Cenizo Journal Summer 2016 | Page 7

C enizo N o t es Feel better when you learn to move better! by Carolyn Brown Zniewski, publisher and Danielle Gallo, editor I t’s summer and July 4th has always been the most sum- mer of holidays. It is the day each year our country has set aside to celebrate the scrappy beginnings of a democ- racy. My history profes- sor, who taught American Colonial History, used to say old Tom Jefferson, Ben Franklin and Jamie Hamilton didn’t know what they were really getting us all into when they wrote and signed that Declaration of Independence. They just wanted to be in charge of their own affairs. Rather like a teenager telling his mom and dad, “I’m 18 now and you can’t tell me what to do. I’ll make my own decisions.” Now we’ve traveled 240 years down the road and it turns out there is a lot more to running our country than Tom and Ben and Jamie could have ever imagined. This sum- mer will likely be one that goes down in the history books. Likely as not, everyone here in Big Bend has had a few thoughts about the politics of it all. This little journal is a quiet eddy that you can sit back and enjoy without the clamor of worldly politics. Hop into your hammock, read the Cenizo and de-stress. That’s what we are here for. Visit your local library for great summer reads! I love summer in the Big Bend, when you step outside and you can smell the caliche baking. I love the blast of radiation off the white clay, how the heat awakens every cell of skin, the sunburns on the underside of my nostrils, the shrunken tiles of desert I can lift and crumble between my fingers. Running a hand over the crackling bark of a juniper in July. Sipping water spiked with pink salt from a plastic milk jug gone all pliable in the heat, the water sometimes too hot against my lips. The way small creatures sound like rampaging buffalo in the dry grasses. Now that I have little ones, I find myself insisting on all the things I used to scorn. Hats, long sleeves, sunglasses, sunscreen. Siesta in the shade until evening, morning expeditions cut short by ten-thirty, drinking from jelly jars (do you know what’s IN milk jug plastic?!), checking their temperature, exhorting them to slow down, slow down, slow down. Watch for wasps. Let me check for snakes. Don’t touch that tree, there might be spiders or scorpions or evil baby-kidnapping gnomes. I have become a crazy person. This issue of Cenizo is all about getting out and exploring. From the pioneering founder of Sanderson to the newly-revitalized Chandler Ranch, Big Bend history is all about getting dirty and preserving a sense of wonder. Come with us and meet Stylle Read, who cap- tures the sweeping landscapes and iconoclast residents of the Trans-Pecos in murals fit for Texas; plan a trip with your family that will challenge and inspire you and your little ones; stop for the supreme cooling of a local can- taloupe and meet the stories behind the salsa. We’re pleased to have you along. Published by Cenizo Journal LLC CE N IZ O J OU RN AL S TA F F EDITOR Danielle Gallo ADVERTISING Rani Birchfield publisher@cenizojournal.com editor@cenizojournal.com advertising@cenizojournal.com BUSINESS MANAGER Lou Pauls WEB MANAGER Maya Brown Zniewski DESIGN/PRODUCTION Wendy Lynn Wright business@cenizojournal.com mayamadeapothecary @gmail.com Serving Brewster, Presidio and Jeff Davis Counties cathy@cathywright.com 107 N. 6th, Alpine • 832-314-8103 Needleworks, Etc. Ladies Fine Clothing P.O. Box 2025, Alpine, Texas 79831 www.cenizojournal.com PUBLISHER Carolyn Brown Zniewski Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner Certified Movement Intelligence Teacher/Trainer Certified Massage Therapist BCTMB, TX License # MT 121615 Peggy Walker, Owner Flax ˜ Brighton ˜ Tribal ˜ Double D And other speciality brands 121 West Holland • Alpine • 432/837-3085 120 South Cedar • Pecos • 432/445-9313 M-F 10 am ‘til 6 pm • Sat. 10 am ‘til 4 pm graphics@cenizojournal.com Cenizo Third Quarter 2016 7