inviting mid-century adobe casa the chapel operates out of.

Despite it’s novelty, Gabaldon says the drive-thru only makes up 5% of her overall business and is used mainly by military couples who plan on having a ceremony later and don’t want to ruin the occasion’s allure by tying the knot inside a chapel before that time arrives.

She recalls a time almost 10 years ago when same-sex marriage was legalized for a short 48-hour period. Couple came from all around to make a mad dash for their certificates. Gabaldon proudly shared that her signature is on the first same-sex marriage license filed in New Mexico. As a business owner and ambassador of culture and community, Gabaldon remains excited to see the increase in the number of same-sex ceremonies being performed at her Nob Hill and San Mateo (3500 San Mateo NE) locations since New Mexico became the 17th state to officially legalize gay marriage on December 19.

“Our Nob Hill location is quaint and vintage, but we can also be modern. It’s very custom,” says Gabaldon. “We have done everything from barefoot weddings, or blue jeans and cutoffs, all the way to formal dress-up weddings.”

Complete with a private boudoir style dressing room for the bride-to-be and a chapel with intimate seating, this simplistically gorgeous chapel is an excellent choice for any couple looking to make their blue collared dollars go far.

And if all that doesn’t get your heart racing, enter Elvis Chavez, Albuquerque’s own Elvis impersonator who is ordained to perform ceremonies, complete with Presley-like crooning and rhinestone incrusted jumpsuits. For gigs outside the chapel contact Elvis at (505) 877-6184/ (505) 463-3831.

For providing an irresistibly charming ceremony for as little as 200 buckaroos, the award for “The Working Man’s Wedding” goes straight to Albuquerque’s premier drive-thru chapel.

If it’s the bright lights of Vegas your heart yearns for, then hot rod on over to Vegas for a fully entertaining Elvis elopement. Only in a place like shiny Las Vegas, Nevada, you can be serenaded by Sinatra on street corners by day and married by an ordained Elvis by night. And for that we must say, “God Bless the USA.” In fact, Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel currently offers 13 different wedding packages you can choose from, including everything from Gold Lamé Elvis to Jumpsuit Elvis, to a Blue Hawaii wedding to the legendary Pink Caddy package. Owner Ron DeCar explains, “The most popular package is

Elvis Chavez with 1967 Cadillac DeVille courtesy of Jay Bernstein

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In addition to all the first timers, nearly half of the weddings performed at this little love shack are renewals, including travelers from all around the world.

“We get quite a few calls from Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Australia, and the UK,” says David Nye, owner of A Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Nye says the biggest renewal he’s seen was for a happy couple celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary with their old friend Mr. Presley by their side. Even famous actors like Kevin Dillon have tied the knot under the majesty of The King himself. His location has even performed a ceremony in which every single person in attendance was dressed as Elvis.

“The bride and groom were both Elvis, as well as all the guests,” chuckles Nye. Also keep in mind if you wedding party is on the light side, Marilyn Monroe can even stand in as your witness in the Elvis and Marilyn package where the iconic duo perform songs together. But perhaps classic Vegas is more your style?

The Show Girl package will provide a luscious dose of feathers and rhinestones. And did we mention each package includes a copy of the original Presley marriage license?

Now how’s that for a class act?

Photos from Top: Courtesy of A Elvis Chapel; Courtesy of Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel; Erin Burns, Elvis Chavez, Megan Speciale at A Celebration of Love Wedding Chapel; Speciale features a “Flamingos” Sparkle Vinyl Tote Bag

by Rough Seas Designs, www.roughseasdesigns.com

the Pink Cadillac Elvis, which is kind of top of the line, where Elvis drives them down the aisle in a 1964 pink convertible Cadillac of which we have two. One picks the couple up from their hotel and takes them to the chapel. The other one physically drives them down the aisle, and that is their entrance.”

It’s no wonder this Vegas staple has a list of awards under it’s sparkling belt and whips out 500 weddings a month, with about half being Elvis themed.

As the owner and performing Elvis impersonator, DeCar describes his work as entertainment. With the abundance of over the top Elvis options and a truly entertaining Elvis experience, Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel will definitely TCB.

ISSUE 5 . 14

ISSUE 5 . 09

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, many ladies find themselves wondering how to show their love interest how they feel in the form of a gift. Thanks to the commercialization of all holidays great and small, there’s no shortage of Valentine’s Day treats and toys on the store shelves. But do chocolate roses appeal to men as much as a case of beer or bottle of their favorite liquor? How many of us really think that the fuzzy gorilla holding a puffy “I Wuv U!” heart sums it up best for anyone over the age of 15? And will those leopard, velvet-covered handcuffs really hold up through an adventurous night?!?

Maybe you’re not too worried about the perfect gift item, and are happily looking forward to a romantic date night, a cozy restaurant followed by drinks, or even a night in and away from the crowds of lovers out on the town. As most modern couples new and old are aware, a date night usually ends in one place, the bedroom. And maybe that’s where your real gift will be given, the gift of you.

Having taught basic burlesque classes over the past year, one of the questions I’m asked often is, “How can I bring this into the bedroom?” Women from all walks of life have been looking for a way to either feel sultry after dark, to spice up their love lives for a night to remember or start a new chapter of sexy to keep their love fires burning. It’s not as difficult as one might think, because there are no towering headdresses, heavily rhinestoned costumes, nor choreography required. At heart, burlesque is all about the tease. And it’s not what you have on that defines the tease, but what you remove and how you remove it. Here are a few tips and techniques to turn up the heat in the bedroom this Valentine’s Day and beyond.

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•THE SETTING

The first step to bringing burlesque into your special night is setting the mood.

Set your lights low or light candles; firelight can make skin look radiant. Play some music in the background to set your striptease soundtrack. Moving to a sultry beat is far easier to do than swaying to silence! Find music that moves you, yet is a slightly slower tempo with some beats you can really sway a hip to. Practice some moves to your music, taking extra care to move slowly. Every move you make should be slow, sultry and slightly exaggerated. A sexy sway of the hips, a graceful arc of the arm, lowering the head to look up through batting lashes…moves like these raise more than temperatures in the bedroom.

•THE GLOVE

A staple for many performers, the glove is often the first item removed in a striptease. As with all bits of clothing, the removal should be teasing, drawn out a bit, and playful. Gloves can be peeled off slowly by hand, or the fingers tugged gently (and with some sass) with the teeth before removing the arm and hand from within. A peeled glove could be used to give yourself or a naughty viewer a light spanking before you move on.

•THE COSTUME

Wardrobe is not as important as it may seem. From simple and sexy nighties to full on corset and stocking ensembles, what really matters is how it’s removed.

Clothing articles should be taken off one at a time and to the beat of your music. Remove pieces sensuously, and remember that each item is something that can be played with, teasing your lover before discarding and moving on to the next piece. For an extra level of tease, start to remove something, then “change your mind” and slip it back on; it’s a fun way to taunt your viewer!

•THE FAN

One of the most common burlesque props is the fan. For home, you needn’t worry about a giant ostrich number; rather, pick up a small feather or satin hand fan. Fans are used to tease the viewer, and dancers will open and close the fan to hide face and body parts as well as to fan themselves from all the heat they generate. Taking off an article of clothing behind a fan can add an extra layer of excitement before skin is finally revealed.

•THE BOA

A soft, fluffy boa is another great prop used in many ways. Performers swirl them and twirl them around their bodies to create some sizzling simulated acts.

Dancers also hide beneath them after removing clothing, heightening the tease factor even more. And what could be sexier than finishing your strip, coming out in all of your glory from beneath the boa, and using it to rope in your lover?

Before your big night, take a peek through your lingerie drawers and see if you have everything you’d like to incorporate into your new burlesque venture.

