Dear Readers,

It was one of those rare days in February; a warm, beautiful day between storms, an early spring fever kind of sunny day. I found an excuse to not sit at the computer, puttering around outside on the back deck, about 18” off the ground when OOPS! I tripped and went flying, off the deck, in cinematic slow motion. Next thing I knew I was lying on the ground, screaming in pain. I heard a distinct crunching sound. I had broken my arm, my right arm, of course.

I am now a member of the El Rito Chapter of the Broken Right Arm Club, the fourth member in a two-mile radius, weird! And the epidemic has spread to Questa and beyond. While in the orthopedic doctor’s waiting room, I said hi to a Questeño who had broken his arm, the right arm, of course.
To make the most of this, I am enjoying the benefits to my brain of using my non-dominant hand and strengthening my wimpy left wrist.

Usually, I work hard every month on the Questa Del Rio News. This month, though, I have been useless. The show must go on and I want to thank our team for stepping up, especially our assistant editor extraordinaire, Martha Shepp. She did a fine job making sure this March issue happened, with not much help from me. Thank you to all our contributors who got their submissions to us on time. February is a short month and it was challenging enough getting our paper out with two or three fewer days on the calendar.

I would also like to give a shout out to the Latir Volunteer Fire Department’s First Responders, under the guidance of their fearless leader, jona olsson, who arrived on the scene within minutes to manage the situation with my broken arm. Thank you to Fred Patton, Olga Gressot, Angela Bates, and Cynthia Najim: wonderful neighbors all, and such masterful EMTs. Thank you for showing up and doing what you do so well. Thank you to Raynelle Sanchez-Cordova and Isaiah Fernandez, for the fun ambulance ride. And thank you to my partner Pete, who is quite skilled at taking care of me. I can’t imagine life without him!
Thank you to all our neighbors who are so generous and caring and all the medical personnel who set me on the path of healing. Thank you, everyone, for your guidance and support.

Lou “Lefty” McCall
Editor, Questa Del Rio News