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Page 6 • September 29, 2011 • Mountain Mail • mountainmailnews.com
letters to the editor
To The Editor:
Are you troubled by someone’s
drinking Did you grow up with a
problem drinker Has your life
been affected by someone else’s
drinking
Alcoholism is widely recognized
as a disease of compulsive drinking,
which can be arrested, but not
cured. It is a progressive illness,
which will get only worse as long as
the person continues to drink. Total
abstinence from drinking is the only
way to arrest the disease.
Alcoholism affects the entire
family; indeed, everyone who has
contact with the alcoholic is affected.
Unfortunately, the only person
who can stop the alcoholic from
drinking is the alcoholic himself or
herself.
Alcoholism is a disease affects
all those who have a relationship
with a problem drinker. Those of us
closest to the alcoholic suffer the
most, and those who care the most
can easily get caught up in the
behavior of another person. We
react to the alcoholic’s behavior. We
focus on them, what they do, where
they are, how much they drink. We
try to control their drinking for
them. We take on the blame, guilt,
and shame that really belong to the
drinker. We can become as addicted
to the alcoholic, as the alcoholic
is to alcohol. We, too, can become
ill
Who are alcoholics
They could be anyone, from all
backgrounds and walks of life.
Over 95 percent of alcoholics have
families, friends, and jobs. They
may function fairly well, but some
part of their life is suffering. Their
drinking causes a continuing and
growing problem in their lives, and
the lives they touch.
Many who come to Al-
Anon/Alateen are in despair, feeling
hopeless, unable to believe that
things can ever change. We want
our lives to be different, but nothing
we have done has brought about
change. We all come to Al-Anon
because we want and need help.
In Al-Anon and Alateen, members
share their own experience,
strength, and hope with each other.
You will meet others who share
your feelings and frustrations, if not
your exact situation. We come
together to learn a better way of life,
to find happiness whether the alcoholic
is still drinking or not
Who are the members of Al-
Anon and Alateen
They are people just like you
and me - people who have been
affected by someone else’s drinking.
They are parents, children,
spouses, partners, brothers, sisters,
other family members, friends,
employers, employees, and coworkers
of alcoholics. No matter what
our specific experience has been we
share a common bond: we feel our
lives have been affected by someone
else’s drinking.
Puerto Seguro Safe Harbor is
interested in having an Al-
Anon/Alateen group meet at our
center in Socorro.
If you or someone you know has
been or is being affected by a relative
or friend’s drinking please contact
me at 575-835-8994, or e-mail
me at duane@co.socorro.nm.us.
Your inquiry and identity are confidential.
Duane Baker
Socorroo
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To The Editor:
I recently met someone who
made me pause. His name is Roy
Collins, and he lives in Magdalena.
I’m not sure how many of you
know him. I first met him briefly
when I was pregnant and waddling
up to ask his daughter Debbie
about training a puppy. I’m
ashamed to admit that I thought he
was a pleasant old man, and
thought no more of him. Recently,
I went to go visit both him and
Debbie, when I realized just how
beautiful these two people are.
Being an outsider in Magdalena
is hard. Especially when you’re
used to traveling the world and
speaking to people who’ve had their
own adventures overseas. So when
I actually took the time to speak to
Roy, I discovered how much we
had in common. We’d both seen
the world, and we’re both stubborn,
forcefully independent people
with strong convictions. I will never
measure up to him in pure love
though. This man radiates it.
Roy Collins is a WWII vet.
He’s a hero, in every sense of the
word, at one point crossing enemy
We take in abandoned, abused, and
relinquished animals. We offer care
for life as well as adoptions for both
cats and dogs. We spay and neuter
all the animals. Call for appointment
to see the available animals.
Call for more info: 575 •772 •2661
PO Box 555, Pie Town, NM 87827 • furandfeatheranimalassistance@gmail.com
lines in an attempt to reunite a lost
girl with her family. He’s one of the
few people I’ve met that genuinely
feels compassion for fellow man,
and despite being in failing health,
it is obvious the extent he’d go to
help someone, both in the past and
now. He’s one of those exceedingly
difficult to find genuinely good people.
