IF- "Welcome"

I alway feel so "welcomed", when I pull through my favorite coffee shop, The Silver Bean, housed in an airstream trailer at the edge of Cortez Colorado, complete with pink falmingos and red and white umberllas.
It was right on my way to drive the forty five minutes down McElmo canyon to teach art to Navajo and rural ranch kids at Battle Rock Charter School. Would always get a big mug of English Breakfast tea ( the title of the piece is "Stopping for Coffee", sound better and more universal than "stopping for tea",) and one of their great bean and rice burritos.
Unfortunately after six years teaching down there with no complainants, the school decided to drop the Art Program, thinking the regular teachers could just do an occasional craft project- I'll rant later of the importance of Art in schools and that it is Not just a filler class, not in the mood right now.
I think it was kind of like when a new Dynasty came into the ancient world and they needed to kill off all remnants of the old Dynasty- I guess the new parents board and new teachers want to shape their own program.
Though it would of been nice if someone had bothered to tell me- I had to call around in August to find out through the grapevine. Guess the decision was made in the spring when I was running around putting together a gallery show of the kids work at the local Art Center and putting on two end of the year musicals with homemade props and costumes.
Boy am I gonna miss those kids!!
I guess the above is more of being "UNWELCOMED"---- but! National Public Radio, did WELCOME me to submit a proposal to illustrate what NPR means to me for their 2010 Calendar, and the scene I described above, going to get coffee, well, tea at the Silver Bean, listening to NPR as I drive, or drove, down to Battlerock is in their 2010 calendar, along with a quote, bio and pic of me, which was taken by my photography inspired eleven year old who can claim NPR as one of her first photo credits!
I just wish someone had informed me of the schools intentions, which I cleared the whole NPR thing with in the spring, so the description could of been in the past tense!
To read more about it, see Cortez Journal Article