When Roswell was: "Roswell where?"

I remember when Roswell was just some tiny town no one knew existed. If you weren't a native of New Mexico, you had no clue where Roswell was. There was a time when you could travel across the United States and if someone asked,"whereya from?" We'd quickly reply, "Roswell." And instinctively the next line of dialog was, "oh yeah, Georgia is hot and muggy this time of year." And we'd have to clarify, "no, not that Roswell. Roswell New Mexico." "Roswell where?" Yes, there was a time that no one new the home town of the old Walker Air Force Base. Although when I was young, the base had been closed for many, many years. Even lived on the base once in the 1970's as the old military housing turned to affordable rental properties. I don't remember much from that old apartment. But I do remember it was cold. The floor was a black hard tile. The walls were cinder block. If you weren't wearing socks, the frigid floor bit at your toes. It was simply, "Roswell where?". Then, it changed. Suddenly in 1993 it was printed on maps again. A show, X-Files, somehow made the boring town of Roswell a celebrity. Now everyone knew Roswell. It wasn't "Roswell where?" It was "Roswell where the aliens crashed?" Old copies of the 1947 paper were now on t-shirts and posters. I will say, I was happy to have lived in "Roswell where?" than "Roswell where the aliens crashed?" See, from the time of being a very small child all the way through high school, you could drive down main street, past the St. Mary's Hospital, past by the Denny's at 2nd St, past the Taco Villa, past the Skeen's Furniture and past NMMI (New Mexico Military Institute) and it was just a normal little town. Not any more. Now, there's two alien museums. Green aliens painted on store front windows. Read-a-boards proclaiming "Aliens eat at Arby's" and "Aliens stay the night at Day's Inn." There are stores that sell little alien dolls. Nick Knacks and Bobbles. Heck, I once saw a picture of the McDonald's we cruised in high school has a flying saucer play area. There's parades that make a Trekker blush. And festivals. What happened to "Roswell where?" Roswell of 1982 was my Roswell. But the Roswell of 2009 is too "alienated" for me nowadays. Good thing I have my memories I suppose...