If you’re still in need of pointers, there’s a wealth of videos and tutorials online to view and practice to. But the most important part of this night is you and what you have planned. Pamper yourself, get your pretty on, and practice until you feel divine. Your lover will love you that much more!

(Vivian MirAnn is the head mistress of Albuquerque’s Gilded Cage School of Burlesque & The Vaudeville Arts, www.gildedcageschoolofburlesque.com, where she teaches dames just like you how to be tigresses of seduction.)

Photo Courtesy of Dread Naught Photography

It began in 1942, in the small town of

Valencia, New Mexico. It was here that a teenaged Clara Chavez spent her afternoons helping her grandfather, the janitor at the school she attended. Little did Clara know that a handsome farm boy from Folsom, NM, stood gazing at her beauty from a distance.

The home of Orlando Lopez, 18, stood directly across the street from the school, and even though he had his eyes set on this young beauty, fear of the unknown caused him to keep his distance and adore her from afar.

Orlando worked as a cook at the Fred Harvey Hotel in nearby Belen where he prepared meals for the many World War II soldiers that passed through. Inspired to volunteer, he quickly joined the Air Force and soon found himself being shipped off to Guam.

Although the military lifestyle proved a tough one, both treacherous and consuming, there was one thing back home that Orlando couldn’t seem to get off his mind – the sweet, radiant beauty Clara Chavez.

Something deep in Orlando’s heart told him that Clara was the one, and he knew he had to do something about it before it was too late. Orlando decided to write Clara a letter and confess his undying love for her. A surprised and tremendously flattered Clara received the letter and wrote her admirer back, surprising him as well. During Orlando’s time abroad and away from his true love the letters continued back and forth. Before they knew it, a lifelong love was in full bloom.

Soon Orlando knew that he wanted to spend every waking moment with Clara, and he decided to ask for her hand in marriage in one of his many letters.

Clara was a little taken aback.

“I told him I don’t know,” she recalls. “(I said,) we will see how things go when you return.” Orlando came home in February of 1946, and just three short months later the young couple had happily married in an idyllic May ceremony.

A week after they were married the couple relocated to Arizona. The new Lopez family began and Clara took care of the children while Orlando worked. She remembers it being difficult at times because Orlando was forced to work weekends and holidays. Although he offered to quit his job so he could spend more time with her and the kids, they both knew it was unrealistic and they were certain that the right thing to do was ISSUE 5 . 12

to stick it out.

Clara says despite the challenges, she thinks marriages were easier then than they are today because, she says, “Things were just simple,” and life wasn’t filled with the same temptations.

The young parents shared endearing moments together during the 1950s, including watching their kids grow and going out dancing. These small pleasures kept them happy and rejuvenated their love for one another.

“We are like day and night,” says Clara when asked what the hardest part about being married is. “He is very quiet and laid back, and all I do is talk, talk, talk”.

And though Orlando calls her “the speaker of the house,” they are proof that opposites do in fact attract.

Maintaining a healthy relationship and achieving happiness together can sometimes be difficult, and when I asked Clara what it is that keeps them together and happy “You have to respect each other,” says Orlando. “No calling names, and get rid of (bad) habits. She’s got habits and I have habits and we just get rid of them.”

Orlando’s advice on the disagreements every couple faces is wrapped in humor. “We don’t fight at home at all, we just go outside and fight,” pipes Orlando. “Make a joke of

everything, it makes things easier.”

When a disagreement arises, Orlando says he finds it easier just to leave until they both have had time to cool off, therefore they can avoid saying something they may regret.

According to the Lopez’s, this is a very important tactic to a successful marriage.

In every marriage there are those special traits that make you love someone even more.

Clara says the thing she loves most about Orlando is the true goodness that he has.

“He never complains about me being out as long as I want to,” she says. “He may have a frown when I get back, but he never complains.”

Orlando says that Clara is the “angel of the house.” Along with being the speaker and angel of the house, throughout the years Clara has proven herself to also be the cook of the house. She does the cooking and he does all the eating, she jokes.

“Sometimes I get mad at him when he doesn’t want to taste my food,” says Clara. “Sometimes I tell him, ‘I don’t even know why I give you anything.’”

But when it comes to delicacies like Clara’s fresh tamales, Orlando is always the first taster.

Together Orlando and Clara are the proud parents of three children, and the proud grandparents of eight grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. Their holidays are always full of family, which they both enjoy very much.

“We love having the kids over, it makes us happy,” says Clara.

Although they love the joys of family, Clara and Orlando also enjoy the peace of their quiet Albuquerque home, where Clara occupies her time with cooking and cleaning while Orlando likes watching his favorite shows, “Hawaii Five-O” and anything with John Wayne.

They say they like being at home because they suffer from “Viejidous” (old age).

I think we all hope to one day have a love story like Orlando and Clara that will be passed down throughout the years, and over generations. In speaking with the Lopez’s I came away with a renewed outlook on love and what marriage is truly about.

Marriage is not about having money, it’s not about having the perfect relationship, and it’s not about finding someone who is exactly the same as you. It’s about respect, understanding, humor, family, fun and simplicity. And when you put all these words together you get one amazing thing, true love.

The town of Fort Sumner is a sleepy town at the end of a two lane highway, unassuming and reminiscent of 1950s mom ‘n’ pop culture and school pride, except for the tell tale signs of its “shady past.” Along the side of one of two charming main streets, at 1435 E. Sumner Ave., sets a colorful tribute to one of the most notorious characters out of our state’s history books – Billy the Kid. Set in a rustic looking building, the Billy the Kid Museum unfolds into a surprisingly extensive collection of rooms bursting at the seams with not only priceless Kid relics but a plethora of items straight from the Wild West’s rough and tumble history, including Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and John Wayne’s very own business cards, to name but three in a throng of fascinating treasures.

Among some of the most memorable items on display in the museum are the door, bullet holes and all, that Billy was shot through by Pat Garrett on July 14, 1881, a slab of rock where Billy carved his name days before his death, as well as his rifle, spurs, chaps, original wanted poster and even, yes, a lock of his hair.

Past rooms of buggies, cars, saddles, and nameless other pieces of history that paint the picture of the world Billy inhabited, opens a court yard where a replica of his tomb rests just a couple of miles away from the original. Here too is a replica of his jail cell where he made his legendary escape hours before his hanging was scheduled.

Owner Don Sweet inherited the museum from his father, and after having lived his life immersed in the legends about and surrounding Billy, he is perhaps the most knowledgeable man on the subject in the state. Mr. Sweet’s enthusiasm for history and introducing visitors to the real story of Billy the Kid is quickly apparent upon visiting the museum, where he is happy to walk visitors through a chronological timeline of the events surrounding Billy’s last days, bringing the story to life at every stage.

Among the most interesting tidbits that Mr. Sweet will confide is that, as the story goes, Billy had an open opportunity to shoot Garrett and declined. When his camp-mates asked him why he didn’t shoot, he told them it was because Garrett had a wife and kids. Rumor has it Celsa Gutierrez, Garrett’s sister in law, was one of the Kid’s numerous girlfriends. Then, on the night Billy was killed, says Mr. Sweet, Billy was armed with nothing more than a kitchen knife. On a separate occasion, Billy was able to again cheat death by swapping hats with a member of his gang the night before an ambush in which authorities were instructed that Billy would be the one with the green hatband.

According to literature on Fort Sumner, Billy had many friends in the town with lawmen a day’s ride away. If a foe of his entered town, Billy was immediately alerted and would hideout in the country until an ally gave word it was safe to return. A natural lady’s man, the locals will tell you that Billy had a querida in every town.

But the special lady that stands out among the others is Paulita Maxwell, in whose family’s home he was finally discovered and killed.

