I haven’t posted much in awhile.
On paper, the gap makes sense. Walking tours are seasonal. Fall wrapped up. Winter arrived. The streets quieted. There wasn’t much to announce.
But silence doesn’t always mean nothing is happening.
Over the last few months, a lot has happened in the world. Much of it has been loud, frightening, and impossible to ignore. Immigration crackdowns. Daily headlines that make your stomach drop. Minnesota, in particular, has been heavy on my heart.
I’ve wrestled with how to write about this here. Follow Eric started as a personal blog. It still is. But it also became a way to document my travels. Then it grew to include walking tours that bring people together on Albuquerque’s sidewalks and markets. It was never intended to be a political megaphone.
So why speak up now?
Because I have a voice.
Because I have a platform, however modest.
Because silence can start to look a lot like approval.
I’ve been inspired by people who have shown up for boycotts and protests, by neighbors choosing inconvenience over indifference, by ordinary folks refusing to accept cruelty as routine. At the same time, I’ve been horrified by what I see nearly every day: videos and reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement using force in ways that raise serious questions about accountability and public safety.
Offering tours has inadvertently turned me into a student of history. Local history, yes, but history doesn’t stay neatly boxed inside city limits. When you spend time talking about how places were built, who they were built for, and who was excluded or harmed along the way, patterns start to emerge. You begin to recognize how quickly rights can erode. How easily fear can be weaponized. How fragile democratic norms can be when power goes unchecked.
I lead people through downtown Albuquerque and through the historic Rail Yards in the Barelas neighborhood. I ask them to imagine the past. I ask them to stand in public space and feel connected to the city around them. Every city deserves streets where people can gather without fear. We already struggle to maintain public safety as it is. Adding a heavily armed, unaccountable force that creates panic and chaos does not make communities safer. It fractures them.
Authoritarianism doesn’t always arrive with a single dramatic announcement. Sometimes it arrives piecemeal, dressed up as “order,” enforced through intimidation, and normalized through repetition.
The views I share here are my own. They do not reflect my employer or any organization I’m affiliated with. They come from my experiences, my values, and a growing concern for where this country is headed.
As for Follow Eric and the year ahead: tours are coming back in 2026. Walking, learning, gathering, and sharing stories still matter. I’ll have more details soon, and you’ll start seeing me when the markets return, including the Valentine Market at the Rail Yards.
History doesn’t just live in books.
It lives in our cities.
On our streets.
And in the choices we make about what we’re willing to notice, name, and challenge.
Hasta Pronto!
Eric
