We're scooting around the border with Mexico, which seems exotic and exciting to this country duck. We want to give all due credence to sensible warnings, while blocking out the extreme and sensational. You border-dwellers and -crossers, how do you make your decisions?
Here's how I made our sleeping decision last night: heebie-jeebies. We did all our fill-uppy things at the Flying J on the Texas side. Still, we were determined to cruise on into New Mexico for the night, and we rolled about 1/2 mile into the NM Welcome Center. It's a pretty little building, secluded and quiet. So secluded and quiet, and not visible from the road. At 6 PM, after sunset, we were the only motorists in the entire lot. No staff and no security, and then, no us. We headed back to the perceived safety of a Pilot travel center.
We're actually pretty familiar with border issues. Back in NYS, there were stories of mules: innocent-looking U.S. citizens crossing back into our borders smuggling basic health-care for all. Scofflaws flouting international regulations and filling their prescriptions in Canada, trafficking in recreational Crestor and Celebrex.
Speaking of border issues, here's a Border Patrol stop ... Annie! Stop looking guilty, for Pete's sake.
Afternoon. Just you two middle-aged, white women?
Yessir. We are not, nor have we ever joked about becoming, coyotes for the purpose of making a living and supporting our mobile lifestyle.
Okay, you can go.
I'm not saying these guys are profiling. But, along with the sad decline and bodily softening of age comes a certain comfortable invisibility. They try to imagine us as dangerous criminals, but instead, they think of their moms.
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| Little Duck on a big desert. |
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| Annie wants to see one of these cuidados. I am not so brave, and would settle for a live prudencia. |