The following is a fictional story inspired by some of what is known about Billy the Kid and a lot of what the imagination creates to fill in the gaps. All photos were taken on site at the Billy the Kid Museum.

Photo: Krissy Bencomo Model: Carl Drake Billy the Kid Museum Fort Sumner, NM

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ISSUE 5 . 14

“There’s guns across the river, aimin’ at ya...

Billy they don‘t want you to be so free...” Bob Dylan

Billy could feel the mesa’s glistening quartz shards reaching toward him through the thin soles of his worn boots, their dusty snake-skin throats rough and flaking in the unrelenting New Mexico sun as he kicked at the red earth with a silver toe, sending a short cloud of rouge dust into the brittle air. Below him he watched the serpentine curves of the Rio Grande slither through the parched valley, small as a muddy garden snake. A dribble of its thick water licked the side of his face, tracing his profile along its journey to his bare chest where it reluctantly rested in the central space of his chest before evaporating back into the azure atmosphere.

“The first time I ever shot a gun was at a rattler ‘bout that size,” said Billy, his voice cracking the mid-day stillness, startling a jackrabbit from its noonday nap under a mesquite bush. He watched it race half-heartedly from one shady spot to another, its expansive feet moving gracefully on total instinct. “I was 10 if I was a day. There was a copperhead coiled not three feet from me, it’s head poised to strike, and it’s tail just a-shakin’. I’ll never forget the sound of it.

“The first time I ever got inside a whore house I heard it again in one of them Mexican rattles they use with their music. I almost shot the man. He froze, white as ice, and rattle still a-quiverin’ in his hand. It’s a sound I hear in every brothel.”

Colt’s ear bent in Billy’s direction, but she didn’t stop grazing. In the heat Billy could smell her sweat, rising muskily off her sable hide. He walked toward her and scratched her copper bangs and stroked the sheath of her right ear. She sputtered and nodded at him.

“Alright girl, it’s time to ride,” said Billy, buttoning his shirt, the white linen yellowed all over by sweat, cigarettes and whiskey.

From this valley they say you are going.

We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile, For they say you are taking the sunshine That has brightened our pathway a while.

So come sit by my side if you love me.

Do not hasten to bid me adieu.

Just remember the Red River Valley, And the cowboy that has loved you so true.

Billy sang as the day faded into a fiery sunset, and the night passed quickly by the shadowy figures of ranch houses whose troughs he stopped at occasionally to wash his face, water and take a pull from his bottle to fight off the desert chill. Winding through the piñons he’d lower his voice, listening instead to the cicadas, which he regarded the true vocalists of the desert night.

Santa Rosa knew Billy as much as any town could. And she opened her legs for him, as any town would.

“Billy! We’ve missed you,” cooed the

women of Doña Rosa’s Parlor, their bosoms tan as arroyo silt. The early morning patrons, still drunk from the night before, leaned into the poker table, faces on sideways. Billy took a seat, letting his eyes graze casually across his hand.

A sweet young whore named Solidad, who had been in love with Billy since she began working there three years ago, took such early morning games lightly and seated herself on his lap, gently kissing the outside of his neck, the areolas of her breasts winking coyly from her loosened corset like terra cotta-colored moons. She reached for his free hand, resting out of habit on the hilt of his gun, and persuaded it loose, repositioning it more reasonably on the supple

swoop above her hip.

Billy enjoyed a particular fondness for Solidad. There was ease inherent in the knowledge that he would never have to fight to have her and that she would never hold his sins against him.

Solidad, like many of the women at Rosa’s, had come to town with a new husband, a Yankee solider who, smitten by her exotic beauty, promised her the moon.

However, before the honeymoon had ended Sgt. Dillard had found it his responsibility to give her not only a black eye, but a burn across her left ribcage to match. Heated by rage and disillusion, she found the sergeant’s gun while he was sleeping and fired it twice into his chest.

Using a wheelbarrow, which Dillard had had shipped from Massachusetts, Solidad wheeled her husband’s body as far into the desert as she could manage and left him to be eaten by coyotes and buzzards. Nobody missed him.

Drunk on whiskey, Solidad had told this story to Billy one night after learning of his outlaw reputation. He had been impressed by her tearlessness, instead smoking angrily and spitting on the floor for emphasis. It excited him to see a woman filled with such powerful rage and he had had to hold her arms still for fear she would claw him to death in her passion.

After that they had grown to be good friends and something of allies. When he came to town she was the first living person

he hoped to see.

Billy fished his bet out of his pocket but before he could set it on the table, Solidad had taken his hand and, again, more reasonably ran it along the length of her neck. She held his gaze with her chocolate, doe-like eyes, blinking slowly, letting her lips open into a tiny, inviting gasp. Billy pinched Solidad’s cheek, bouncing her twice on his knee, before making her squeal with a sudden, but gentle, bite to her shoulder.

They both laughed.

Solidad was in no hurry to see Billy off.

He only came around once in a while and it was her priority to make their time together last. She removed herself from him coyly and glided behind the bar, removing from the top shelf a bottle of Rosa’s best whiskey, imported all the way from Canada. The full-time bartender and part-time piano player, a meek fellow named Lyle from back East who suffered from tuberculosis and unrequited love, knew of Billy and didn’t stop her, only stared on jealously, wringing his filthy rag.

She poured Billy a glass and led him upstairs. When their initial embraces had ended, Solidad prepared him a hot bath, spoiling him a little with her special stash of French soap. Running her hands lovingly through Billy’s wet hair, a little long and unkempt as usual, she told him about the village she had grown up in and the way the autumn light looked on the red fruits of the chile fields. Billy closed his eyes, listening dreamily to her voice, which reminded him very much of river water passing over smooth stones.

Solidad was a refuge, in every way, from the world that seemed to constantly be closing in on him. But this visit he was finding it difficult to completely unwind.

Since cheating death and escaping jail in Lincoln three months ago, he hadn’t known a full night’s sleep. He was edgy, drawing his gun on shadows and people who evaporated like a heat mirage when he fired.

And now he couldn’t help thinking this may be his last visit with his Solidad. The thought that he might burn in Hell and never have the chance to feel the cool flesh of her body against him again caused a choking sensation to grasp his throat.

He leapt suddenly from the water, startling Solidad, who was describing the color of the arroyo banks after a summer rain. Naked as a Jaybird Billy shot across the room, jamming a chair under the door knob before racing to the window to scan the street below. Suddenly there seemed to be too many men down there, too many suspicious faces. They all looked like Garrett. He ripped the curtains together and stood in the middle of the room, trembling, his pistol in hand.

“Billy?”

He whirled on her, gun aimed high, his eyes ISSUE 5 . 15

Billy the Kid Museum, Ft. Sumner, NM

wild.

Cautiously she walked to him, lowering his arm. He was shaking and she wrapped her arms around him, wishing she could open her body like a coat and wrap him inside of it, conceal him within the cage of her ribs, let him rest against the pillow of her heart. After a spell she released him and turned to pour a drink.

“I have to go,” said Billy, tugging on his pants.

“Where will you go, Billy? Where can you go?” She too had heard the gossip about Garrett’s desire to see Billy hang.

“I aim to meet the boys in Ft. Sumner.

After that, we’ll ride to Mexico. Can’t nobody touch us there.”

She could see in Billy’s eyes that he was reaching, pleading with himself, with fate.

And she knew it would be no use arguing with him, he might shoot her for real, and anyway, she had nothing really to argue for.

His plan sounded better than anything she could think of.

“I’m coming with you.”

On instinct Billy wanted to chide her for being a silly woman with a head full of romantic ideas, but when he looked at her he lost his words. There she stood, small but strong, her long black hair like a halo of dark, wild smoke smoldering from the fire in her eyes. She looked to him like some kind of Mexican demon, the kind known to lurk at the bottom of a tequila bottle, angelic and dangerous all at once, a halo tangled in horns.

