Department of Tourism

While we were in Arizona, we only got to spend about two hours walking along Avenida Internacional in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. I spent a lot of time in Agua Prieta while I grew up. A lot of time. It’s a border town next to Douglas, Arizona. (There’ll be a pop quiz in the morning.)

My First Wife and I were tourists this time, and I was excited to be there again. Because our time was short we didn’t get to do too much. Since I moved away, Agua Prieta has grown from a little border crossing town into a major Mexican metro with more than 100,000 people. It’s 10 times bigger than my American home town.

I got all my haircuts in this little barber shop from age one till I went into the army. Fifty cents every time. It used to be called "Carlos y Carlos Barberia." Now it's called "The Frontier Beauty Salon." (There'll be a pop quiz in the morning.)

Close friends of my parents have owned this little Mexican curio store since the 50s. Many good memories echo there. When we walked in and I introduced us, Mr. Castellanos, still the owner, was so happy to hear my father’s name he nearly cried out loud. All he did was talk about his good friends, my parents. And us kids, too. I bought a lot of baseballs there over the years. 25¢ each.

One reason I took us there was to buy a serape. And we bought a beauty. I've missed them.

They told us to walk, “…because if you take a car, it will take you more than an hour to get back.” This is a four-lane, half-mile line-up of cars waiting to cross from Mexico into the US during a "light" time of the day. On the other side of that tall ugly fence is America.

This photos shows only the pedestrian entry back into the US. Cameras everywhere. Bleeve me, many people walk back and forth. My dad worked here at “the port” for 37 years. He wouldn’t recognize this modern complex. I didn’t. Nor would he understand the extra “stuff” required to re-enter the country. Back in the day, he was a friendly, helpful fixture there. Times change, though. At the reunion, several old friends told us how my dad used to quietly bend a few rules to let kids come back home—after an evening of under-age drinking in Mexico. Those kids were grateful, still to this day.

But in Agua Prieta, if you could see over the top of the bar, you were old enough to buy drinks.

If you stand in Douglas, Arizona, you can plainly see Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. Just peek through the ugly fence.

My collection of bench photos is growing, and this interesting one from Agua Prieta will sit nicely in My Benches Folder.

By the way, the Wal-Mart store in Douglas, Arizona (just three blocks inside the US), is one of the top five busiest Wal-Mart stores in the US. That’s what “everybody” says, anyway.

(Oh, by the way. Take a peek at My Hats Blog. Una nina bonita!)

Fantastic Weather Department

Today was a glorious August day here in The Heart of America. (And I may be the first person in the history of the English language to use “glorious,” “August,” and “day” in the same sentence.) This day may be our reward for the long cold winter we endured earlier. It was a beautiful day and I scooted out for my second longest walk of the year (seven miles). I crossed paths (get it?) with several walkers, joggers and bike riders who also were all aga-ga about this delightful summer gift.

I wanna share some pictures I took today on Tomahawk Creek, Kansas.

Two from my folder, “Benches.”

Should I put this in the Benches folder or in the Reflections folder?

Rest above the creek. Quiet, shady, peaceful, beautiful.

Two from my new folder, “Reflections.”

And two from my “Fences” folder.

I like this photo, but the fence is a little short.

The fence we love to hate.

It would be neat to live this day over again.

Project Black, Take 12

Everybody’s complaining about the heat. Well, it’s summertime, after all. But if it will help any, enjoy this photo from my Fence Collection. It’s out of focus because it was 18 degrees and breezy that day and I was shivering. So there. I took this on my lunch hour last December 28. It was a dark and stormy day.

(I drove by this fence the other day. I could hardly see it for all the pretty green stuff covering it.)

This is the last Project Black Photo. I ended the project the same way I started—with a fence. Scroll south to review all 12 Project Black entries. Thank you and gracias to everyone for so many kind comments. And please visit Anna Carson, our host.

Project Black, Take 1

The ever-creative Anna Carson is now hosting Project Black. Please visit Anna’s blog and join in the fun.

I'm compiling a computer folder of fence photos that I've taken on some of my walks. Now I’m deliberately out looking for interesting fences. In my first Project Black offering, you get two for one. These twin black fences protect the old Antioch Pioneer Cemetery in Merriam, Kansas. Many early Kansans are laid to rest there.

"The Light at the End of the Fence"

By the way, I hope to post many more fence photos later this year. Stay tuned.