New Mexico

New Mexico is a special place to me. The flag is a yellow banner with a red symbol that looks somewhat like a compass. The land starts from the north, at the end of the Rocky Mountains, to the south, and the White Sands desert. A place where the sand is so brilliant you have to put sunscreen on your throat to protect from the reflection of the sun off the ground.

We had gila monster parties there. If there is such a thing as neuroplastic memory recovery I would love have memories of them back. A gila monster is a cold blooded creature. So they are slow in the early morning. You get a sack or backpack or something and go out into the desert and find them and you can almost quite literally pick them up while they're cold. They are slow moving and bright and easy to spot. Their bit contains a neurotoxin so deadly that its one of the most toxic substances known to man. Death comes in immediate waves. The africa green mamba, the poisonous sea snake and the florida coral snake are its friends at the top five of the things in the world that can kill you in this manner. The thing about it is, the Gila Monster has to grind his venom into you. He has really small teeth. So a good boot keeps your foot safe.

Now, the thing to remember is that if a party isn't going anywhere - the floor and the room will be quiet and cool. So everyone stands in a circle and you let the Gila Monster out of the sack in the middle of the floor. Natural adrenaline helps things get off to a good start and pretty soon the little gila monster is moving across the floor to somone's boot. If he bites you, you have to take a drink.

There are places in New Mexico I could show you where you would swear this isn't New Mexico. But they're secret. So I'm not going to tell you about them. Instead I'm going to tell you about someone who lived there today. Go here .