He imagined her firing expertly from the top of a black stallion, burning down men in the street, her hair loose and flying behind her.

“Goddammit Billy, I’m coming with you,” she said again, with more conviction this time.

If Billy knew what love felt like he was sure he was feeling it now, making his senses sharp as a knife and clouding them all at once. It was the best thing he’d felt in months.

They reached Ft. Sumner after nightfall, calling on Pete Maxwell for a place to rest and water their horses. They planned to rest a few hours then hide out on the outskirts of town where they’d rendezvous with the gang and ride on to Old Mexico.

Despite the long ride, Billy was excited to have Solidad by his side and was eager to make his desires known to her. Holding her in the afterglow he traced her neck and shoulders with kisses, promising her the largest hacienda in Old Mexico when they got there.

“What have you always wanted, more than anything?” asked Billy.

“To wake up in the morning and do what I feel like. What about you?”

“Freedom.”

In the candlelight his eyes looked more like amber than topaz. She kissed him and rose from the bed. It was time to dress and move out.

“I’ll fill the canteens,” she offered, gliding out into the moonlight. The full moon had been three nights ago but it was still bright out.

One of Solidad’s private delights was moonlight and the way it made everything silver and otherworldly. She heard the horses whinnying and she walked to them, stroking their bangs and whispering quiet love words to them in Spanish.

She had her Billy, the only man, she was certain, that she could really love, and then there was Mexico and the warm night bathed in opalescent light. For a moment it all felt too perfect to hold inside her and she forced down the urge to laugh loudly.

And then, in an instant, a cloud crept across the moon and like the cold fingers of a lover, a chill ran down Solidad’s spine.

The horses’ ears pricked up and she followed their gaze to a shadow moving quickly to their bunk. A queasy fear began in her thighs and shot to her head, making her dizzy for a moment but she was already racing to the bunk.

“Billy!” She heard herself screaming in a strangled voice. “Billy!”

In the bunk Billy had heard the telltale snap of a twig by a step, he could tell, that was much heavier than a woman’s, followed instantly by Solidad’s terrible scream and in a flash he realized his holster was not where it should be. Frantically he grabbed a long kitchen knife from the nightstand where Solidad had earlier carved an apple, and in the moon shadow beyond the door he saw Garrett’s silhouette draw.

A stray piece of barbed wire seemed to uncoil suddenly from the ground, twining itself around Solidad’s ankle. She felt its teeth cut into her, drawing blood. She watched her falling vision smear the moon across the sky, blurring it into the shadowy frame of the bunk where she imagined her lover laying, dreaming of Mexico, of her body, of the way light looks on a chile field in late summer.

Solidad heard the thunderous clap of a gunshot ring out as she felt her body connect heavily with the ground, pushing all the breath from her lungs and suffocating her final scream, “Billy!”

ISSUE 5 . 17

ISSUE 5 . 14

A mixture of people mingle outside in the neon glow of Nob Hill, their laughter warming the brisk winter night. A collection of motorcycles and racers catch the light emitting from the large, inviting windows of Shade Tree Customs and Café where a local band fills the air with an electrifying energy.

The walls are a cozy red, the décor a surprising collection of vintage signs and curiosities, completed by an actual 1978 Suzuki GS750 suspended from the ceiling.

From a distance you are drawn to the Shade Tree’s energy, the obvious excitement and feeling of community radiating from it, something that co-owner Cam Ferguson says is no accident.

“It’s a one-stop culture shop,” he says, adding that it’s a community space inspired by the café racer fad of the early 1960s where motorcycle enthusiasts raced from café hangout to café hangout. Eventually, he says, they’d like to showcase art there, establish a beer garden in the back and project movies in the alley.

“I’m really big on the vintage motorcycle community,” Ferguson says. But the

From left: Model Katie Carlson, owner Jimmie Rox, owner Cam Ferguson, La Loca Francesca Hone

idea that Shade Tree is a “biker bar” couldn’t be further from the truth, something that is evident as soon as you inter the establishment. Serving beer and wine, the bar itself is a work of art created by Eric Thelander who photographed a local motorcycle salvage yard, then acid etched the images into steel that now makes up the foundation of the bar with its top surface comprised of a fascinating collection of gears and parts sealed in resin.

Located in the heart of New Mexico’s

historic Route 66, Shade Tree evokes the road’s history and the motorcycle and car cultures it helped create, which have come to define America for much of the world.

The café’s menu reflects its Mother Road vibe, offering what kitchen manager Jeremy Jourdian calls Americana food.

“There’s so much American food out there that isn’t the same,” he says. “ I’m excited for the opportunity to give Albuquerque Americana food they can’t experience elsewhere.”

The flavors on Shade Tree’s menu linger in the pleasure centers of the brain, the way you remember and crave that favorite childhood dish that only your mother can make. For Jourdian, cooking is cooking, not opening a package. It’s an art form developed over centuries from a basic human need to feed yourself with what you have, creating sustenance for children, elders, and family that is delicious, wholesome, and made by loving, human hands, not microwaves. His mission, he says, is to combine fine dining practices with short order cooking.

ISSUE 5 . 21

“I take pride in cooking correctly,” says Jourdian, adding that they cook everything they possibly can from scratch and take pains to provide the freshest ingredients possible.

“I only serve food that I would serve to my grandmother.”

A few mouth-watering Shade Tree specialties include their flourless chocolate cake (to die for), the fried chicken sandwich, and burgers that are cooked slowly, in their own savory juices. And for the greenies out there, the salads on the menu hold more than a leafy candle to their carnivorous counterparts.

The inception of this new Nob Hill hangout began in a house garage three years ago. Ferguson, a professional motorcycle racer for 7 years and Duke City Rocker member, says he and owners Jimmie Rox and Ryan Greer came together out of a common interest in motorcycles.

From someone’s garage, Shade Tree evolved into a motorcycle shop near Hiland Theatre. Here Greer began toying with the idea of adding a café element to the shop and in the spring of 2013, the fellas landed in the Nob Hill location at 3407 Central Blvd. NE as the country’s only motorcycle shop and café, adding owner Rich Rael into the mix as the creative and artistic director of the restauran.

While they wait for the 4,000 square foot space next door to the café to become ready for their motorcycle shop

to open its doors, the shop operates out of the café’s basement, adding both ambiance and technical issues to the business.

“You can sit here with your food and hear the bikes downstairs,” says Ferguson. “It ads to the atmosphere and attracts people who ride and interests those who don’t.” He says there have already been a few people who have taken up the sport just from entering the café and becoming interested. But on the other hand, the shop takes up valuable storage space for food and beer and remains hidden from the public and walk-in traffic.

The shop specializes in vintage metric and English motorcycles, along with general service, repair and customization.

So until the space next door is ready, the men must rely on word of mouth and something of an underground (literally) following to keep their bike business up, one Ferguson calls “equally as important” as the café.

“This is a laid back atmosphere,” says Ferguson.

“We all bring ideas, concepts and parts of us in here. We want it to be accessible to everyone.”

ISSUE 5 . 22

In a state where community and family rank supreme, it is no wonder we are bursting at the seams with charity groups and social clubs dedicated to improving our communities. Whether it’s raising money for homeless animals or underprivileged children, these groups tirelessly work year ‘round to bring that much more love and light into our world. They do it not for praise or recognition, but out of a supreme goodness of character, and a passion so fiery it holds the power to ignite us all, should we open our hearts to receive it. As we introduce but a few of these organizations, we hope you will be inspired by their stories as much as we are and to do your part to make New Mexico a better place now and for generations to come.

