Driving into Albuquerque from the west is spectacular. The sunset behind us turned the sky a wash of purple and orange and gold that can only be seen in northern New Mexico. I grew up here. I haven't been here in years. Getting off I-40 at Louisiana Boulevard to go to the hotel, I realise even highway exits trigger linked images of an entire childhood of memories to flashback out of sequence, surprising me with things I had forgotten.
There seems to be a major mall problem here now. Malls spreading everywhere. When I grew up there were two. Now they seem to have been malignant and taking over the landscape here in the north-east heights. We had dinner at Sadie's with my Dad and his wife. Even Sadie's is spreading. It started as a small restaurant in a bowling alley, and now is about the size of a city block. The Carne Adovada was right on the money though. Thank God.
My earliest political memories are here. My mother brought me to Old Town in 1972 to see George McGovern on a campaign stop. I was eight. My mother was excited. McGovern lost. The next thing I remember were the Watergate hearings coming out of the TV set in our living room. The first time the country heard about the criminal G Gordon Liddy. He may have served his time, but he is unrepentant. He is a friend of John McCain's.
