Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Guthrie

Most of the visitor's center folk that we met across our journey played the role of informant very well; where to go for a nice meal, what the weather was going to be like, asking where we were coming from, and one woman who even offered to explain what a tornado was; we dont get those in Canada I guess.  But there was one visitor center host who seemed to go a little further in giving you the goods on where to go.  A large strong frame complimented by a large white afro was the first thing to greet you when you walked in.  Followed closely by his large eyes that seemed to take in every pixel that life was sprouting out at each milisecond.  His suggestion for where to get a decent margarita in Santa Fe was based on how alcoholic it was.  His suggestion for what to give 'the little lady' was dependant on how coherent I wanted her to be.  He recommended that we go to the Inn on Anasaze where they serve a cheap but very strong margarita.  His suggestion was that she only drink three quarters so that she would be good and liquored but not to have her drink the whole thing as she'd be 'no good to you; she'd be in a coma', punctuated by eyes that became more white than iris.  That was within the first few minutes of us asking where to get a good drink.  The conversation carried on effortlessly and we soon found ourselves listening to his description of the conversation that he had with his ex-wife while sitting in the back of an ambulance after getting in a life changing and almost life ending accident.  We werent sure how we were privy to the info. but he mentioned that he was in shock while talking with her; we strangely felt that he hadnt come out of his shock just yet.  Once we got back on track that we were indeed touring through the area and looking for the gems of Santa Fe he proceeded to go back to his desk and pull out a zip-lock bag of two cookies.  He offered us an entire cookie, much to our polite acceptance of only half, we ended up eating the whole thing.  I asked him if there was anything wacky in said cookie, to which he replied "Sorry", with a bit of an undertermined expression and downcast eyes.  It was followed up with a "no" that rose out of his throat just as his large white eyes came up and caught our gaze of apprehension.  He is by far the most interesting man, and not just visitor center person, that we could have met and would like to have stayed chatting with him, but food, beer, margaritas, sunshine and a debriefing on "The Guthrie Experience" needed to be got to.  Below is a picture that some other fortunate soul who had the opportunity to meet him has posted.  If in Santa Fe you should stop in and have a listen and chat with Joe Guthrie.  Actually, if you're anywhere in New Mexico for that matter, you should stop in for a chat with Joe Guthrie.  One of the many interesting and 'enchanted' people in New Mexico that we had the pleasure of meeting. 


                                                                     "The Guthrie"