Interview with James Belser, President www.facebook.com/greasers.newmexico Who We Are We are a rockabilly-based organization with a passion for giving back to the community. We embrace the lifestyle of the 1950s in everything from the fashion, music and traditions. We have been involved in multiple fundraisers for cancer and other diseases.

What We Do We offer any services we can to help our community. Some of our work includes: •APD Kutz 4 Kids in giving free haircuts and school supplies to needy children.

•Teaming up with Spirit Halloween stores and organizing a car show to benefit Presbyterian Children's Hospital •Promoting and sponsoring different local events, such as car shows and concerts.

•We also promote and provide photo shoots to local up and coming models with help from GNM supporters.

•Every Christmas we host a dinner for La Familia Foster Home where we provide guest appearances from super heroes and of course Santa for the children.

•We have raised thousands of dollars that have been 100% donated back to different charities.

felt that giving back to New Mexico was more important than selling an image or merchandise, like what our former organization seemed to be more interested in. I myself wanted to have a coed group. Pink Mink Mafia, Duke City Darlins and so on are great organizations but no men were aloud at the time. So I started GSC for men to have a group in which to give back that was not just a car club.

Why We We are there ours,

Are Unique unique because all though are other organizations like we are coed. Both males and females can join.

Why We Do It We started off with a worldwide organization called Greasers Social Club, but we ended up on our own as GNM because we ISSUE 5 . 23

Interview with Tarrah Hobbs, President www.thebabesandbullies.com/ Who We Are We support, defend, advocate, and treasure our pit bulls and bully-breed dogs.

We recognize the bad rap that bully-breed dogs must push through to have a normal home. We all love and appreciate “pitties” and know how wonderful they are, and how hard it is for them to be seen as wonderful in the eyes of the world. We’re here to change that.

We have approximately 20 active members, and was founded in 2008. Any woman can join. You do not have to own a pit bull; you just have to love them as much as we do! If you do own dogs, they must be spayed or neutered, licensed with the city, microchipped and vaccinated. Our annual membership fee is $35 and includes a free calendar.

Interview with Charlie Pacheco, Founder www.facebook.com/TeamCutterCalendar Who We Are Team Cutters is what my dad, brother and I do for work, which is land clearing, flagstone, etc., which started to include rat rod building. My wife and I had discussed doing car shows to raise money for different causes throughout New Mexico and finally started in 2011. We don’t have members, just those who we consider family. Our family and friends have always been a huge part of it all. Without them this would all be a very difficult task.

What We Do In 2011 we were involved with the Cancer Committee of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and The Cancer Foundation of New Mexico, along with Teen Suicide Awareness. In 2012 we were involved with the ISSUE 5 . 24

What We Do We speak for our “pitties” and ask that the community take a second look at such strong breed prejudice. So we: • Volunteer • Foster • Provide Community Outreach • Advocate and educate • Raise money - To provide spay/neuter assistance for low-income bully breed owners - To provide supply and medical assistance to low-income bully breed owners and non-profit rescue groups supporting bully breeds - To assist shelters and rescue groups with monetary aid We want our members to be active in the rescue community, so they are all required to volunteer a minimum of eight hours each month for rescue groups of their choosing.

There are several ways to volunteer, such as working adoption events, walking dogs that are in boarding, transporting, fostering, GBS/CIDP NM Chapter and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of New Mexico. In 2013 we participated in Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Las Vegas (NM) Rape Crisis Center.

Why We Do It Inspiration was: My wife’s dad, who passed from brain cancer, and mother, who currently suffers from GBS. She was just hoping that maybe things could be different and we wanted to help however we could.

We usually hold a car show and Rockabilly contest to raise money. We succeeded for two years, and in our third year we decide to do just a calendar of bombshells with different types of vehicles and our new vixens.

Why We Are Unique We are simply trying to make life,

creating fliers or other educational materials, etc.

Our main project every year is our annual benefit calendar where Babes and their bullies are featured each month. We sell up to 1,000 calendars every year and proceeds from the sales go to our various rescue partners who request financial assistance with vet bills, boarding expenses, etc. Our 2014 calendar is our sixth calendar.

We also have several various fundraising events throughout the year. A few examples include: • Spay-ghetti and No Balls Lunch in Observance of National Spay/Neuter Month • Bowling for Bullies Tournament • Charity Art Auction and Raffle • Rock-a-Bully Battle of the Bands • Brunch for Bullies • Happy Hour with the Babes • Pit Pong Why We Do It We’re an advocacy group – not a rescue group. It is our mission to advocate for bully breeds, promote awareness for the humane animal treatment of bully breeds, and insure the breed’s reputation is perceived in a positive light through community education, outreach, positive relationships and exemplary bully breed guardianship.

Our founders – Kassie Brown, Rachel Starr, and Tiffany Truitt – learned of a group called Pinups for Pit Bulls who are active on the East Coast. They wanted to bring that similar concept to New Mexico so they formed The Babes and Bullies. They were tired of the negative reactions they would get when out in public with their pit bulls or when telling people that they owned pit bulls and wanted to do something to help change that. hopefully, a little easier when it comes to those who have to suffer the grief of loss.

Interview with Deziree Hardin, Founder/President www.dukecitydarlins.com Who We Are Mostly what we try to do is volunteer work and charity fundraisers. Right now we're focusing on something in particular.

We go to the Ronald McDonald House twice a week. We help an organization out that’s called People Helping People located in Rio Rancho.

We have about 30 members, and the organization was created in April of 2009.

We prefer in the Darlins women who are modified (tattoos, piercings, ect), because that is the reason I started this organization.

It doesn't matter how old you are, what race you are, religion or political views you have, or anything like that.

We have monthly dues of $15 that goes back into the organization.

We're branching out because our boyfriends and husbands want to join us, so we're creating something for them to do.

What We Do We all bring something very different and individual to this organization. We all have our different beliefs and our different wants and needs, and we all have desires to help one organization or charity. We're all different ages, and some of us are married, some of us are not. We all pretty much have Interview with Jodi Martinez, Head Doll, NM Chapter www.facebook.com/TheModifiedDollsNewMexicoChapter Who We Are The Modified Dolls are a nonprofit organization that supports a different charity each month. Our goal is to demolish the negative stereotypes associated with being a modified woman by doing charity work.

The Modified Dolls reach out to different organization groups both nation-

children.

We're working really close with Architect Dermagraphics Tattoo Studio, and they are doing a bunch of collaborations with other shops.

We want to help feed the homeless.

I don't remember the name of the organization, but they have a building downtown that different organizations can pay to rent out and feed the homeless all day long. We want to try to get funds to do that. We want to do it at least once a month, and that’s going to be a feat all in itself, but you have to start somewhere.

Why We Do It I've always wanted to do community activism or volunteer work, or something that was important and that makes a positive impact. But, I never had the resources to do it or I was just too busy having a family, so I wanted to be a part of something bigger. I got friends together and went for it and here we are about five years later. A lot of it was hit and miss, and a lot of learn-as-you-go, but it’s been pretty awesome.

Why We Are Unique Right now it’s a place to bring friends together. When I started this organization I wanted to do fulfilling, meaningful, good ally and locally, providing awareness and helping to raise funds.

The New Mexico Chapter was started in January 2012. Some of our reasons for joining stem from deeply rooted backgrounds and personal experiences, and a few of us are fighting our own daily battles with illness. What motivates us is that we can still get up and help those that need us, those that are fighting harder battles!

There is a monthly fee of $5 and any modified woman over the age of 18 is encouraged to apply.

What We Do We

love to be in-

things and have friends that were like-minded that could do it with me. We have, I'd like to think, a sisterhood and friendship, and overall good feelings and positive vibes. volved with anything local, keeping the community strong is important. On a monthly basis we support Ronald McDonald House Charities by cooking dinners for the families that reside there. Just last month we had a holiday craft night there.

