PEACE, YA'LL: This Aztec calendar mounted in El Paso's Myrtle Stret park perhaps is sending out a message to visitors burdened with today's hectic lifestyles. Slow down; follow the sun. And take Life a little easier.



By A. Daniel Bodine

desertmountaintimes.com

EL PASO—Not often one has the opportunity these days to praise a local environment and the people who've made it that way, so you sure want to take advantage of it when you see it. And for the City of El Paso, this is one of those times indeed.

Last year most know the city was ranked the Safest City in America, despite what's happening across the river in Juarez, MX. A statistical anomaly perhaps? If you live here, you know it's not. But now, try on Newsweek/Daily Beast ranking it the Can-Do capital of the nation. Care to say, Well, shut my mouth! in Spanish?!

I caught on to the fact something, indeed, out of the ordinary was happening in El Paso over the years while living downstream in Presidio, and attending the annual municipal court schools held here needed for a city's re-certification of its court system. Just a certain upbeat spirit in the air, you know? These folks are getting city planning down to an exact science.

One of the things that piqued my interest particularly was stories I kept hearing about a desalinization plant. Now most folks know in Texas whiskey is for drankin' and water is for fighting over. Plain and simple. Eons ago this ol' land was covered in oceans; millions of acreage feet of salt water below the crust today is living testimony to it. But now this is desert, man! You can't drink that brackish stuff! Git real!

But here they're doing it. When we moved over here last year Noemi and I saw the rather large desalinization water plant located on federal property off of Montana Avenue, part of Fort Bliss land. Whoo!

Then this week, with Texas in the grips of perhaps its worst drought ever and the Statesman reporting neighbors in Austin actually tellin' on each other if someone violates the no-watering ban (Who'd ever thunk of that!), lo and behold the Texas Tribune runs a story about soon-to-be bone-dry Odessa folks getting with El Paso officials this past summer to copy its desalinization work. That's worthy of drinking a toast to, yes!

And to top that then today, yep, here comes the story in the El Paso Times about Newsweek putting the city on top of its ranking of “Can-Do Capitals” in the U.S., based on such factors as sustainability, livability, transportation and infrastructure, and business development.

Did those judges have to consider yaahoos behind the wheel darting and wheeling in and out of nightmarish traffic at 4 p.m. each day on I-10? Huh?

Never mind, we got a loop thru the mountains that fixin' to take care of that, Jethro! Hush your mouth!

And there's sure nothing in the cards that says El Paso someday could become the culturally sophisticated, philosophical idea capital of the universe that Dallas has always meant to me, of course.

But hey, you can't have your cake and eat it, too, right? El Paso is trendy hot now! Get over it! Chase that dog back across the street and toot some about this. Whoop, whoop!

We always enjoy hearing from readers. Leave some comments beneath the story or write Dan directly at dan@desertmountaintimes.com.

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