Hey, How Did that Get There?

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section Saturday, August 28, 2010

You know they say when you die, you are taken to a room. And in that room is a huge pile of everything you have ever lost in your life: money, jewelry, car keys, pets, socks, computer files, and definitely a few pairs of very cool, very expensive sunglasses.

When you lose things, if you're lucky enough to find them, they always turn up in the most unusual places.

Did you hear about that mysterious boat that was found on Madeira Beach, Fla.? Local residents were amazed when the 48-foot yacht, unmanned with the motor running, washed ashore last Wednesday just south of Clearwater.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that the vessel is registered to the federal government, according to CNN. Given this information, I wouldn't necessarily say it was lost, but a boat turning up without a captain, with the lights glaring and motor running is something more than your typical find at a beach — much more interesting than sea glass, that's for sure.

Speaking of discovering things, finding messages in bottles is fascinating and more common than you might think.

One bottle sailed the ocean currents for eight years, traveling thousands of miles from Port Everglades, Fla., across the Atlantic to Bordeaux, France, where a Frenchman found a note dropped into the ocean 23 years earlier by a young girl at summer camp.

Another bottle was filled with letters written by a grieving family to their son, a casualty of the war in Afghanistan. On vacation in Barbados, the family sipped sambuca in their son's honor, then filled the empty bottle with goodbye notes and tossed it into the water. The bottle was found off the Mississippi coast by a Gulf oil spill cleanup crew some 1,300 miles away.

Sometimes things are just as special, but lost much closer to home.

We have a new kitten in the house and last week at about 8 o'clock on Tuesday night, she was nowhere to be found. After I convinced myself there was no way she could have escaped out the front door when I went outside to water the roses, we tore the house apart looking for our lost kitty. My daughters and I thought for sure we would find her cuddled amongst the socks in her usual dresser drawer, but no such luck.

With the stress level approaching nuclear meltdown, the only thing to do was the obvious: make popcorn. I opened the cupboard to get a bowl and there was the kitten curled up in the colander, fast asleep. Seems she must have gotten inside when I was making the salad for dinner. A collective sigh of relief swept through the house, to say the least.

The next time you lose something, just remember to cross your fingers, hold your breath and say the magic words: St. Anthony, St. Anthony, please come around. Something has been lost and cannot be found.

Quote of the Week: "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most." — Mark Twain

Eat, Love, Pray Close To Home

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section Saturday, August 14, 2010


There is a lot of hoopla out this week about the new Julia Roberts' movie "Eat Pray Love." It is a story about a woman who embarks on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India; and, finally the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali.

I read the book by Elizabeth Gilbert and wasn't a big fan, so I doubt I will be seeing the movie. And besides, I don't have to go around the world to have this same experience. I did it all right here in Rio Rancho over the summer.

The "eat" portion of my journey just happens to be my favorite, and with my favorite people. My daughters and I celebrated the end of summer with a dinner out last Wednesday, the night before the first day of school.

Somehow our dinner conversations always turn to subjects that we wouldn't discuss in front of anyone else, let alone a waiter. We usually end up laughing so hard that people start to stare.

On the subject of music, one question I got was what did those Aerosmith lyrics really mean. I claimed ignorance and got away with it.

Another question I got was prompted by something my daughters saw on the Las Vegas strip last month. Obviously captivated by a billboard with shirtless men wearing signature white cuffs and collars, I was asked why was the all-male strip group Chippendales named after the cute and cuddly Disney chipmunk characters Chip and Dale? After getting over the shock that they knew what Chippendales was, the seriousness of the question had me in tears.

The "pray" portion came in the form of a municipality project in my own neighborhood.

I prayed all summer that the city would finish the construction on the three major roads leading to Rio Rancho High School before Aug. 12.

I don't live very far from the school, and back in June was interested to see the start of a new roundabout at the entrance to the student parking lot. I became slightly concerned when three other roads in the area were torn up at the same time, because there is no way the single lane and detours could handle school traffic.

As July rolled around, I began to wonder if the work was progressing as fast as it should, and sure enough, RRPS put calls out to all of the parents asking for patience and explaining the detours wouldn't be in place very much longer. I am still praying.

The "love" portion of my journey has to be the easiest, given the vast quantity of things that are happening right now that put a smile on my face.

I loved it last week when JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater quit his job in a most entertaining way. Having had all he could take in his 28 year career of waiting on people cramped on airplanes, he grabbed two beers and slid down the emergency slide of the airplane to freedom, aka unemployment.

Reports said he had thought about it many times before but never actually acted on it. Hasn't everyone? Of course, the higher-ups at the company didn't approve of his actions, as can be expected, but Slater gained support as fellow worker bees could relate.

Every workplace in America should have an inflatable emergency slide from a second story window for disgruntled employees who wish to take their jobs and shove it. They might want to consider installing two in neighborhood post offices.

Eat. Pray. Love. No need to go any further than your own backyard.

Quote of the Week: "Don't wanna close my eyes, don't wanna fall asleep." — "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," performed by Aerosmith.