We have also worked with PB&J Family Services and recently joined with Friends Feeding Friends New Mexico. Our next charity will be the 14th Annual Belen Matanza to raise money for UNICEF, and this year our biggest project is working with Make-A-Wish New Mexico, where we will be hosting events to raise money to grant a wish for a local New Mexican.

Why We Do It The Modified Dolls are about showing people that we want to make a difference in the world and that it starts in your local community. Simply lending a hand to someone in need or helping a local charity, like a storehouse or shelter, or being able to give more is very rewarding. Most of us have children and they also attend many of our events, as they are family oriented, and the lessons they learn and the smiles they have after they give back is priceless!

Why We Are Unique Our group is unique in that we all our individuals and we all stand out on our own, each bringing a talent to the group so we can grow as a whole and work not as a team but as a family. That’s what the Modified Dolls have to offer, a sisterhood.

ISSUE 5 . 25

“Koffin Kat Day” used to be a sacred event for guitarist Ez Ian Jarrell. The musician's invented holiday only occurred once or twice a year when the Detroit-born psychobilly band, Koffin Kats, would roll through the 505.

“I would get to see my friends in the band and I knew it would always be a good time,” remembers Jarrell. But since joining the band in early 2009, nearly every day since has become a Koffin Kat Day for the Burque native.

Priding themselves on “non-stop touring and trying to make every show a party,” the Koffin Kats played 210 shows in 2013, totaling well over a thousand shows since the band formed in 2003. For Jarrell, the transformation of seeing his family and friends every week to being constantly on the road has its difficulties, but is well worth it.

“I love playing shows. It's what I feel like I was made to do,” says Jarrell. “It means that I party a little bit more than I should, but I have a great time and I love it.”

Sleeping in a van, not taking showers and never

ISSUE 5 . 26

being alone while cruising from city to city could drive anyone a little psycho, but for Jarrell, singer and upright bass player Vic Victor and drummer Eric “E Ball” Walls, this is the type of life they were made for.

As a somewhat rebellious teenager, Jarrell had just started getting into punk rock when a night sermon at the Kiva Auditorium transformed his view of music.

“The first concert I ever saw, that my parents took me to when I was 13, was the Reverend Horton Heat. They were opening up for ZZ Top and it was awesome,” reflects Jarrell. “Their show was amazing and I had never heard anything like the Rev before. But that sound, it changed things for me.”

For years Jarrell had been resistant to his dad's efforts to teach him guitar, instead holding strong to the idea that he would be a drummer, but at 17 Jarrell taught himself how to play guitar. In time, he played with local bands such as It Ends in Tragedy and 12 Step Rebels, but a premiere show for the documentary “Psychobilly Sickness” in San Antonio, Texas, brought the Koffin Kats and Jarrell together.

“I thought that I was going to hate them,” laughs Jarrell. “But by the end of that first night that we played together I loved those guys and we became really good friends and stayed really good friends.” When it came time for founding guitarist Tommy Koffin to pursue a “normal life,” he and Vic called upon Jarrell and the rest has been a four-year

party on the road. Lead singer Vic even gave Jarrell his nickname, “Ez Ian,” after declaring that the name Ian Jarrell sounded more like they had hired a lawyer instead of a guitarist.

But for Jarrell, New Mexico will always be home. Technically homeless at the moment, Jarrell is trying to find a balance between Albuquerque, Detroit and the continuous road.

“I was made for the high desert. Detroit has too much snow and honestly, too many trees,” says Jarrell. “As soon as I get off of the plane and I see the mountains in the east, and the mesa and the volcanoes to the west, it just makes me feel better every time.”

The last time Jarrell and the Kats came to Albuquerque they brought the party back home, filming the music video for “Giving Blood” during their show at Low Spirits.

While the video brings Jarrell home, featuring many of his family members and friends, the Koffin Kat's newest album, “Born of the Motor,” ties directly back to Vic and Eric's own hometown of Detroit.

Always trying to create a record different from the last, “Born of the Motor” touches on the dark and deep mechanical history of the automobile and people of Detroit, as well as life on the road. In their 10 years of creating music, the Koffin Kats have transcended the genre boundaries of psychobilly and hope to reach a bigger and more diverse crowd during their next year of touring.

“We're trying to actually find a way to play with some cross-genre bands and audiences, because we don't feel like we fit in anywhere specifically. We want to try to play with bands that people wouldn't expect us to,” says Jarrell. “We have so many fans that we've been playing for and we love, and we just want to try to expand and bring more people into it so that the parties can just get bigger and better.”

ISSUE 5 . 26

Photos Courtesy of Ian Jarrell

It goes with out saying that electronic ignition is far superior to the old points and contacts system that was used for many years before the advancement of modern ignition systems. But what about us broke asses that cannot afford the upgrade or need to put our money elsewhere to get the old dog running?

We still want to drive the car, now! A set of contacts and a condenser will cost us less than the upgrade. Setting up the points is not hard and just requires a little patience and practice to start feeling comfortable with the process.

Points are adjusted and set by measuring dwell (you can adjust them by measuring the open gap, however it is not as accurate.) Dwell is the number of degrees the distributor shaft turns while the points are closed. For example, if dwell calls for 30 degrees, the points are closed for 30 degrees on the distributor shaft. The points need to be closed for a specific amount of time so that the coil will build up the maximum magnetic flux in the ignition coil core. As the engine RPM increases, the distributor moves faster and the time that the points are closed decreases, which will cause a decrease in ignition voltage. We can go on and on about what dwell is, does and why, however this article will focus primarily on setting the dwell.

It is important to inspect your points for hot spots and wear.

If there are blue/dark hot spots, and the thickness of the points still looks relatively good, you can service the points by sanding them down. (Your lady friend might have a fingernail file that will work great!) If the points look like they are too burnt, then the condenser has likely failed and should be replaced. IMPORTANT: Always replace points and condenser as a pair. Replacing the components is easy and if you cannot figure out how to change them you have no business under any hood, ever.

The dwell is adjusted by setting the points to a specified gap at the maximum opening of the points, and the larger the gap the less the dwell. Adjusting the dwell will affect the timing so it is important to set the timing after the dwell is adjusted. Often, all that is needed to adjust dwell is a dwell meter and a screwdriver.

Old voltmeters often came with a dwell meter built in.

Unfortunately newer ones don’t, so go dig into your dad or grandpa's toolbox and find their old meter and surely there will be a dwell meter built in.

Put the positive lead of the meter to the ignition coil negative (points side) and the black lead to chassis ground. It is best to check dwell with the engine running. Take your measurement and adjust as needed.

If you have a GM distributor you will likely have a window in the distributor cap so that the points can easily be adjusted while running. Most other distributors require you to shut off the vehicle, remove the cap, adjust and re-check. If you are adjusting the points by way of removing the distributor cap, be sure to have the vehicle turned off or you will get an unpleasant shock. Sound easy? Well that's because it is!

(Dustin Brown is a third-generation mechanic and owner of Don Brown Automotive, 6001 4th St. NW, Albuquerque, where they work on all automotive makes and models.)

ISSUE 5 . 28

Here are some pointers for points that one might find useful: 1. Broken down on the road with no spark, points are stuck closed, and no dwell meter? Grab your lady's nail file and a match from a matchbook. File down the smoked points and gap them with the match. Now you’re back on the cruise and have bought some time before needing to replace those bad boys again!

2. Dwell seems to be bouncing on the gauge? Removed the distributor cap and rotor and look at the distributor where the points ride on the shaft. It is not too uncommon for one of the lobes on the distributor to wear down, causing the points to stay closed too long and cause a miss fire. Here it would make sense to convert to electronic versus searching for a new distributor shaft.

