“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”…..Written so many years ago and yet they still go right straight to the heart of any American….So many have fought and died to preserve the things that Americans hold dear and may all future generations carry this banner forward, all long as our nation shall stand….You remember the closing of the Declaration of Independence?…..”And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred Honor.” … Let each of us remember that pledge……Enjoy the Fourth of July,…… thanks to many  thousands of military men and women from the 1776 forward to 2010…..

Ok, time for another installment of my stuff writing. Now you remember me telling you in the camping stuff post about Cibola National Forest being broken up into three segments, right? Well, I want to tell you about the section west of Socorro. If you look at a New Mexico map and see the towns (that may be  overstating facts) of Winston and Chloride. Ok, just north of there at the tail end of the Cibola National Forest and at the county line lies the Reservation of the Warm Spring Apache Tribe (abandoned) that I have researched so much and have developed a fondness.(Some maps will show it).  Chief Victorio was one of the most fierce of all the Apache chieftains, but we certainly pushed him in that direction. After all, he stood in the way of silver mining and potential gold mining and copper mining for goodness sake. We could not let that happen by some 400  strong tribe (probably at their biggest), could we? His tribe was massacred Oct 14 and 15, 1880 down in Mexico. The remnants of the tribe joined Geronimo and the Chiricahuas. Well, we conquered them and kept them and the Chiricahua tribe prisoners of war for 27 years. We hauled them off to Florida, Alabama and then Oklahoma and said this is your new home boys, never to return….I don’t know why, but the reservation lies idle today, and I guess it is to allow the spirits of the Warm Spring Tribe to forever enjoy that area they so dearly cherished and called home….You remember our Govornor disallowed the Fort Sill Apaches to build a casino down at Lordsburg, huh? They are some of the descendants of the Warm Springs and Chiricahua…We did not need another casino, but had it been me, I would have allowed it just because of the history of the tribe…I have Mississippi Choctaw blood from my Granny Hester, I’m not sure how strong, but I guess it’s strong enough to feel some kinship for my Apache brothers….

Folks, today I signed a contract to get Apaches, Buffalo Soldiers, That Female Reporter, And Me published…With Publish America again…So I am going to delete the sample chapters I have before August 1. I don’t think they will be mad for me giving you a glimse of the book but they might. After all, it’s not just mine after they get it in print, its our’s….Anyway, I will probably be telling you more when the book becomes available. Oh, you want to know a little more about the book?…Well, this pretty cute, but snotty reporter becomes lost and follows the story teller through a time tunnel into the 19thcentury….They both magicially return to their twenties, helping the attraction to each other…Well, to shorten the story some, the story teller’s arch rivial, the fierce warrior Wolf, he knows  from an earlier trip, has married the beautiful Indian girl and now has developed a keen eye for the reporter…She wants a story and will follow these Apaches all over to get this story…going far from the comfort of the time tunnel and a quick exit from the 19th century…The story teller chases her since he feels responsible for her and twice rescues her from the warrior, Wolf.  He meets a company of Buffalo Soldiers returning to their fort after many days of traveling. Low on supplies, they can only manage to loan him, a rifle, a horse and one reluctant Private to help the story teller try for the rescue….Along the way, the Buffalo Soldier gets to enter the 21st century and get a good view of the future and becomes a dear friend to the story teller…..When it is all over and the story teller and the reporter are back in the 21st century, he starts trying to track down the young lady for possible returns to the tunnel, from time to time, back to the past and back to their twenties…It ends with…… no, I’ll let you read that part for yourself…..I think it is my best work to date, whatever that means….Now maybe I consecrate on my newest one and get my cowboy out of trouble, maybe even married….I may let you read a sample chapter from it in a few weeks.

According to this morning paper, the Albuquerque Journal June 30, 2010, a good portion of our onion crop this year is destined for Canada…California onions are in short supply for some reason so the Canadians are using New Mexico onions. Down the Rio Grande River Valley, from north of Hatch to Las Cruces, there are plenty of chilies and onions. I-25 south bound allows one a good view of the valley floor and the beautiful crops growing down the valley. This year, something like 150 truck loads have headed to Canada. I think most of the workers are migrant workers….The farmer needs them…America needs them…They are good hard workers and very few Americans want to do the harvesting, so having them is almost, maybe completely,  necessary for the famers to plant, tend and harvest our crops. I suppose we present double talk when addressing the illegal immigrants…On the one hand it seems we are saying to them, “come on over we need you” and on the other, “don’t you dare come over unless you have a green card”….It is certainly a delemma for the farmer if he does not have workers, it is a delemma for the government providing for sufficent welfare for the migrant families, it is a dilemma for the Border Patrol and National Guard protecting our borders with farm workers slipping across, since the farm worker is not the only ones coming over. Ammesty is not the answer…More offices allowing green card workers across and then the green card holders having easy access to the offices to allow for green card extentions seems to me to be the answer.We could put offices in the small communities of Columbus, Antelope Wells, New Mexico and Naco and Nogales, Arizona and many other small locations where the rush of people would not be overpowering….We do need the workers….We do need LEGAL WORKERS…..We DO NOT need 12 million new citizen all at once being dumped on a ALREADY UNSTABLE ECOMONY….President Obama, I don’t have the answer, but Sir, if you don’t have the answer, you are gonna have to come up with something pretty quick…..Good job on the onions boys….New Mexico thanks you…..I thank you….Pete Hester

