Love Santa Fe; she'll return favor

Jaima Jackson |

6/29/2008 - 6/29/08

Regarding the June 22 My View, "Santa Fe disappoints on so many levels" by Valerie Dryka: I don't know where Ms. Dryka lived before she moved here, but she seems to have arrived with considerable baggage.

Santa Fe is not some sort of Disneyland "adventure" town that exists solely for the purpose of entertaining its inhabitants. Santa Fe, like any other town, is a place that is defined by its people, and clearly Ms. Dryka has confined her "complaint" letter about our town to various consumer transactions (shopping, bill paying, etc.) instead of really getting to know her neighbors, or involving herself in meaningful activity. Incidentally, I think most everyone would enjoy having a merchant fix an incorrect bill over the telephone on the caller's say-so instead of having to write letters, send faxes, call their Congressperson, etc.

If Ms. Dryka had tried to look past her anger over various consumer transactions that didn't meet her expectations and had opened her heart to this town, she might have had a much different experience.

Maybe she would have seen the great guys down at the main post office (Steve, Victor, David and Sparky) pushing someone's car out of the ice. She might have learned about a kid from all the "barrio" schools who became his class Valedictorian at Capital High.

She might have learned about a single mother who worked with the State Police to identify at-risk children who needed foster care, and how she put seven of those kids through college.

If Ms. Dryka had tried to redefine "adventure," she might have attended an Open Hands "prom" fundraiser where senior citizens were crowned king and queen, raising money for a good cause.

Santa Feans open their wallets and their hearts to many charities, but they also work in quiet unassuming ways to better themselves, their children and their hometown.

So my advice to Ms. Dryka would be: Try to get over yourself and learn to see yourself in a bigger context; the true adventure in life is how you decide to spend your life, in defining your own mission and greater purpose, not in how you add up the expenditures and bill-paying experiences.

Jaima Jackson lives in Santa Fe.