All Hail To The “Weedsters”
by Chuck Ring
If we in Edgewood are not noted for our deeds — we are certainly known for our weeds. But, just in time to prevent the alien weeds from taking over our small community, “weedsters” have appeared and made significant progress toward ridding State Road 344 of most of the noxious Christmas tree size devils.
Those of you who have been around New Mexico for a long time can recall or have heard, that former Albuquerque Mayor and New Mexico Governor Clyde Tingley, was responsible for awarding New Mexico thousands of Siberian Elms, sometimes mistakenly called Chinese Elms. He did so in a sincere desire to help beautify Albuquerque and other areas of New Mexico. The elms were planted for crop windbreaks and at many other places for both municipal beautification and erosion control. They worked toward accomplishing both; sometimes modestly, but more often, with limited success. Albuquerque and Hobbs are two locations in New Mexico that have managed to make their Siberian Elms living legacies because they have carefully pruned and nourished them. Many people are allergic to the blooms of the trees, the roots of the trees can invade sewer lines and if they are not properly cared for they look like ugly has sprouted out all over their bulk. They also love to drink their share and more of water while making sure that they perpetuate themselves by tossing their single seed pods to the four winds. Perhaps, the foregoing explains why you will hear many old timers refer to the Siberian Elms as Tingley Weeds.
Many concerned community members and tourists from far and wide have had to wonder if our mayor was attempting to practice “thrice-upmanship” and use the Russian Thistle (tumbleweed), the Amaranthus palmeri (Careless Weed) and the Puncture Vine (Goathead) as his plant legacies. Fortunately, or at least hopefully, thanks to Ms. Karen Mahalick’s efforts in securing the “weedsters”, we will no longer have to puzzle over the mayor’s objectives or lack thereof in allowing the weeds to hide our new and expensive landscaping.
We do heartily congratulate Ms. Mahalick for carrying through on her promise from the last town council meeting.
Weedsters” = those who weed weeds, whether large or small
“thrice-upmanship” = three times one-upmanship
Alright, so Webster will not add either of these words to their dictionary, next year or any year.