Lunch in Artesia, New Mexico

[Lazarus Short]

Well, there we were, my wife and I, leaving the Mexican buffet in Artesia.  Right by the eatery was a beautiful bronze statue of a vaquero (pronounced more like "ba-kero" and our "buckaroo" probably comes from it) roping a cow.  Next to that on the sidewalk were three park benches with bronze plaques about the vaqueroes.  My wife speaks some Spanish, and mentioned that "vaca" is Spanish for "cow."

My mind took off with that - so is that "vaca" as in Vacaville, California?  Yeah, it turns out that "cowtown" is one of that town's nicknames.  Further, I decided that when you see a motel with the neon "Vacancy" sign lit, it means "We have cows."  Conversely, it the "NO Vacancy" is lit, it means "We have no cows."  Simple.

I just love Spanglish...