What’s an "e" among friends…..?

• Posted on July 23, 2007
• by Karen Fayeth
• 3 Comments

I love me some Arnold Vigil. I read his column in the ABQjournal all the time but have never blogged about him, mainly because he seems to say it all just right. I usually can’t even comment more, he got it and wrestled it to the ground with perfect words.

Mr. Vigil is the epitome of New Mexico to me, and reading his column makes me homesick. I usually need a hug after reading his hilarious stuff…..(heh!)

But I just had to put up something today. He wrote a column so spot on that I had to highlight it.

I believe the quote of the day is thus, “…it’s not that they didn’t teach me, it’s just that they taught me wrong.” A feeling shared, I’m sure, by the many victims, er, students of the vast New Mexico public school system.

Today Mr. Vigil takes to task those who forget that our chile comes with an e, not an i as in chili. Now…both chile and chili have value…I enjoy them both. And I’ve often enjoyed some chile on my chili….

This whole topic came up again in reference to that kerfuffle in Madrid, (briefly blogged here) where the folks in that small town didn’t take too kindly to some east coast outsider wanting to have a festival there (and capitalize on the popularity of the movie “Wild Hogs”.) The guy totally blew it (and forever marked himself an outsider) by dropping a big fat steaming “i” where once an “e” should be.

This quote has forever endeared Mr. Vigil to me (as I’ve ranted in these very pages about the “Christmas” issue):

“Personally, I was afraid that if they did spell chile the other way, they might have got our upstanding lawmakers to temporarily change the official state question as well. That’s right, “Red or Green?” would have changed that weekend to “Mustard or Mayo?”— much more palatable to the rest of our hamburger-eating nation. And the official answer, you ask? Why, “July 4th,” of course, a colorful splattering of both condiments, with maybe some Taco Bell hot sauce thrown in.”

Ha!

Note To Mr. Vigil: ORALE! You got it right, brotha!