I’m regularly amazed and in
awe of him, and the fact that
despite all the horrors he’s seen and
experienced, here’s a man with an
amazing sense of humor who has
never once lost faith in humanity –
a feat I wish I could boast.
I brought my daughter to see
him a few times. The juxtaposition
of someone so young and innocent
next to someone so old and wise is
shocking at first. I only regret that
my daughter isn’t old enough to
remember her encounter with this
particular man. Roy fought for freedom,
in the real, not overused sense
of the word. He’s someone we
should all be learning from.
His daughter Debbie, is another
truly amazing person. She’s overcome
her own hardships and her
devotion to her father is admirable.
She rarely leaves the house anymore,
spending all her time taking
care of Roy. This is a woman who
left her job, her social life, her own
enjoyment aside to take care of a
man who spent his life taking care
of her. How many of us can say
we’d do the same for our parents
It is difficult to describe these
two. They’re so incredibly beautiful
inside and out that words just fail to
accurately convey that beauty.
I had long ago lost faith in
humanity. Roy and Debbie gave it
back to me.
Ayla Ryan
Magdalena
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To The Editor:
Recycling, recycling, recycling…
hmm…what is the first
thing I think about when I decide to
recycle something consumption
What am I consuming How
much am I consuming How
much is my family consuming
Until companies decide to use
more post consumer recycled plastic
in plastic bottles, I will continue
to think about all the soda, syrup,
and cooking oils I use.
I will think about conservation.
I will think about buying my
food in tin or aluminum because I
can take that and recycle it close by.
I will think about glass. I love
glass. I love the way it looks and I
love to reuse it. But, if you buy glass
too and are not going to reuse or
recycle it, rethink about the purchasing
of products that are sold in
glass. We reuse our broad mouth
spaghetti sauce jars for drink glasses
in our house. We lay the jar in
about a ¼ full sink of water and let
them soak for 30 minutes to an
hour to remove the paper. It comes
off super easy.
What to do What to do
Well, I recently remember an
article in the newspaper from one of
the latest Magdalena Village
Board Meetings in which Rita
Broaddus, Village Clerk, commented
about our solid waste rate
increase.
Here you go. If we consume
less, we spend less (more stays in
your pocket), and we have less
waste. What we really need is a
recycling facility in Magdalena that
will provide jobs and provide a
place for all of us to take our recycling;
where it is broken down and
resold; creating money for the community.
For now, start to think about
your trash. Ask yourself what’s in
it Can anything in it be recycled
The Grizz Project has aluminum
can drop off sites all around
town and in Socorro. There are
aluminum recycling centers in
Socorro that will pay cash for your
aluminum. I think the pay back has
even gone up in recent months.
There are drop off sites for glass,
plastic, and paper in Albuquerque,
Las Cruces, and Silver City.
Socorro and Magdalena recycle
oil, old refrigerators, tires, and cardboard.
I believe there is a pickup service
as well at the Farmer’s Market in
Socorro.
The high schools do recycling
for the community throughout the
year. You can now recycle computer
components, cell phones, etc …
in Socorro.
Check your local papers. Call
the county. Call the village. It’s
time. This is your community. This
is our community.
Laurie Ware
Magdalena
The Mountain Mail Letters to
the Editor section is intended to
allow the people of our communities
to have a voice. The Mountain
Mail encourages signed letters to editor.
Anonymous letters will not be
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Please limit the length of letters to
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Letters will be printed in a first
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priority. The deadline for publication
is 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before
the last Thusday of every month.
Readers can send letters to:
Editor, PO Box 500, Magdalena,
NM 87825 or Editor@
mountainmailnews.com or in person
at 504 First St., Magdalena, NM
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Magdalena, NM 87825,
by Good News Graphics, LLC
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