100 Things I Want to Tell My Children and Grandchildren: #12

In 1981 while managing a New Mexico ranch, I discovered the previous manager had been murdered.

I’d been working on a copper exploration project around Van Horn and teaching aerobics in the Van Horn High School gym, and although that outdoors and easygoing lifestyle suited me, it did nothing for my upward career movement. It was in fact a sabbatical (associated with a tall, blond hunky engineer). During the day I got to bounce around in a beat up pickup absorbing some of the most beautiful country in Texas, and occasionally cataloguing and graphing core samples. Then in the evenings, I led a rag-tag group of cowgirls, mothers, grandmothers and teens in an hour-long dance and yoga workout to Rick James’ Super Freak and Steve Winwood’s Arc of the Diver. I wasn’t inclined to move back to “civilization” and pantyhose.

Then one morning, while scanning the El Paso Times, I came across an ad for a job: “Wanted, host/hostess – isolated mountain ranch – must be familiar with animal husbandry and horticulture.” I called the phone number in the ad, and drove to El Paso the next day to interview for the job – which I got. On a short flight to the ranch, my new boss, (who was piloting the plane), dropped a small bomb, “The previous manager of the ranch committed suicide, at the ranch.”

Then, during the drive from the tiny airport close to the ranch, he told me the incredible story of how he acquired the property, which was tucked into a high canyon adjacent to Lincoln National Forrest.  He said the ranch was formerly owned by a survivalist commune of around 150 families, who supported themselves growing marijuana underground using grow lamps, and who were busted when the FBI raided the place thinking Patty Hearst was being held captive there by the Symbionese Liberation Army (see famous photo). The IRS garnished the land for back taxes on all the money the commune made selling marijuana, and auctioned the property, which my boss purchased. The commune's self-proclaimed “Messiah” was sent to prison, but had recently been released and had been seen around the area shoeing horses for a living.

For 8 months, I lived in a mountain paradise, raising a large garden, taking care of horses, exploring trails, hiking, and occasionally entertaining my bosses friends who would come for weekend stays to take photos, play cowboy/cowgirl, and soak in the wood fire-heated hot tub. The 5,000 sq. ft. main house, originally build by the survivalists as a tabernacle, was extraordinary. The gigantic kitchen with its hand-built pine dining table and chairs that seated 14, had a huge wood burning stove (on which I cooked) and a greenhouse on one end with a giant grapevine that grew up the rock wall built into the side of the mountain, across the ceiling of the kitchen, and sprouted hanging clusters of grapes. We didn't have electricity, so the house was lit by propane lamps and heated by wood-burning stoves. And in the bunkhouse was a rather large stain of faded maroon marking the spot where I was told Miguel’s life had ended.

Over the course of my unforgettable time at the ranch, and through an equally unforgettable set of circumstances, I discovered (I believed) Miguel had not killed himself, but rather was killed by a South African mercenary hired by my boss. I know that sounds unbelievable, and in fact I could be wrong. I often wonder if I should even be telling this story. If my accusation were ever brought to the attention of the people I believed were involved in the murder and cover up, I could be subject to legal action - or worse. But the knowledge haunts me, and so I continue to tell the story, concealing the exact identities, as a small token of justice for Miguel.

Cluster Critiques

The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters by Rose George

Rose George wrote another book I really enjoyed and reviewed, Ninety Percent of Everything, so I actively sought out her other books and came across The Big Necessity, which in spite of its highly unattractive topic, human waste, is immensely important as disease spread by human waste kills more people worldwide every year than any other single cause of death.

In her quest to uncover the state of shit in our history and our current world, George prowls sewers, quizzes sanitary engineers and visits some of the most backward countries in the world revealing the huge, completely unsolved and deadly problem of human waste disposal. Here are a couple of disturbing facts sure to make your day:

·      2.6 billion people (4 in 10 people worldwide) do not have a toilet.

·      A child dies from diarrhea every 15 seconds (brought on by fecal-contaminated food/water).

