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.....
I'd say it would be safe to say that it was literally a mob scene.....
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.....
I know that his mother sent stuffed animals and I saw small children hugging their tiny gifts.....
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.....
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.....
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.....
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.....
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.....
It was a great day walking the line.....thanks Carlos.....forever grateful here.....
