MEXICO & A TALE OF SURVIVAL

 A view of the entrance to Los Algodones, Mexico, from the parking lot next to the border.

Yesterday was the day that we decided to make a trip across the border to Algodones, a small Mexican town, just a few miles west of Yuma.  Nancy didn't need anything, so Patty and I arrived at the Quechan Native American parking lot a little before 10am, and noticed that you now have to pay going into the huge parking area, instead of paying when you leave.  The cost has gone from $5 last year, to $6 this year.  Several years ago, you could park your car next to the road, and walk to the border, but the Indians must have friends in high places, because very large NO PARKING signs cannot be missed for approx. 1/2 mile leading away from the border.  We saw a few people walking, but most everyone pays to park in the paved parking lot.

 

The only items we needed to purchase were a couple of things from one of the pharmacies, so we were in, and out in a matter of just a few minutes.  As we started to walk back to what is usually a long line of people waiting to cross back into the U.S., I noticed that the walkway was eerily empty.  In the past, usually during the month of January, we have waited in this line for close to a couple of hours.  It was only about 10:30am, so perhaps the earlier than normal time for us to cross back, was part of the reason for no people waiting.  As we walked closer to the border entrance station, still no people, and I'm starting to think there's some other reason for the folks not to be there.

Where's the people?

 

The closer we got, still no line, what the heck is going on?  We walked right up to one of the 4 customs & immigration officers, and in a matter of seconds, we had passed through the U.S. side of the Andrade/Algodones border.  Whatever suspicions I had, they were unfounded, and I was happy to have gone through customs in a matter of minutes, that in the past had taken hours.

When we got back to the motor home, I decided that I was going into town to watch the movie Lone Survivor.  I'm not a movie critic, but I will say that it was a realistic, edge of the seat film, that tells a tale of not only survival, but of the special bond between our true American heroes.  When I hear political idiots criticising the movie as propaganda, or as racist, I can almost bet you, that not one of them has ever worn a military uniform.  Those really stupid people, who think that the ugliness of war has to meet some politically correct standard, are beyond idiots, they are pathetic!

This movie is based on a true story about 4 Navy Seals on a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan, and the lone survivor Marcus Lattrell is played in the movie by Mark Wahlberg.  I walked away feeling  proud to have worn the uniform, and I can assure you that warriors like Lattrell are not victims of a propaganda film, they are the most special of our military elite, and deserve praise from all of us, even the idiots!