In spite of the odious aspects of George’s investigative reporting (i.e. helicopter toilets - plastic bag, poop, throw) there are some incredible colorful stories of almost cartoonish characters whose lives are dedicated to figuring out how to make inexpensive human waste disposal available to people for whom toilets are way down on the list of priorities. In fact, George has a singular talent for turning otherwise icky and boring topics into riveting tales. Okay, so maybe riveting to people like me who are fascinated by such things. The Big Necessity is a terrific toilet tome!

A Fine Romance by Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen is the daughter of famed Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. So what you might say. But if I say Candice Bergen – you know, “Murphy Brown,” you might say, “Oh I love her!” A Fine Romance is Candice Bergen’s life story, with a little about her emotionally detached parents, and a lot about her deeply romantic courtship and marriage to famous French director, Louis Malle (“My Dinner With Andre”), the late-in-life birth of her daughter, and her multi-award winning stint as Murphy Brown.

Bergen doesn’t appear to hold anything back. Her description of her and Malle’s dreamy and extravagant honeymoon in India, their life in Malle’s French castle, and the jaw-dropping list of regular dinner guest, i.e., Richard Avedon, Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, Elizabeth Taylor, Lorne Michaels, etc. were entertaining and entrancing. One of the things that most impressed me however, was the almost unbelievably grueling hours required of Bergen, year after year, for her performance of Murphy Brown, and yet how very much she appreciated being able to play that part. Her life seemed to be one of such extremes – unfathomable luxury and very hard work. I found Bergen’s story funny, frank and endearing.

All The Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr

I tend to be a system-bucker. If everyone else says a book is great, I raise an eyebrow and am suspicious. So I almost didn’t read All The Light We Cannot See, and that would have been my loss. I’ve also tired of books set during World War II, and yes, I know we're destined to repeat history if we don't remember it. We’re a disgraceful species. I just wish we learned from our mistakes. But some books aren’t about the setting or the historical circumstances within which they whirl. They are about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances and, if we're lucky, the spun gold narrative the authors create around them. Such is the case with this book, which is so gracefully penned that I almost didn’t care what happened next. I just wanted to read Doerr’s enchanting descriptions of the thoughts and feelings of the characters.

I guess I should tell you what this book is about, and add that it is a charming, heartwarming story that at times feels like a fairytale. There’s WWII, and a French blind girl whose father builds a model of their Paris neighborhood so she can learn to navigate to the museum where he works. There’s a diamond with a curse. There’s a young orphan who is thrown by circumstance into the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth organization). And there's the slowly unwinding story of how their lives become intertwined, and the more common of war crimes - the separation from loved ones, daily fear of death, and the loss of any semblance of a future. All The Light We Cannot See is the crème brûlée of 2014 books, simple, luxurious and irresistible.

Stronger Women Better Austin - Women's Fund of Central Texas, March 2015

Please take a moment to read this March 2015, concise and stunning 8-page report "Stronger Women Better Austin" on the status of women in Central Texas, which was produced and published by Women's Fund of Central Texas. Here are a few facts about Travis County women from the report.

• 1 in 4 female-headed households live in poverty;

• Women's median earnings are 30% LOWER than men's across all levels of the education spectrum;

• Teen births -- 29%-US, 44%-TX, 49%-Travis County;

• Of 257 reported rape cases in 2013, 12 arrest were made;

• 50% of female homicides are the result of family violence;

• Very few CEOs of Austin’s largest nonprofit organizations and private companies are women and there are no women CEOs at the top publicly traded companies in our community.

When women do not reach their potential and/or are disenfranchised, children too suffer. The stats on Travis County children (included in this report) are equally heartbreaking.

Gender matters.  It isn't more important, but it is important. What can you do?

Volunteer for and provide financial support for organizations struggling to improve the above conditions.

Do not expect women to be perfect. Appreciate and encourage their strengths and forgive their weaknesses.

Support women.

Thank you Women's Fund of Central Texas for bringing these important issues to the forefront of our consciousness.