Community Observation

Community Observation:

The community of Moriarty is what I chose to write about. This melancholy community seems to be going through a deep depression. How could this have happened to such a spirited place? Why are so many people downhearted?

I believe that the first thing I noticed when I moved here was how cheerful this community was. The people in this town were so friendly and content. Now when you drive through our neighborhoods all you notice is that the streets seem to be abandoned, and there are no children outside playing. The only time that there is traffic, is when the school day ends or the town is having their annual parades. You will see very few people around the rest of the time. This station, “Jr’s Auto Parts,” used to be busy, now at 1;00 in the afternoon there is only two customers.

This was one of our busiest stores when I first moved here, in 1974, and throughout the 1900’s. My son worked here in his Junior years.

This McDonalds opened when my children were about three and four years old. My daughter worked here when she was in high school.

It’s not only sad, but also devastating to see our community slowly dying. This is like the movie, “Never Ending Story,” where the sadness is taking over.

My family and I lived in this community when everyone knew each other. That was when the people not only cared about each other, but also watched out for each other. I believe that somewhere along the way drugs entered into this community and is now stealing our young adults. It’s devastating to see our beautiful community fall apart.

The second thing that happened to this community was that a lot of the businesses have moved closer to Albuquerque in the town of Edgewood, New Mexico. The town of Moriarty chose not to build a “Walmart,” because the few small stores in this community voted against it. Now this town has lost one grocery store, a McDonalds and a few restaurants, because a few people chose not to move into the future. We do most of our shopping in the community of Edgewood, because that’s where not only most of the business moved, but also where most of the job opportunities are.

The community of Edgewood granted Walmart permission to build their store there, and now they have most of the people from all the surrounding communities shopping there.

This is a Gas Station, Dairy Queen, and Trading Post, in Edgewood New Mexico. They would use Rattle Snakes to attract customers, but they no longer need this type of attractions to bring them in.

I wish there was an easy way to bring life back into the community of Moriarty. My family and I moved to Rio Rancho, after my mother passed away, but when we moved back we found this community in this depressing state. This has been the hardest part about of moving back. My husband and I live in between Moriarty and Edgewood, but our hearts go out to the community of Moriarty. I will always love this community and will always hold them up in my prayers.