Truth or Consequences ( T or C ) (TorC) (Las Cruces, Roswell: leasing, condo)

[dracul]

On a previous visit to TorC we dined at Big a Burger and I had the largest, most decadent burger of my hungry life!!! However, this latest trip a few weeks ago did not similarly reward: the place was closed! Perhaps the kids that were running it before (after the owner's death) ran it into the ground. No more monsterous burgers to clog my arteries...darn!

[Sturgis]

Hmm. also not arguing, i've been re-evaulating my stance on T or C. I still like the place, everything I said still holds true, but its not "oppositeness" that makes the difference I think. Its more forced circumstance. This will sound strange but I think i'm "lucky" to be as disabled as I am. I don't have to work (not on welfare) have family here, know a very few really awesome people, and pretty much confine myself to the known and trusted circles.

Having said all that, I have also seen the fringes of this twilight zone you speak of. Like the day I was in a place of business and they were holding a discussion of how much overtime they were going to get because the rest of the employees were arrested for Meth.
Having beer bottles thrown at a wheelchair van that I was in by a jerk in the IGA parking lot.

I suspect the thing with Truth or Consequences is that its diffucult to avoid the pockets of twilight, and that the incidence of "strange" per capita here is most likely higher than the national average. If anyone knows a good source for weirdness demographic information please let me know.

From my perspective this place provides me everything I need. I don't get out that often, when I do i'd rather go see people in my circle of trust (to borrow a phrase from a movie), or go out on the mesa just a bit to drive around. Can't go far anymore, but can still get away some.

The place I mentioned in Montana was the same deal. I knew a few special people who made it worthwhile, and other than that, I got to be in the woods with animals, trees and the glories of nature.

I guess i've figured out how to be content no matter WHERE I am. The exception to this is when I was working as a phone tech for a "major computer company" and was on the escalation lines. 10 hours a night of people who are angry and yelling at ME becuase the other 12 techs couldn't help them. Add in the people who call in because they're lonely, the ones who are drunk or stoned, the ones who don't even HAVE a computer but hey its 1am here and theres nobody else awake that I can talk to, the ones who will lie through their teeth about whats wrong with their computer to get a replcement yet you can hear the kid sayin "but mom, I spilled a glass of water in it" type of calls. Of all the jobs i've ever had, thats the only one I truly hated both for the lack of help people were getting from us, as well as the way I was treated by people calling in. (I don't blame them i'd be mad too)

Pretty much the key for ANYONE (no differences here) is to figure out what you need, where you can get it, and then GO there. I'm just fortunate in that my needs are small, and can be met almost anywhere.

Speaking of which, thx for the coffee this morn HighDesert, I always appreciate a reason to get out of the house.

Hope everyones doin well,
Ceilingboy.

Originally Posted by anomoly

I don't want to argue, because it's true that 'one man's ceiling is another's floor', but.....
I get kinda irritated when people assume that because you dont like TrC, (or anything else) that it must mean that it's because you must want the extreme opposite.
Sturgis, you mentioned liking an even smaller town. I don't think my feelings about TrC can be explained due to it being a 'small town'. There is just something 'depressing' about TrC, and the people there. I felt more desolate going out there, than I did being home alone.
There are small towns, and then there are 'twilight zone' small towns!
Some may love it in TrC, but alot of people feel like Don'tDoIt. Me, for one. I felt like myself becoming Zombie-like the longer I stayed there. I started feeling like I didn't know how to leave after awhile!
Thank God I got out. I literally felt like I started breathing again as soon as I got to Las Cruces !

[Sturgis]

Ok this one just made me smile because of one of your lines. I think the new T or C slogan should be a modification of that line.

Truth or Consequences, the Can't Do city!
First giggle i've had in a while, thx!

