Goodbye to beloved Plaza cop
We were saddened to hear of the passing of our beloved Plaza cop, Cecil Sena. We knew him well from many years at the Mandrill’s Gym. He was especially a role model for the many kids who used to gather around him and plead for him to “pop his bicep” pose. I know he impacted them, as he did us all.
Many years ago, in the early evening, we came out of a restaurant on West San Francisco Street. There was a trashed-out old car parked in front, with two nasty looking guys slouched down, in hoodies, with caps pulled down over their faces. Everybody was crossing to the other side to avoid them. We walked up to the Plaza, and I suggested to Cece that he should check them out. He jumped on his bike and returned a few minutes later, laughing his head off. He said “those are our guys — they’re working undercover.” Not too successfully!
If anybody deserves a sculpture in the Plaza, it’s Cecil Sena.
Bill and Geri Gould Santa Fe
Just asking
Some questions. Vice President Kamala Harris accuses Russia of crimes against humanity. Isn’t war a crime against humanity? Now that we have a mass shooting de jour, what goes through the brain (if there is one) of a legislator who perpetrates gun violence by refusing to to address gun violence? Why does Mayor Alan Webber think we are unaware of his deals — i.e. the proposal to place a soccer field over the Genoveva Chavez Community Center ice rink prized by young and old for ice skating, not soccer? What prompted a majority of the City Council to approve the rezoning of the Zia Road development despite overwhelming opposition? Why do so many Santa Feans consider our streets as opportunities for death-defying driving? Why does the New Mexico Legislature fear imposing new taxes on alcohol in a state that has the highest alcohol-related death rates in the country?
I’ll stop here. I’m sure that you have your own set of questions.
Ellen Fox Santa Fe
So sorry
As a born-and-raised New Mexican, I would like to apologize on behalf of all Santa Feans to Zeke Woolley (“Traffic in Santa Fe: Truly a city different,” My View, Feb. 25). I am so sorry that us uninsured, old pickup-driving maniacs drive differently than in California. Hopefully when the last of us are pushed out and all the trucks are replaced with Teslas, you will finally feel safe on the road.
P. Martinez Santa Fe
Wishin’ for Mary
It’s 1878, the midst of the Lincoln County War. Though it is still bright and early, Wm. Bonney, aka “The Kid,” has a snoot on bolstered by an opium chaser. Wobbling slightly, he enters the Murphy-Dolan store brandishing his Colts .41. While he proceeds to the back, clerks and townsfolk tumble over each other to exit the front. Billy throws open the privy door and assassinates the one-holer with a single shot.
As corncobs and newspaper float in the breeze, he mounts his steed and rides crazily through Lincoln absenting any care for the life and limb of the upright folk just trying to go about their business. Cornered and calaboosed by valiant law officers, he morosely begins to sober.
Wm. Rynerson, the DA, is spotted by a sharp-eyed Santa Fe New Mexican roving reporter who queries: “Sir, when will Billy be getting out?”
“When hell freezes. I ‘spect.” growls Rynerson.
Questioned a bit later (and a bit soberer) by the skilled news hound, Billy forces a weak, buck-toothed smile and says, “Gee, I shore wish Mary Carmack-Altwies was the DA; she’s got a real love for the law.”
And so I sit and cogitate about former Territorial Gov. Lew Wallace and, in my mind, to paraphrase what he might have said, which just maybe could have been: “Anything that makes sense legally anywhere else, is likely to be ignored in Santa Fe.”
Jerry Cooke Santa Fe