January 9, 2025

In the winter of 2007 I rode the Southwest Chief round trip from Chicago to Albuquerque. I’d never ridden Amtrak. This would be the first of many, but the longest by far.

Winter train travel out of Chicago doesn’t leave much time for light. The sun was setting within 90 minutes of departure. I guess it wasn’t too bad since all the good views wouldn’t be until Colorado. One can only read, wander, or stare out the window for so long before trying to sleep. Coach seats are pretty big, but sleeping in them isn’t much fun. I looked forward to the sunrise to say the least.

The next day brought some beautiful views, and sitting in the observation car, I could take in close to a 360 view. I arrived in ABQ on time, a little over 24hrs after I left Chicago.

Unfortunately, the cost of long distance train travel is about the same as a plane ticket, so it can’t really be about the destination. It was about the journey. That was the case riding west. The return trip was more about the destination, which made for a long trip.

January 1, 2025

In Land Uprising by Simón Ventura Trujillo he writes:

“As a descendant of captive Indian servants living on land grant land that would ultimately be taken from his family, El Viejo had a memory that powerfully resonated with La Alianza's work. El Viejo was part of a pivotal generation of people of Mexican, Indigenous, and Mestizx descent who went abroad to fight for the United States, only to return and discover ongoing exclusion from the basic rights and protections of U.S. citizenship. This realization prompted a tireless, everyday devotion to the movement for years by Nana and El Viejo. It would also catalyze, for El Viejo, his participation in one of the most renowned events in New Mexican history: the armed raid of the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse on June 5, 1967. Along with twenty other Aliancistas, El Viejo attempted to place then-New Mexico district attorney Alfonso Sánchez under citizen's arrest for violating La Alianza's right to peacefully assemble. As I grew up, I encountered El Viejo's courthouse raid story as one of his most guarded yet cherished stories.

We were scouring the place

looking for Sanchez

and anyone else who was hiding out.

When we got upstairs, we found a door that was closed

locked from the inside.

I knocked once and

gunshots tore through the door.

They just barely missed my head.

Now that pissed me off.

Reies and I were carrying machine guns.

Together we blasted the door open.

The jailer just stood there