Originally Posted by designer

I think many of the people that I know in T or c are wanting out because
not much seems to ever get done and some of us have lived there for longer
than we would like to admit. Also most of us didn't care about making the
drive down to Las cruces once or twice a week to go shopping but now
since gas has gone up so much that has made a big difference. I might
ad that some of these people have invested in different bussinesses
and lost big time so they are pretty down on T or C. I know a few more
that used to be big time T or C supporters but when their business failed
they seemed to blame the city and the people so now they are gone.
I'm in Roswell right now and I just checked out the WallyMart here
and sure enough many things are lower priced than the new
Walmart in T or C. I asked one of the floor managers here in Roswell
why this was and he said it goes by the sales volume and walmart
pretty much knows that smaller towns will not have to big volumes.
I think if you like a funky town you will love T or C but if you like
a can do type of city you might not like it at all. Roswell seems to have
some money judging by the large new bank buildings over here.

[Compression]

"Can't do City" sounds good to some.....
As I've peroused this thread, and had some very good, specific info provided regarding what was most interesting to me. I've noticed some interesting parallels to my past and present situation....
When I moved to my current home(Cape Coral, Fl) almost 18 years ago. I found a under developed area with it's own niche, or claim to fame, in it's canal system. Other than that, there was little here, some small mom and pop type eateries, and retail outfits, no large national type stores. If you wanted that, you had to go across the river to Ft. Myers, where there was one regional mall, surrounded by a limited selection of big chain fast food outlets.
It was a quiet, homey, "community". It had its good, and it's bad, it's character's and personalities, like anywhere else. People here were hungering for new development, some recognition. Sandwiched between Tampa and Miami, it felt lost. As the area was still underdeveloped, it needed everything. A guy with some ambition could start a small enterprise, and grow it, along with the population, slowly at first, and later, as the boom began, it was hard to keep up. With the boom came the big restauraunts, malls, even a Supercenter WalMart. Cape Coral had found itself. Population doubled, road construction and other infrastructure couldnt keep up with the influx of people. It became an impersonal, overcrowded, overbuilt, gridlocked mess, that has too much in common with Tampa and Miami. Only without the industry to support it's burgeoning population. It now routinely trades places on a monthly basis with other places like Sacramento, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Detroit for the highest number of foreclosures in the nation. It burned itself out. Now empty houses, and a growing number of empty commercial buildings, many still under construction dot the landscape. Call it Paradise lost, if you will. It isnt familiar to what I came too less than two decades ago.
Mind you, I've never set foot in TrC, but the way it is described here, and the opinions expressed make it seem familiar. The buzz about the new Wally world, talk of a nascar track, Virgin Galactic, other new development, etc. The desire, of concerned citizens, to see it develop into something a bit more cosmopolitan, like it's bigger neighbors. Even the bad, mixed in amongst the positives, makes it sound like a "real" and attractive place to be. Others will find the attraction, and they will come. I will(I wish you all would)keep it a secret a while longer, and enjoy what you have, while you still have it

[Sturgis]

Yep, thats the problem with wishes. Sometimes they're granted and you end up wishing you could take them back.

I also figure tho that if T or C booms, property values will rise dramatically, it'll become harder to maintain current relationships without a zillion others having an impact on a person, traffic will increase exponentially, and.. we'll sell our house for a large profit and move away. Not a great answer, but it works.

The place I grew up did this sorta. If any of you know Albuquerque enough to where Alameda is, you know what I'm referring to. The road across the river there up towards Rio Rancho used to be a 2 lane road with housing here and there, but also large chunks of land in alfalfa, and horses. Theres still some of those chunks there but most were sold, divided, and houses stacked one on the other. It was close enough to amenties that you didn't feel completely isolated but just private enough to be happy. Then RR boomed, abq kept growin, all those subdivisions went in, traffic became unbearable. So we left and moved around the country for a while looking for places we liked. After many trials and tribulations, here we are. Back in a secluded area on a large enough chunk of land to feel comfortable.
I'm glad walmart is here in a way, not because of prices since apparently they're not all that good, but for convenience. With my current health thingies, driving to cruces isn't really possible for me anymore, so this will give me a single place that I can go to and get most everything I need 1 stop. Will still go to Bullocks for the stuff I used to get there, but all of my Las Cruces items now come from here. Unfortunately, as you point out, there may be a price to pay for this convenience. Time will tell.