3. Miss firing or running rough at high speeds, but dwell is set right?

Hopefully the timing was checked, but also check that the vacuum and mechanical advance are operating correctly. If so, the coil is likely going out by not building up the magnetic flux as quickly as it should. However do not forget about possible engine mechanical or carburetor issues. I would start by looking for a bad coil.

Last note: Remember dwell, timing, and then fuel mixture!

Skin Deep at Wolf’s Head

An Inky History Tattoos are no new phenomena to the human family. For thousands of years, these permanent designs have been used as symbols of love, religious beliefs, adornment and even punishment. Around the world, you will find our human history written through tattoos, with some as famous as Ötzi the Iceman, a frozen 5,200-year-old mummy discovered in 1991 in the Alps. Ötzi sported an impressive 50 tattoos all over his body, created by filling minor cuts with charcoal. The tattoos were places in such a way as to lead some researchers to believe they marked acupuncture points.

It is often assumed that historically tattoos were the mark of sailors, convicts, and as charms against disease for prostitutes. In truth, the art form can be traced to early Egypt, where some historians believe priestesses and high-ranking women used them therapeutically as protective amulets during pregnancy and birth.

In Japan, the earliest evidence of tattooing is found in 5,000 BC in clay figurines depicting tattooed human faces. From the 7th century until the end of the 17th century Japanese tattooing, or irezumi, was used exclusively as punishment.

Decorative tattooing eventually flourished in Japan during the 18th century but came to a halt in the 19th century and was made illegal until the end of World War II. Today, tattoos continue to get a bad rap in the country and many places will outwardly ban tattooed Japanese citizens from entering. Further, only members of the Japanese mafia, the yakuza, wear the full-body tattoos often associated with Japan by Westerners.

Meanwhile, among the Maori people of New Zealand, tattooing exists as an important and treasured part of the culture. According to the Maori, the practice came to the people during a love affair between a young man and a princess of the underworld.

In this story, the lord of the underworld taught tattooing to the Maori.

Since the head was considered the most sacred part of the body, all high-ranking Maori sported facial tattoos and tattooing began at puberty as an ISSUE 5 . 29

If you are looking to get inked, let’s face it, you can pull up to any neighborhood in Albuquerque and be within 10 quick minutes of a tattoo shop. However, most people with tattoos will tell you that when they get inked, it is usually by someone with whom they have a close, trusting relationship with. Letting someone permanently mark your body is definitely an intimate experience. Following this train of thought, my go-to artist is Mateo Sigworth, owner of Wolfs Head Tattoo in Albuquerque, and a close friend.

Sigworth’s love of tattoos began at the age of 15. His older cousin Oscar, who had many tattoos, he says, inspired him.

Originating as a graffiti artist, Mateo became very intrigued by this permanent form of art. His cousin’s neighbor Tommy, a well-known prison tattoo artist, allowed Sigworth to give him a tattoo, the first tattoo he would ever give anyone. He was so inspired by this experience that soon after he began making his own tattoo

honored rite of passage.

Needless to say, among the Puritans and other Christian colonizers of the Americas, tattoos were considered a heathen practice, a sentiment that in some ways has lingered into the 20th century. In the Bible, tattoos are condemned in Leviticus 19:28.

However, in the United States, tattoos are no longer reserved for certain factions of society and have become much more common and acceptable. Everyone from doctors, schoolteachers, clergymen, and lawyers can be found adorned in this permanent form of art.

In 2012 a headline in the “Catholic Herald” read, “Tattoos are a matter of taste, not morality,” and that the Church does not oppose tattoos, granted the image itself is moral.

machines and practicing on friends and family.

The homemade tattoo life was short lived as Sigworth began to focus on other jobs and arts. Soon, however, he realized how much he missed exploring this interest, and began mentoring with tattoo artists Dabs, Nore and Porky for three years to “learn tattooing the proper way.”

In 2007, Sigworth began a full-time career as a tattoo artist, opening his first shop, Bare Knuckles Tattoo.

Throughout his career he has practiced many different styles of tattoos, including old school, tribal, fine line work and lettering.

But, at the end of the day, he prefers the old

American sailor style, black and grey, and Japanese styles. He says he loves these styles most because of their patterns and bold colors.

As a shop owner, Sigworth said at times he finds it difficult as the stress of running a business can take time away from “the art” of tattooing. But he never sees himself giving up on what he loves, and says in the next five years not only does he plan on keeping his shop alive and well, but also plans on traveling with other artists, getting his work published into more tattoo magazines and even publishing a couple of books.

“This is what I do. This is what I love,” says Sigworth.

o Wolf’s Head Tatto rque, NM ue uq E, Alb 421 San Mateo N (505) 373-8522

Sign: Aries Loves: Absurd beauty Dream Job: Scenic artist If I Was A Drink: IPA Favorite Food: Anything green, unless it’s green jello.

Perfect Day: Being around people I care about and being creative.

Carrie Tafoya ISSUE 5 . 14

Self Portrait

Art is something that is thoughtful,

naturally talented, provokes reflection and allows us a glimpse of beauty. Can drinking like and Irishman be an art? I think so. I would offer a tutorial of sorts, however, please bear in mind that there are really no rules. Instead, I will offer some basic boundaries, learned from years of experince and family guidence. From there I urge you to choose your own adventure. #1. BE POLITE I have a bro-uncle named Patrick. He is my bro-uncle because my grandfather divorced at 50 and had another child. So while he is technically my uncle, Patrick is 10 years younger than me, more like a brother. He was drinking beer and engaging in general shenanigans one evening.

A long time friend of his felt it would be a good idea to give him a hard time in his own home. Like any good Irishman, Patrick wouldn't have it. The situation eventually evolved into fist-a-cuffs, and Patrick prevailed. When his friend was attempting to get up after what was a hard blow to the forehead, Patrick decided that his current opponent should be kicked.

When I heard the story for the first time I asked, “Don't you think kicking him while he was down was a little harsh?” To this Patrick replied, “No, I took my flip flop off before I kicked him.” You see, Patrick was polite. #2. DON’T REFUSE A DRINK When you have decided to drink properly, it is a social thing. Not to say that drinking at home alone is a bad thing, but being out in the world can be far more rewarding. If you run into an old friend, offer to buy him a drink. If you run into a new friend, offer to buy him a drink.

If you are offered a drink, enjoy it with the one who bought it for you. While this may seem mundane, what is really happing is a sacred thing. You and the buyer of said drink are breaking bread, celebrating life and liberating yourselves of the day’s troubles.

This is the most honest you will ever be, because you are allowed to discuss all things, though of course this excludes ISSUE 5 . 32

politics, religion or art, but that should go without saying. Remember, this is the time of your life, embrace it. #3. SHARE THE LOVE My father and I were sitting together at his home on a Friday night, drinking beer after a week’s work. He used to say this was our “God given right for being born Irish.” I just viewed it as good fun, but now I understand what he was talking about.

Although he was a man of few words, after some beers he would start to loosen up, as one does. We were listening to Merle Haggard. I can't remember the song, but it had something to do with being boozy and a woman leaving. He said to me, Y' know son, Merle Haggard is Irish.”

“Is he?”

“Yep,” my father replied, convincingly. I thought for a second and said, “That name doesn't sound Irish. Merle Haggard? That's not Irish.”

My father paused and said, “Well, he sure as shit is Irish at the moment.”

Making things that may or may not be Irish all of a sudden optimize being Irish, is super Irish.

to unsavory decisions. My Uncle Jim paid for a dance for me in the “private” room.

