MOVING TARGET

Jerry Benally of Farmington was watching the H2 channel’s Hangar 1: The UFO Files when a map of the US flashed on the screen. Much to his chagrin, he noticed that the map indicated that Dulce, a northwest-NM town, was in Arizona, near the city of Page, 300 miles to the west. Was Dulce the victim of an alien abduction and relocation, or was it yet another “50” goof? The truth is out there.

GLASS CEILING

When P. Rochelle Cox of Alamogordo attempted to order some mosaic glass via a Facebook page, the Illinois-based proprietor asked Cox for her address. After Cox shared it, the vendor said she didn’t ship “overseas.” She also said that she only knew English and wouldn’t know how to address the box to New Mexico. After Cox‘s efforts to educate the vendor failed, she placed the order with a more discerning outfit.

CHACO ON THE MOVE

An article in the Payson Roundup reported on pueblo ruins recently discovered near Homolovi State Park, in Winslow, Arizona. Giving some background, the writer explained, “The Ancestral Puebloeans built the great ruins at Chaco Canyon in Mexico [emphasis added] and Mesa Verde in Colorado.” Reader Patrick Vigil quipped, “While I’m pretty sure they misspelled Puebloans, I know they moved Chaco Canyon into Mexico.”

HATCH JOB

In the interest of demystifying the best frozen food offerings in international grocery stores, Epicurious.com published an article called “The New International Freezer Pantry.” Along with surimi tofu from Japan, cubed paneer cheese from India, and ka chai from Thailand, a package of Hatch green chiles is in the mix, recommended as an important addition to, among other things, “a pot of chili.” As we suspected, the link led to a recipe for pork chile verde, a different dish from Texas chili. Perhaps we should send the editors a link to “Not Really Tex, Not Really Mex” (mynm.us/nmcuisine), our January 2015 article defining New Mexican cuisine.

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

Andrew “JR” Gomolak of the US Air Force was entering information into the DOD’s Defense Travel System to get orders to go from Alamogordo to Albuquerque for a work-related event when he was surprised by this pop-up message: “You have selected a travel location outside the United States of America. Consult Section III (Personal Entry Requirements for Official Travel) of the ‘Foreign Clearance Guide’ for country and theater-specific travel.” Once Gomolak accommodatingly acknowledged that New Mexico was foreign territory, “the rest of the process worked just fine.”

HUMAN VS. ROBOT

After Ruth Milner’s work email address was added to a promotional list by a Mexican company, she realized that it was probably due to an automated process. “But when I contacted the sales representative, he responded that his office covers ‘all of Latin America’ ... which of course still doesn’t apply to NM.”

HAVE A “MISSING” MOMENT?

Send your anecdotes to fifty@nmmagazine.com or Fifty, New Mexico Magazine, 495 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Include your name, hometown, and state. Thanks!