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I can still remember how excited I was to get my first letter from Don Schrader. I’d read many of his letters published in various local publications over the years and finally he was writing one to me. Well, not me personally, but it was exciting nonetheless. That first letter came in a repurposed envelope, pre-addressed to the Albuquerque Publishing Company—AKA the Albuquerque Journal. The original address was crossed out and replaced with that of my office in Don’s handwriting. It was the start of a one-sided correspondence that eventually led to me spending a couple Wednesdays at his home talking about life.
My first phone call with Don was on a Wednesday night, lasted about 45 minutes and was wide-ranging. I ended up visiting him twice over the span of two weeks, for an hour each time.
In the short time I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve come to appreciate his willingness to not only share so many personal stories—with anyone—but also his penchant for forgiveness and his ability to care for and love everyone. Yes, he’s got strong opinions about life and how others should live, but, as he told me, he judges actions, not the people behind them. Would he be disappointed to find out that I not only drink alcohol, but also occasionally over indulge? Absolutely. Would my actions make him not want to talk to me anymore? Absolutely not.
As a matter of fact, the last time I left his home, Don told me his door is always open to visitors, with the only stipulation being that said visitors don’t show up with the intention of physical harm.
I’ve found myself somewhat protective of Don, especially when I tell someone about our visits. I often hear reductive responses that focus too much on his proclivity for being as naked as the law allows or his practice of drinking his own urine. It’s not that he and I are on the same page in those regards, but he seems to be much better at accepting others than others are of him. It’s now been a few weeks since my last visit to Casa de Schrader, but I’m looking forward to when I can make some time for another one. For all his quirks, I feel like we can all learn a little bit from Don about being nicer to one another.
Do you have a cool Don story you’d like to share with The Paper.? If so, send it to editor@abq.news so we can print it in a future issue.