Category Archives: New Mexico

A prayer about voting

I voted today in the 2026 midterm election. This prayer followed.

Thank you God,

for all the people

some known to us all

some known to some of us

some known only to you

who labored and toiled,

marched and advocated,

sang and prayed,

wrote and called,

registered and registered others,

endured prison and suffered beatings,

bled and died,

for the right to vote

for the people of the United States.

Thank you, God,

for all the people

some known to us all

some known to some of us

some known only to you

who currently work tirelessly

to protect and preserve

the right to vote.

Thank you, God,

for all the people

some known to us all

some known to some of us

some known only to you

who work the elections and the polls

to ensure that

we exercise our right to vote

and that elections are free and fair

and all can participate.

Guide us, God,

to honor those who have gone before us

and those present with us

by voting.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Clearly the poll worker, who provided me with the sticker above after I voted and who I had never met before, had some sense of who I am. Like a cactus, I am prickly and difficult to eradicate.

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Filed under Albuquerque, Antiracism, Current Events, New Mexico, Prayer

Purple flowers, Kuaua Pueblo 2

Kuaua Pueblo
Bernalillo, New Mexico
12 October 2926

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Purple flowers, Kuaua Pueblo 1

Kuaua Pueblo
Bernallilo, New Mexico
12 October 2026

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Purple flowers, El Malpais 1

El Malpais National Monument
Cibola County, NM
21 August 2026

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16 June 2026

Soweto Uprising – 1976.
Youth Month in South Africa.
Meadowlands – Spirit of South Africa
Give Us Power A.K.A. Ndiphe Amandla – Original Stage Show Cast of Sarafina!
Fire in Soweto – Sonny Okosuns
Mannenberg – Abdullah Ebrahim
Freedom is Coming Tomorrow – Mbongeni Ngema
Soweto Blues – Miriam Makeba
It’s Wrong (Apartheid) [- Stevie Wonder
Soweto Travels – Wouter Kellerman & Soweto Gospel Choir -feat. KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic & Angélique Kidjo
Soweto – Lalela Cape Town Choir
Bring Him Back Home – Hugh Masekela
Asimbonanga – Johnny Clegg & Savuka
Nkosi Sikelel’I Afrika – Mahotella Queens



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Filed under Albuquerque, Antiracism, Current Events, Human Rights, Music, New Mexico, playlist

A reflection and a rewritten hymn verse on a day when bombs fall and missiles fly

This happened today:

Family members, friends from St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Ghost Ranch, Rio Grande Food Project, the Presbytery of Santa Fe, and life its own self, gathered at St. Andrew to celebrate the life and faith and witness of the Rev. Carl Soderbergh today.

The streets around the church were parked full when I arrived, a few minutes late. I found a spot in the parking lot.

I stepped out of the car and, for no reason I could understand at the time,  a hymn came to my mind. “Eternal Father, Strong to Save“. Those first words need some work, but the overall theme of God’s protection is profound. One of many themes appropriate for a memorial service.

The words played in my mind as long as I could remember them. When memory failed, I hummed the tune.

Alex greeted me and observed that the sanctuary was full and the service had started. He showed me to a seat in the narthex.

The first thing I heard was the pastor, son Eric, telling the congregation that a team from the Coast Guard would present honors in recognition of Carl’s service. Neither I nor the people sitting with me, knew that Carl had served. The hymn I “heard and hummed” on my way into church seemed appropriate for this particular memorial service.

The closing hymn? “Eternal Father, Strong to Save. Straining to see the screen where the words were projected, I mumbled and hummed along.

On my way home, the hymn remained an earworm. I quickly went to the computer and pulled up the lyrics

And I rewrote the hymn’s fourth verse into a prayer for Iran, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, the United States, and any other countries affected by the madness of this armed conflict – which may be most of the countries of the world.

O Trinity of love and pow’r,
All people shield in danger’s hour;
From bomb and missile, death and woe,
Protect all where-soe’er they go;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on land, in air, on sea.

Amen.

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Filed under Albuquerque, Current Events, New Mexico, Prayer

26 February 2026

Stretching. Strength. Walking.
Black History Month.
Right Off (take 10) – Miles Davis
Johannesburg – Gil Scott-Heron
Jesus Is on the Main Line – Mavis Staples \
Now Let Me Fly – Kim&Reggie Harris
Black Panther – Kendrick Lamar
Ain’t No Way – Aretha Franklin
Brown Eyed Blues – Ben Harper
See You Go – Yuna
Freedom – Charles Mingus
Aleppo – Leyla McCalla
Peace Behind the Bridge – Carolina Chocolate Drops
Pride – Joy Oladokun
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – Bayard Rustin
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – Gracie’s Corner

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Filed under Albuquerque, Antiracism, Exercise, Music, New Mexico, playlist

22 January 2026

Lucy baptism. So Jung Kim birthday.
For Lucy.
For So Jung.
For us all.
Ementha-Papaguneray (Turtle Song) – Emily Wurramara
Carnival of the Animals: IV. Tortoises – Isata Kanneh-Mason, Braimah Kanneh-Mason, Ayla Sahin, Timothy Ridout, Sheku Kanneh-Mason & Toby Hughes
Turtle Island – Jay Red Eagle
Turtle Island – Native American Music Consort
Sea Turtle – Hermanito
Flying with the Turtles – Laurent Perez Del Mar
Turtle – PARK JUNG EUN
A Turtle’s Heart – Mili Mag Mell
Keep Me In Your Heart – Jorge Calderon
Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna! – First Plymouth Congregational Church, Tom Trenney & Jeremy Bankson
For all the Saints – St Paul’s Cathedral Choir & Malcolm Archer
What A Wonderful World – Eva Cassidy
Coat of Many Colors -Dolly Parton
God With Us – The Many
If I Had a Dinosaur – Raffi
Wheels on the Bus – Gracie’s Corner
Hippopotamus – David Polansky
Circle of Life – Carmen Twillie & Lebo M
Let It Go – Idina Menzel Frozen
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing – JJ Heller
Child of Blessing Child of Promise – John Keys
What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong –

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21 January 2026

Walk. La Cueva Neighborhood. Floor stretching. Core work.
Maybe I’m Amazed – Paul McCartney
Yenakunu – Gurejele L’integrale
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields – Howard Shore The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
By the Light of Common Day – David Crosby, feat. Becca Stevens & Michelle Willis
Loose Ends – Dan Fogelberg
Variations for Orchestra, Op. 30 – The Cleveland Orchestra & Christoph von Dohnányi
Finish Line – Elton John & Stevie Wonder
These Are The Days – Van Morrison
Love Works In Strange Ways – The Staple Singers
She’s a Mean Job Blues – W.C. Handy W.C. Handy’s Memphis Blues
Holdin’ Out – Indigenous
Thank You Teacher – Omar & Hana English
The Green Fields of France – The Fureys And Davey Arthur
Lina’s Waltz – Ahn Trio
Changes – Yes

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16 January 2025

Standing stretching. Core Work.
The Sound Of Silence – Paul Simon
South Australia – Avon Faire, feat. Cait O’riordan
Thug Like Me – Wyclef Jean
One Of These Days – Santana
Ichigo Ichie – Nobuko Miyamoto, feat. Kenny Endo
Tom Dooley – The Smothers Brothers
A Day in the Life – Jake Shimabukuro , feat. Jon Anderson
When She Sleeps – Relativity
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You – Stevie Nicks
This Is My Country- Mavis Staples & Levon Helm
Live and Let Die – Paul McCartney
Hurt So Bad – The Temptations
Start Me Up – The Rolling Stones

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Filed under Exercise, Music, New Mexico, playlist