Huard's column runs each Saturday. She welcomes your e-mails at jhuard@abqjournal.com. Visit her blog at www.jenniferhuard.blogspot.com.

RRHS Alumni Set the Bar Quite High

As appeard in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section August 07, 2010


For all of the students who are complaining that school is about to start next week and think it's a waste of time, I've got some good news for you.

For all the kids who have had Advanced Placement summer reading to get through and say the subject matter was boring and useless, it is understandable that you may not be able to see the forest through the trees right now. But all that hard work will pay off.

There are many students from Rio Rancho who have graduated and moved on to promising careers, like Ford Carty, a 2010 Rio Rancho High School graduate who is now at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

And Kara Babb, a 2005 RRHS graduate who got her bachelor's in 2009 in Global Business and Asian Studies and is in China now studying for her master's degree.

Is it the teachers, the classes or the individual kids that inspire success? A good guess would be it is a combination of all three, or so says Linda Babb, Kara's mom.

"Kara played varsity soccer at RRHS under Uwe Balzis," Linda Babb says. "She credits the AP English and History classes she took with preparing her for college work. It definitely helped her writing ability."

Sometimes the pieces just fall into place. Kara's interests were sparked by a professor's suggestion.

"Kara went to the University of Redlands in Southern California, not knowing, of course, what she's going to major in," says Kara's dad, Chip. "Come her second year, one of her professors recommended she take some classes in Global Business, which had a foreign language requirement, so she signs up for Mandarin — not easy."

When she was a junior, Kara spent seven months in Beijing studying at Peking University and doing an internship with a Chinese business development company.

Currently pursuing her master's degree in Asian language and literature from Ohio State University, Kara will be writing and defending her thesis in Mandarin. Now that's what I call impressive.

As if those credentials weren't enough, Kara just finished sixth out of 118 students worldwide in an "American Idol" style competition sponsored by the Chinese government and the Confucius Institute in China and the U.S.

I asked Linda Babb how her daughter liked living in China and if she was assimilating into the culture.

"Kara was always pretty outgoing," she tells me. "We never imagined she'd do this, but she constantly surprises us."

Besides her studies and work, there is always time for socializing and meeting the locals. "The people are very friendly and welcoming. In fact, if they invite you to their home for a meal, it becomes a banquet," says Linda Babb. "At one event, Kara was toasted about 10 times (after each course) and then was asked to sing 'The Star Spangled Banner' in front of everyone."

We knew Rio Rancho schools produced some extraordinary graduates; we just didn't know how far they would go.

Quote of the Week: "Kara ... you thought Spanish was hard!" — Chip Babb, Kara's proud dad.

End Is Near - for School

As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho section July 31, 2010

Why is this line so long? Did you bring the bus form we have to turn in? Why can't I get the gold parking pass now? My registration fee is how much? I really don't remember there ever being a line this long.

There I was last Wednesday morning, standing in line to register my daughter for her senior year at Rio Rancho High School. A line that at 8 a.m. I thought would be nonexistent, but instead snaked its way from the cafeteria across the campus into the parking lot. As I looked at the people around me, it was easy to pick out which kid went with which parent; there was a sea of mini me's, all looking like their parents did 30 or so years prior. I wondered if the melancholy of my child's impending graduation milestone was going through the heads of the other parents like it was mine. Yes, I am projecting, but that's what I do.

I already know that I will be holding back the tears through every school event this year, knowing it will be my daughter's last "everything" in high school. And the first test I had was making it through the taking of her senior pictures. Talk about coming full circle. Since parents usually are not with their kids when their class pictures are taken, the last time I was witness to my daughter having her picture taken for school was in preschool when she was 4 years old. Here I was now watching her pose in a cap and gown for her high school graduation. I didn't make a scene; I didn't cry or walk out. But inside I was dying.

Where did the time go? All I did was blink and she grew up. My brother warned me this would happen but I didn't believe him. Now I am looking down the barrel of senior year and I have to keep my composure through it all.

I won't cry at the last football game when her marching band takes the field for the last time.

I won't cry when she picks out a dress and goes to her last Homecoming dance with her friends and then comes home to tell he how much fun they all had, dancing in the rain to ACDC's "You Shook Me All Night Long."

I won't cry when the marching band wins a trophy at Zia Marching Band Fiesta at the University of New Mexico and the drum majors do their special salute and the band and crowd go wild (yes I will).

My biggest hurdle will be having to sit through the video at the band awards banquet next spring when they show a baby, child and senior picture of each graduating senior. I've teared up at this sequence since the first time I saw it four years ago, and I didn't even know the kids who were in it.

I remember seeing my mother cry when I left for college and not understanding her tears. She spent my whole life teaching me independence, common sense and how to stand up straight. I thought for sure she would be happy to see me spread my wings and fly the nest. Now I understand her tears. Heaven help me. Thank goodness I have one more daughter.

Quote of the Week: "Graduation day is tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries. After 22 years of child-rearing, they are unemployed." — Erma Bombeck