My Journey

ITTOG

Well-known member
That title change through me off. I was wondering why I received an update to "Walking the Line". I have never posted to a thread with that title. Now I get it. :)

Unfortunately, as is the case most often, the minority gets the most attention in situations like this. I can guarantee you there is crime but the republicans seem to portray it as a majority of them are criminals and it just isn't true. I live in Houston and can tell you first hand most are just very humble people trying to make a better life for themselves and their family by working very hard. Unfortunately the bottom 10% gives all of them a bad rap. But to balance it, the democrats seem to think everyone and their dog should be able to come and go as they please. That wouldn't be good either. We need a wall but we also need a formal process to have checks and balances to ensure we are letting the right people in. How we determine "right" is beyond me and should be what the battle is over.
 
Ace.....that one hadn't occurred to me. I love that song.....

ITTOG.....wall or no wall I have no idea. Republican or Democrat.....I dislike politicians. Religion.....nope. I came to San Luis strictly for selfish reasons.....to heal my bum knee. I stumbled onto the migrants then this story began to unfold. For me to think that I can live in a border community and immerse myself into the migrant families for a month and then think that my opinion matters would be totally inappropriate. We teach our children to "love thy neighbor" and whether we like it or not these people are our neighbors and we are the richest country in the world. I've tried not to share my opinions as best as I can but here's the one opinion that I will offer and that is that I believe we can do better.....everyday I just can't believe that these children sleep with their tiny bodies pressed against that wall.....



Just another day walking the line.....

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I love all these guys.....

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All done.....interesting people.....

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The other line (notice the guy with the video camera and microphone.....Ace was almost right but he didn't choose to interview me.....dodged a bullet).....

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Looking forward to meeting XP member Los182 in a few hours......not sure where he comes from it sounds like he's got quite a long drive.....
 
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Bhodie

Member
Walk the line
  1. To maintain a fragile balance between one extreme and another. i.e.: good and evil, sanity and insanity, decency and decadence, etc.
  2. To behave; to abide by the the law and/or to abide by moral standards; to walk a straight path of decency by following the rules; to "walk the straight and narrow."

Walking the line.. so many thoughts there. Images of early union organizers walking the picket line, police having a suspected drunken driver heel to toe it down the line.. lining up for inspection with our toes on the line..

But mostly hearing my dad tell me “you crossed the line”. To him, an expression of me doing something “wrong”. To me, it was standing up against a “norm” or belief that I felt was just not right and went against the tide (yes I am an old hippy)

I get the feeling Jerry that you are finding just “walking the line” is not enough anymore and have decided to ”cross the line” and God bless you for it. Not just for spreading some joy (and food) in a much needed place, but also by shining a light on a line that needs it.

Keep it up but remember, it is ok to step away and take some time for yourself here and there to maintain perspective.

Off my soap box ✌️Out
 
Bhodie.....very interesting and I've read it a few times. I didn't give too much thought to the actual name change honestly. I had actually asked the moderators to change it maybe a month or so back after someone added a thread with a similar name and several people asked if I had a connection to that thread, but my request was ignored. So it had been on my mind recently. Now a few days after changing it I'm thinking maybe it wasn't a good pick. Do I really want to think about this each time I post on XP ? I went to an outdoor concert last night and someone gave Tanner a glowstick which he immediately bit into releasing chemicals into his mouth. He had me up with the after effects of the chemical release for much of the night therefore I had lots of thinking time. I thought maybe I should rename the thread name once again to Sticking My Head Into the Sand and moving on.....



I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit apprehensive in meeting Los182 (Carlos) but it didn't take me more than just a few short minutes to realize that all my anxieties were unwarranted. If I believed in a God I would have said that God had sent the right guy at just the right time. Without getting into it I'll just say that I had experienced a few ugly moments in the past few days and the time I spent with Carlos was exactly what I needed to pick me back up......

After a brief introduction we drove in his truck to the border wall and began to unload his huge pile of supplies. First there was one duffel bag, and then another, then a suitcase, and then another, there was a tent, and I can't even remember what else he brought along. At the border crossing we were stopped and told that we couldn't bring the items into Mexico. Carlos (fluent in Spanish) began to negotiate, then disappeared with a supervisor for quite sometime, reappeared and said "let's go.....I paid a fee".....

I'm guessing it was the largest crowd assembled yet as I had told the families of Carlos the day before.....

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I'd say it would be safe to say that it was literally a mob scene.....

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From my vantage point I was unable to see what he brought but I'll assure you of one thing and that is that they loved his gifts.....

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I know that his mother sent stuffed animals and I saw small children hugging their tiny gifts.....

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One of the great things about sunglasses is not only do they block the sunlight but they also block onlookers from seeing your teary eyes.....

