#Santa #Fe Diary:
Nearly Paradise
By
Norman Mark
Chapter One: #Hell Begins at #120 #Degrees
It is said that the first
conquistadores arrived in New Mexico some 500 years ago because they were looking
for a handyman, who would arrive on time on the day specified and complete the
job. To this day, that tradesman
has never been found.
Yes, this diary is about our
frustration in dealing with Santa Fe tradesmen. It is also about finding and loving a living paradise of
endless skies, beautiful vistas, music, dance, romance, food, art and friends
in a small American state with a big heart.
I should also swiftly add that
my observations about people who do not show up on time (or on the correct day
or week) and who seldom complete a job within a month of their self-imposed
deadlines apply worldwide. In Portugal, we met a lawyer who slept
with his huge dogs by a hole in the ground for a week to prevent a well digger
and his crew from sneaking in the middle of the night, putting in water in the
hole, arriving the next day and declaring that the job was done because they
had struck water, so pay us.
In Spain, we met German
residents who wanted the addition to their home built to their exact
specifications. Their contractor
said it wasn’t the Spanish way and put up the walls for the structure. After a serious argument about style
and building methods and after leaving a direct order to build it their way,
the couple left for a visit to their hometown in Germany. When they returned, they discovered
that the contractor had bulldozed the walls he built and they were being sued
for the full price of the addition.
It was a court case they would probably lose.
In
America, in Oak Park, IL, Frank Lloyd Wright was told by one would-be owner that
the guy liked English homes. But
Wright was smitten by Japanese style and, being difficult and determined in the
extreme, included the Oriental elements along with the Gothic, English
half-timber design. The result at
333 Forest Av. is a humorous botch that’s a fine example of a tradesman (albeit
one with genius) running amuck.
Which leads us directly to why
we decided to buy a home in Santa Fe, NM.
It must be noted that problems with local tradesmen arriving at the
appointed time were unknown to us when we first explored this New Mexican haven
for artists, liberals, musicians, Native Americans and a guy with a trained
dog, cat and mouse to sit on top of one another for pictures.
After the temperature reached
120 degrees in Palm Desert, CA, one July Fourth and it appeared it would get
that hot on every July Fourth, we bought a second
home in Santa Fe, NM. This is the
story of that home and our somewhat qualified love for Santa Fe.
