I taught a kid how to swim today. This morning, he wouldn't go into water that he couldn't stand in, and wouldn't submerge his head. By dinner, he was surface-diving for rocks in the deep end.

Fear is a fickle thing.

New Mexico is a big state. And not too many people live there. At 315,113 sq. kilometers, it's the fifth largest state in the country. The total population is about 1,740,000, and Albuquerque accounts for almost one third of that. Outside of Albuquerque, every person in New Mexico has 4 square kilometers to themself (statistically speaking, anyway).

The point is that there's no shortage of horizonal space here at all.

I can't remember the last time I went up any stairs. I don't think I've ascended a single flight since I moved here. It's weird.