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These hungry, proud people have become like a family to me and to see the kind heart in Carlos was incredibly satisfying.....let the record show that he drove nine hours to do his good work and 9 more hours to return to his home. In this last picture you see Carlos with what remained of what he brought.....he even gave up his duffel bags and suitcases.....even the dolley we used to cart some of the supplies.....

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Once we were done he treated my right hand man and I to coconut juice drinks which wasn't agreeable to me so mine went to a migrant family.....

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Then we took him to the park where we seem to go everyday now for burritos. Once again Carlos picked up the tab and bought the both of us our lunches. In the next picture you see Carlos speaking with my right hand mans father. Here is a small room where their family of seven shares with another family.....

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In this next picture I had just approached the children and said that I wanted to bring them a special gift so they were conferring. When they were done I asked what each would like to have.....and they said food. I said no not like that.....I mean something special. I said to think about it and I came back 30 minutes later and asked my question again. Their reply was.....food.....they are 11, 12 and 14.....

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It was a great day walking the line.....thanks Carlos.....forever grateful here.....

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When I first came to San Luis I saw the parks and recs guys putting up this banner. As I walked by with my dogs one of the guys shouted at me to make sure that I bring my dogs.....I would be welcomed. I politely said of course while never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would still be here. I missed the event that day.....I was across the border.....

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After that event came and passed, there was the next event and yet more banners. And once again I never thought I'd still be here.....

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So yesterday evening after Carlos moved on I decided to check out the party.....

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Carlos explained to me the significance of this day and of this man to the Latino population earlier in the day. Very interesting stories indeed.....

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Tanner and I walked the couple miles to the venue and hung out and enjoyed the Latino tunes.....

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Sometimes it's funny being the only white guy in town. Honestly I like it.....

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Bhodie

Member
Jerry, my wife and I spent 3 years in Mexico and Central America while slow cruising our sail boat.. when ever we went back to the states, we always brought as many bags of Goodwill items we could fit.. clothes mostly, jeans, T-shirt’s, etc but always a bunch of stuffed animals etc. will never forget the feeling we got sharing that stuff in places where there was literally nothing. So what you are doing moves a special part of my memories and reminds me when we get away from it, it is easy to forget the important things in the daily minutiae. I’ll leave off your threads, sorry to intrude. All the best!
 

Los182

New member
Jerry, thank you for allowing me to share this experience with you. I just wish there was more I could do for everyone there. I hate to say it, but the joy that I got from helping out, is often overwhelmed by desperation and the feeling that I didn't do enough........ You're right about the misconception that there's an emergency at the border because it's being overrun by criminals. I'd say it's more of a humanitarian crisis and what we're seen at the border is the byproduct of the hunger, violence and substandard living conditions in all the places the migrants are fleeing from. I don't trust politicians on either side of the aisle, and I don't see the logic to a wall, when the majority of illegal migration happens through airplanes with people over staying their visas, at ports of entry with stolen documents or bribed border patrol officers, or through the same tunnels that are being use to bring in drugs. I just don't see how a wall eliminates crime when Drug Cartels take in billions of dollars annually and have the ability dig more tunnels, fly, ship and drive drugs into the country through the ports of entry. The wall will keep out hungry people who are desperate for work, but not the criminals who have the resources to satisfy America's demand for drugs. Instead of fighting over a wall, we should be focusing on Root Causes. Like poverty, violence and hunger in the places people are migrating from and drug addiction here at home. I don't think any of the people I met at the border took pleasure in leaving there lives behind and embarking on a trail without money, transportation, or lodging. These people are walking, hitching rides, sleeping on the streets, shelters, and eating when they can. That just doesn't speak of criminal behavior to me. And majority of the crime revolves around the drugs, if you eliminate the demand, you eliminate the crime......... I just wish more people were as empathetic as you and took your approach towards life. Again, thank you for letting me share this experience with you and helping me bring a little bit of joy to those less fortunate.
 
Bhodie.....I very much appreciate your feedback.....I actually appreciate everyone that takes the time to make a comment. Without it I'd be like a band playing at concert without anyone attending. So yea, feedback is good.....keep it coming. I feel like it's not necessarily my thread but it's a communitys thread.....

Carlos.....it was a great pleasure to have spent a day with you.....I too wish I could do more.....your boys miss you already.....they don't understand a damn thing I say !



Todays post will be rather brief as I really just want to tell you about a small part of yesterdays visit on the other side of the wall. First off I've got to give you some background on one little girl that has lived along that wall. She's maybe 8 years old but I'm not certain of that.....I'm not much of a good guesser I'm thinking. But this little girl often stood out of the crowd and that's why this short story is such a special one. She was extremely quite yet I'd say not really shy. All the kids seem to push and shove when I'm handing out the food and whatnot and that's something I have no problem with since I love the infornalities of the way I tend to do things.

