Black velvet painting museum

by Jamie Rhein on

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, it’s not uncommon to see people selling velvet paintings from a parking lot stand. Whenever I passed by these makeshift displays, I always wondered who might buy such paintings. I have an answer. There is one couple in Portland, Oregon who has bought more than 1,000 over the past ten years.

Collecting velvet paintings is an endeavor they take seriously and have a museum to prove it. At the Velveteria Museum, they showcase 300 pieces from their collection that run the scope of velvet painting “art,” Subjects and style vary. From jungle cats to women who smoke, they have it all.

Now that I’ve found out about this place, I do have a heightened curiosity about velvet painting traditions and what are the most popular. I read a review in Portland Picks,( #6 on the list), and Velveteria gets a plug for a fun place to brush up on kitsch. According to the description, paintings have been purchased from as far away as Peru.

It’s amazing to me the various items people collect. If there’s the space to display the goods, there you have it–a museum. Consider the Captain Beany, the guy in Wales who has a museum to honor baked beans. See what I mean?

Hot tamales: the best place to get them

by Jamie Rhein on

My first tamales, sad to say, where the canned version that Hormel puts out. When I was a child my grandfather owned the grocery store in a small town in Kentucky. We were allowed to pick food from the shelves for our meals when we visited. A can of tamales was my first choice. Pork rinds were my second. Also, sad, but true.

Once I moved to New Mexico, I learned that tamales actually have texture and come in wonderfully flavorful varieties like green chiles and chicken. Today, I heard about the best tamale place in the world, according to the folks on the NPR show “Splendid Table.”

Rhonda’s Famous Tamales, a cafe that also serves soul food, isn’t in New Mexico, but in Arkansas. Located in the Arkansas Delta region of the state in Lake Village, Rhonda’s is one of those places that is worth driving out of you way for. If Arkansas wasn’t so far from Columbus, and I didn’t have so much to do, I’d be there for dinner.

Rhonda cooks her tamales in a coffee can–12 per can. The suggested way of eating them is scooping them out with saltine crackers. If you get the Hormel version, you can smash them up on white bread. Don’t forget to sop up the juice.

Another reason why flying is frustrating and driving is a plus

by Jamie Rhein on

When I lived in Albuquerque, going to New York to visit family meant flying there. It’s too far to drive for a quick trip. Then, when I moved to Singapore from Albuquerque, flying was a definite must. The first time I visited New York after moving to Ohio, my brother asked me in a phone conversation, “So what time is your flight?”

‘We’re driving,” I said.

“Oh, that’s right. It seems weird that you’re driving.”

It did seem weird, but what a relief to not be rushing out of the house to try to catch a flight. When the car is loaded, we go. If we forget something and remember it by the time we get to the highway, we go back and get it. If we leave by 9 a.m., we arrive (with stops for a sit down lunch and gas) about eleven hours later. Along the way, we can see where we are going and know what has passed behind us.

There is such freedom in driving knowing that one can control time variables–unless of course, there is road construction or a wreck that slows down progress.

My dad about an upcoming trip that has reminded me, once again, why we’ve decided to drive to Montana this summer. In May, my dad is flying to Albuquerque from New York on a vacation, and he just received notice from Delta that his 6:40 a.m. flight is now at 6:00 a.m. His new departure time means a three-hour wait in Atlanta. As he said, “You can’t count on airlines when you’re making plans.” Because he has to drive a couple hours to the airport, this earlier flight is not welcome.

The unforeseen travel circumstances because of flying is one reason we’re getting our car tuned up and relying on our own volition to go from point A to point B during our summer trip. Flights have gone up in cost. Baggage costs more and delays are almost guaranteed. The past two years, we’ve flown, but it doesn’t seem worth it.

One beauty of driving is that we get to choose the places we may want to hang out for three hours or so to break up the scenery. My choice is an historic site over an airport. We’ll depart when we leave, and we will arrive when we get there. We can chose our route. Simple. We don’t charge extra for more luggage either.

The thing about driving, though, is that you have to have enough time to get there. We have the time and have friends we can stay with along the way to cut down on motel costs. Sometimes, you have to fly. In that case, make sure you check your departure time. It may be earlier than you think.

Check Flight Arrivals.com. It’s a Web site that lists the commercial flight schedules in the U.S. and Canada.

Hanta Virus in American Southwest

by Erik McLaughlin on

The Hanta Virus is a little known problem of those who live and travel in the American Southwest. Unfortunately, Hanta has a reputation for killing people and should be taken seriously. A recent article discusses a case from February, 2008. Knowledge of transmission and prevention are needed to prevent a great “Indiana Jones” style adventure, visiting ghost towns, from making you very sick.

Hanta Virus first got major media attention with an outbreak in New Mexico in the early 1990’s. The “Four Corners” area (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado) was the epicenter of infectious disease and epidemiological research. This outbreak allowed researchers to determine that the disease is spread through contact with infected rodent urine and feces. Spread of Hanta between humans, directly, is not common and believed impossible.

Rodents are ubiquitous in the American Southwest and they are the primary vector for disease transmission. People especially vulnerable to this are hikers and backpackers and those who live in more rural areas. Exploration of ghost towns is a popular vacation activity and caution should be taken when doing this. These ghost towns attract the rodents and visitors to these buildings are putting themselves at potential risk through contact with animal urine and feces. However, of more than 100 reported cases, only 2 have come from hikers. The rest are from people cleaning their garages, vacation homes and other areas that include rodents excreta. Bleach solution and rubber gloves are proper protection measures, along with adequate ventilation while cleaning vacation homes or garages.

Hanta Virus symptoms include a flu-like illness with muscle aches and pains, headaches, nausea and vomiting and fatigue being common. There is no cure for Hanta Virus and care is supportive (treating the symptoms only). Worse is the Hanta Pulmonary form that classically appears after the person appears to have recovered from the initial infection. The person;s lungs fill with fluid and progression can be quite rapid, in hours in fact.

There have been 76 cases in New Mexico, since 1993, with 31 deaths.