He said, “Just go to that curtain, and enjoy the show.” I slowly rose from my chair, and strode proudly toward that random curtain. I stopped before entering to make sure that my coordinates were correct, and my father, two uncles and grandfather were standing directly behind me.

Uncle Jim said, “If I'm paying, we’re all watching.” Setting the creepiness of the situation aside, we all entered. Booze is a strange and lovely thing, I thought.

A pretty young girl and a very tiny stage awaited. She was surprised to see a group of thick necked, red faced micks come barreling through the curtains, but was ultimately unphased and truly professional. My father sat to my left, my grandfather on my right and I wasn’t sure where my uncles were, but they were still there.

The dancer said, “The rules are: No smoking. I will dance for two songs and you can't touch me or touch yourselves. Any questions?”

I put up my hand like a 4th Grader, pointed to my father and said, “Can I touch him?” We all died of laughter, and she danced for free because we were “silly company”.

I learned how to drink on that trip, but more importantly, I learned that a sense of humor in an awkward moment is the mark of a true Irishman.

So, if you take a few of these things into consideration you should have a fine time this Saint Patrick’s Day. A great Irish proverb goes as such, “You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” That being said, get out there and enjoy yourself! Erin Go Bragh!

#4. DON’T LOOSE YOUR HUMOR

I had just turned 21 years old. As a rite of passage, my father took me to Las Vegas, and we were accompanied by my uncles Jim and Chuck. Also, my grandfather joined us.

Being good Irishmen, beer and shots were at a level I have yet to rival, and they were “Showing the boy how it's done,” and “We’re Irish damn it, and this is part of our heritage to learn how to drink properly without....blah, blah, blah.”

We inevitably ended up at a rather seedy strip bar, and blurred vision and poor lighting at this point leading

From left: Carl McBride, Justin Comyford, Ben Pankey

Valentine’s Day; one of the busiest date nights of the year, loved by lovers and loathed by the single and jaded across the nation.

It seems that a cocktail befitting the occasion would be in order, but perhaps with a bit of a twist for those who find the day not quite to their liking. Something tasty with flavors reminiscent of giant cardboard hearts stuffed with sticky sweet candies, but with undertones of doom and a hint of smartassery.

Enter the Vampire’s Kiss.

Made with vodka, this martini (more of an ice-less cocktail, actually) combines flavors of chocolate and a bite of cherry with subtle undertones of cream and vanilla, but presents like a Gothic fairytale. The surface of the drink is as creamy and smooth as the proverbial virgin’s skin, with two brilliant drops of blood from a late night bite. The drink is easy to make, and a quick trip to a liquor superstore will yield the necessary ingredients. Whip up a few this Valentine’s Day, toast your dearly beloved (or departed) and enjoy!

Ingredients 1.5 oz. Veil Chocolate Vodka .75 oz. Tolòn-Tolòn Chocolate Cream Liqueur 1 oz. Veil Cherry Vodka 1.5 oz. Heavy Cream Dash Grenadine

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The moon-cycle: Full Moon: February 14th & March 16th New Moon: March 1st, March 30th February and March will be great months to re-think, re-plan, and re-adjust order within your life.

Take advantage of the multitudes of moon-energy flowing within these two months. Meditate, focus, and utilize this time to create mantras. Use 2014 as the year to advance and make things happen by no longer allowing for excuses. many ways: Physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Do not hold in your secrets, convert them into knowledge and construct them into peaceful projects of renovation.

Your inner-power will be the key to the temple you remodeled.

Aries – March 21st to April 19th Enthusiasm may feel like it’s lacking to an Aries. This is perfect timing to reflect and revisit those ideas you put on the back burner.

With the full moon energy present, it is a great time to express creativity within yourself. Make Leo – July 23rd to August 22nd your leap of faith. Take that risk to benefit you Art and creativity will be most appealing to in the long run. you these months. At times, you will feel like your motivation is lost but in all reality it will Taurus – April 20th to May 20th still be there waiting by your side, sleeping This is perfect timing for the Taurus to let go of because you allowed it to. Wake it up. You are past issues associated with dwelling. 2013 is stronger than what you think of yourself. You over, gone, and done. 2014 will test you, it will may want a big change, but before you leap make you or break you. There will be lovers, into action—stop, breathe, analyze, lift your money issues, and stress that the Taurus will head and meditate upon it. Do not make any hide and those matters will need to be rash decision. Think of those in your life who exposed and then released. The toxins need to may need help and reach out and console be relinquished. Take a few moments during them. Slow down negative addictions by the day to daydream, meditate, and learn from seeking new tasks that will create positive your past by looking at 2013 as a lesson. See energy. today as your future and embark on a new opportunity or path. Do not look back. Allow Virgo – August 23rd to September 22nd growth by seeing the good enter your mind, Unexplained sensitivity will play several roles and make it work for you. during these two months. Roll with it, as they

Take advantage of these two months to balance yourself, rather than tipping to one side.

Scorpio – October 23rd to November 21st Nurture yourself during these two months and re-evaluate 2013 issues that may have followed you into the new year. Begin healing yourself by finding peace within 2014. Focus and change by allowing yourself special moments of pampering. Remember how amazing you are.

Sagittarius – Nov. 22nd to Dec. 21st The moon energy will work for you in amazing ways during these months. Make peace with any issues you struggled with, as this time is perfect to create beautiful foundations within your life. Learn to meditate and let go of what you can’t control. Work on yourself by remembering the importance of right now. New opportunities may reveal themselves to you, but think before you act upon making choices.

Capricorn – December 22nd to January 19th Your artistic ideas are probably going to fly off the chart. Sit down and put the right puzzle say, but create a place of peace within your Gemini – May 21st to June 20th piece into its place. Use your creativity to paint home. Allow yourself to sit and relax in the The new moon will be your friend, Gemini. Like corner-sanctuary you made for you. Organize itself. The strong energy you feel will urge you it or not, you will need to conquer the fears to get out more. This energy will allow you to your thoughts to structure change. Do not that you hide. Putting on a mask to conceal meet people and will create the spark you stuff them in random spots—create order. your inner being will not work, especially need to illuminate your drive. Absorb all that is Schedule time with those who reflect light during February and March. Redirect yourself upon your life as their support will create good around you and use the light around you towards a new path by stepping out of normal energy you need. Change will be amazing for to create your own flow of positive energy, and comfort zones. Utilize the surrounding energy you, so plant your thought-kernel and allow stay warm. to build a higher you and/or mend specific it to grow into uncontained beauty. times within your life. Be good to yourself.

Aquarius – January 20th – February 18th Stressing much Aquarius? These two months Libra – September 23rd to October 22nd Cancer – June 21st to July 22nd will be perfect to reflect. Be thankful of your We all know what Libras are known for: Cancer, out of all months, February and March Balance. Libra will definitely be balanced on past lessons, for they are the foundation of will be extra work for you—please don’t hurt your paved future. With precision and detail, its fulcrum during February and March. the messenger. The moon energy will have your road is smooth. Utilize the signs around Remember to be clear with each intention, others rub you the wrong way, not once, but each curve and hill. Your instincts will guide for your actions will impact you the rest of several times. Short tempers will flare up. It will the year. Opinions are good, but try you to the next destination on your path. Do feel like you’re on a treadmill running controlling each suggestion you voice as you not worry or over analyze these signs, but constantly, but what you won’t realize is your focus on the journey and enjoy the scenery. may hurt those you speak to and sound inner-self will be moving forward. Do not lose abrasive to your receiver. This may not be Sing a mantra and occasionally look at your your power of optimism, and continue to look your intent. Libras, there may be unfinished map made of hopes and dreams and other at the Brightside. Continue to run on that motivational imagery. Continue down your projects started. Allow yourself time to treadmill. Continuous running is beneficial in path singing. All will work out. complete these projects and move forth.

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