With every season or holiday comes a change in the decor throughout the house and even to the outside. Our fireplace mantel changes with each one. When it is in between seasons, my sweetie goes with angels…Now, its the American Flag and other patriotic symbols…Looks good. Once I put a camera on the entertainment center just to capture
each change…and I did..Now I don’t know where I put the pictures, you young folk probably don’t understand that, but my older readers sure do…It was a good thought and if I ever find the pictures I might show you….Sweetie does a good job decorating stuff…But anyway, when you walk into our living room you surely know if its Christmas time, Easter, Thanksgiving, Valentines or St. Patrick’s and Fourth of July….So, by the decorations, I might not can tell you the day but generally I can get us into the right month….

Our number 1 daughter has a birthday today. We are so proud of her….She was a second mother to her siblings, looking out for their interests and loving them in general….She is so giving of herself, always, and we love her for it. Happy Birthday sweetie…You are so special to us all….Love you, Mom and Dad

Jan Brewer is in the hot seat for saying the illegal aliens are bring in drugs…Prove it says the Mexican Border Patrol and Mexican human rights groups. Further, they say the governor is a racist…..The illegals are caught every day with drugs on their person coming into our country illegally…..But you people miss the point and you really just want to cloud the issue….They are here illegally….Can you understand?….You must have a green card….Then you will be welcomed….Governor Brewer is not a racist and you know it….If they don’t have drugs, they are still illegal….You show on the news all the folks protesting and I think most of them are illegals….If Arizona is so bad, go home for goodness sake….File this under American stuff…. I promised to be a stuff writer, didn’t I, but I hate to see the injustice given to the Arizona governor for looking out for her constituents welfare. The welfare of the illegals lies with the Mexican government, not Arizona….

The oil continues to pour into the gulf, screwing up the shrimping waters…Wonder if Bubba Gump has any ideas on how to fix this?…Really, though, it is sad for the folks on the gulf coast who have made a living for years shrimping those waters. This mornings paper was talking about 18 – 24 named storms brewing in the Atlantic this year heading toward the gulf. On the one hand, the wind mixing up the waters might help dissipate the oil while on the other, what a mess the shore is going to be…Great Britain is wondering about the huge deficit they are now facing and how to cover it…wonder how that happened?…Did you know that 2 percent of the labor force produce 60 % of the food stuffs of Great Britain? Did you know that Great Britain is self-sufficient in petroleum products?….Did you know that the President of Mexico is highly pissed off about the Arizona immigration law and that it is affecting the human and civil rights of Mexican citizens living in Arizona?….Well, Mr. Mexican President, did you know that most of us Americans are highly pissed off about all the illegals living in the United States ’cause Mexico cannot take care of its own? You got enough problems with Mexicans killing Mexicans on the south side of the border to be worried very much about Arizona, at least the police in Arizona are just checking license’s and not shooting them. Man, talk about priorities!!!!..Rome, Italy…Icons of Paul, Peter, John and Andrew….neat huh? I wonder if they were here today and delivering their message if we would hear them now? I suppose a few of us would listen and a few more take the message to heart. You know what, if they existed…Jesus existed…If Jesus existed….God existed…If God exist….THE WORD BECAME FLESH….How wonderful is that?…Pete

You know it is so nice to have a son in town. No. 2 son came over this morning and helped me trim two honeysuckle vines. They had gotten completely out of hand and come fall I am going to trim them back to the fence. But, no. 2 has them looking so nice…..My neighbors are going to drive by and say, “old Pete’s  been working hard, ain’t he?”….That’s ok..If they ask I will give number 2 the credit…He is good..and fast…Takes after his Ma..and he loves plants and has a green thumb, also like his Ma…Plants just flourish under his hands.,,,Some folks have talent, huh?….Some of us don’t….But some of us are dreamers, you know lay back, watch the clouds and see all the dogs and cats and elephants and ryno…renou….those big ugly creatures…The other day I saw a man’s face…He was ugly, too…I don’t know how he got in the clouds…Oh, well, it takes all kinds…….That’s to be filed under “resting stuff”….

Well, Dads, tomorrow is your day to relax and enjoy. I hope you get to speak to all of your children and others you care about. Just go ahead and let the yard work slip for a day. You can play catch up later. Enjoy your family if they are close by. And kids, be sure and tell dad you love him, he probably knows that you do, but he still likes to hear it. My dad was  old before I could just come out and say “I love you, Dad.”  But it got easier for me the more I said it and I am glad I did. I lost Dad in March, 1999, but I still miss him. If you still have your Dad around just go ahead and blurt out, ” I love you, Dad.” You will be glad you did…Happy Father’s Day…