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John P. Lockney's avatar

Just reading "The Crossing," a new history of El Paso. Did my graduate work at New Mexico State. UTEP (Texas Western, aka School of Mines and Metallurgy and UTEP) is, of course best known for its National Basketball Championship under Bear Haskins. That was in 1966, the year Notre Dame won the championship in football.

I spent some time at UTEP doing an Air Force ROTC gig. The campus chief of police told the story about being a young officer on the force. The students had gathered on campus to celebrate the victory, but didn't really know what to do. The lieutenant who was telling them to go home over a squad bullhorn was showered with bottles. The cub officer told him to get out of there. He then took the mike and said, "We're going to have a parade. Follow the squad car." He drove around the campus, leading the crowd. Eventually they all got tired and went home. This part of the story does not make it into "The Crossing."

Since you love stories, I'll tell about getting on the freeway in El Paso and seeing the familiar green sign, "Lac Cruces, 37 Miles." After a day of teaching and taking classes, I'd get back on the same expressway and read the green sign, "El Paso, 42 miles." Wait, what? Finally somebody explained the discrepancy. Las Cruces is small. El Paso, winds around the Franklin Mountains and stretches out to the North and East. Distance is measured to the middle of the town.

There's a great you tube video of the ASARCO smokestack--800 feet--being imploded.

Thanks for another fun read.

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