Once I am done handing out everything, most everyone will move on, but this little girl would still be my side and sometimes she would say could you please bring me crayons or maybe some paper.....always so quite and polite. She would ask about my family and ask for me to share their pictures. Unfortunately I haven't much family and even less pictures. But she loved to look....she would stare and stare.....and then make some cute little comments.

On Saturday for some reason and I don't why, I asked my right hand man to explain to her how special she was to me. I saw her eyes light up and I knew I had touched her heart.....as she had touched mine.

Yesterday her family was called therefore she was no longer on the line. Now when a family is accepted they only have a few minutes to gather their things before the processing begins. My right hand man told me that the little girl began to cry and she immediately said to tell Jerry goodbye and thank you. He told me a few minutes later she said it again. He said a few minutes after that just as the family was leaving, she turned again and said make sure to tell Jerry goodbye and thank you. He said she was crying, he was crying, a lot of people were crying.....

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Mccaf

Adventurist
Jerry, I to shared your story with my wife. It is very touching and you are to be admired for being the shinning star in this whole mess at our borders. How can we help? Maybe set up something with the Walmart manager? We can donate some money or purchase some foods or goods and have them “hold for pick up” at the store- for you?
 
OverlandNA.....thank you.....a lot.....

Mccaf.....I think that I may have worn out my welcome at this Walmart unfortunately. Last week twice I tried to meet with the manager but he was too busy. Subsequently I texted him several times and those messages went unanswered. On Saturday I texted him and I said that I would leave as soon as he gave me the gift card that was forwarded to him. He responded shortly thereafter and said to come get it. I went inside the store, he said "this is all I got" and handed me the gift card with a nice note from the donors. He then said "God bless", looked down at his phone and began to text. What am I left to think ?



I have a lot of story left to tell.....and that's kind of hard to believe because it's just been a few days, but there has just been a whirlwind of activity to report. As I post this I'm in Yuma, Arizona.....where I am just one of the thousands of "White People that Speak English". I swear it feels like I'm in another country when I come here, yet it's only maybe 20 miles. I plan to get me a hot shower and decompress a bit, then I want to work on this blog. I like it. I think this one picture I've attached speaks volumes about where I am and who I am at this very moment.....maybe you see what I see.....

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Riversdad

Active member
When in doubt of the importance of what you're doing for those people, just look at the picture of that little girl and think of how you made her life better. You are truly a good man.
 

UHAULER

Explorer
OverlandNA.....thank you.....a lot.....

Mccaf.....I think that I may have worn out my welcome at this Walmart unfortunately. Last week twice I tried to meet with the manager but he was too busy. Subsequently I texted him several times and those messages went unanswered. On Saturday I texted him and I said that I would leave as soon as he gave me the gift card that was forwarded to him. He responded shortly thereafter and said to come get it. I went inside the store, he said "this is all I got" and handed me the gift card with a nice note from the donors. He then said "God bless", looked down at his phone and began to text. What am I left to think ?



I have a lot of story left to tell.....and that's kind of hard to believe because it's just been a few days, but there has just been a whirlwind of activity to report. As I post this I'm in Yuma, Arizona.....where I am just one of the thousands of "White People that Speak English". I swear it feels like I'm in another country when I come here, yet it's only maybe 20 miles. I plan to get me a hot shower and decompress a bit, then I want to work on this blog. I like it. I think this one picture I've attached speaks volumes about where I am and who I am at this very moment.....maybe you see what I see.....

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I usually like reading peoples travel reports, yours included, but it is now turning too political. What I see in that picture is two older guys enjoying a game of golf. We don't know their story, maybe they worked their *ss off to get what they have. I don't know your whole story but you have enough money to travel and buy very expensive trucks and motorhomes. I like that you have compassion but as you can see, not every story is going to have a happy outcome. There is always going to be inequality in this world. You will probably move on and enjoy your relaxing life in your 100k camper. I'll probably get flamed for this post but i'm a realist.
 
UHAULER.....I just got back from my hot shower and was getting ready to work on a post and I saw your reply. I don't think you deserve to be flamed and I'm hopeful that doesn't happen. It's your opinion. But there is no doubt in my mind about whether they worked their asses off their entire lives.....I'm certain they did. That being said you totally missed my point with the picture but no problem.

Riversdad.....thanks.....

jvsontheroad.....thanks so much for sending me the Walmart gift card. Jack and his wife Cece, from southern California, sent me $250 to help the poor people. I was able to purchase tons of shoes, clothes, baby wipes, food....tons of needed items.....

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