Originally Posted by yachtcare

Mind you, I've never set foot in TrC, but the way it is described here, and the opinions expressed make it seem familiar. The buzz about the new Wally world, talk of a nascar track, Virgin Galactic, other new development, etc. The desire, of concerned citizens, to see it develop into something a bit more cosmopolitan, like it's bigger neighbors. Even the bad, mixed in amongst the positives, makes it sound like a "real" and attractive place to be. Others will find the attraction, and they will come. I will(I wish you all would)keep it a secret a while longer, and enjoy what you have, while you still have it

[highdesertmutz]

Well dracul. I don't know what happened? at one time, the burger joint was open, then the next, it closed, for which reason I'm not sure. The same guy mentioned who had the tragic accident was as rumor had it, 1/2 owner of the bar / liquor store across from bullocks grocery, and that has been closed too for quite some time, but now, is open again, but I don't know who is running the place. last week, my wife sort of invited me to take her to the bar for a couple, but, when the van broke down, it left us with little cash to spend elsewhere. I usually don't like going to bars myself anymore, especially in such a little town, where there might be cops passing by and taking careful note of vehicles parked outside. I'm a bit more careful than I used to be. I lived in a small town with my mother for awhile, and know first hand how the cops operate in small towns, they're pretty smart. once, when I was with friends at a coner tap, we saw the PD across the street waiting for closing time. since I only lived 2 blocks from the tap, I invited my buddies to my place, so they could leave their cars in the tap parking lot, and wait out the cop's departure, and then drive them home after the coast was clear. most of us knew the cops by first name, and they knew us and where we lived, so, none of us would risk a DWI. It's a shame the burger place is now closed, but, you never know, maybe they'll re-open after re-organizing. Maybe the place is for sale? The rv park I'm located in is for sale, but there's no realtor sign out front saying it is. I think the asking price is only $550,000.00. hey, wanto buy a rv park?
Oh yeah, speaking of running businesses into the ground, the guy that owned the cab company I worked for in wisconsin passed away when I was still working there, he had a fine funeral, everybody showed up. His inlaws took the business over quickly, and ran it into the ground. the last I had heard was that one of the owner's sister in laws was being taken to court for grand larceny. she sold a trailer house in the wisconsin dells that was the deceased owner's, and pocketed the money, instead of turning it over to the estate.

Originally Posted by dracul

On a previous visit to TorC we dined at Big a Burger and I had the largest, most decadent burger of my hungry life!!! However, this latest trip a few weeks ago did not similarly reward: the place was closed! Perhaps the kids that were running it before (after the owner's death) ran it into the ground. No more monsterous burgers to clog my arteries...darn!

[GregW]

T or C sounds like any small town (to paraphrase Molly Ivans) only moreso.

BTW - these are some very well written comments. Thanks, GregW

[GregW]

For what it is worth - is anyone living in Hillsboro?

[highdesertmutz]

I've been thru the berg of hillsboro, no more apple fest
my wife and I, mostly me, was contemplating pulling our trailer up to hillsboro, there's a rv park the, and it's small, just to escape T or C, and of course to be closer to the Gila National Forest. There's a little cafe' - restaurant there, and not much else. one could probably spit from one end to the other, if you're a good spitter, the town is soooo small that......

Originally Posted by GregW

For what it is worth - is anyone living in Hillsboro?

[Sturgis]

If I recall correctly, theres also a watch repair shop/museum in hillsboro also, but its been so long since i've been there I have no clue if its still in operation. Theres actually a Hillsboro website at HillsboroNM.com if you're looking for more info.