A very warm 92 degree day - UPDATED

A taste of what will soon be arriving in Texas...a 92 degree Spring day. I had intended to run some errands around town but nixed that idea even though I know that in a few weeks these will be considered mild temperatures.

I had so many things I needed to get done this week but that due to the uncertainty of possible International Border closures I had to postpone to a future date.  While it may not affect others that do not live along the Mexico-US border it has certainly had an effect in Del Rio.

People have been stressed out and almost in a state of panic. Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila has a large number of Maquiladoras where many US citizens, in particular, those in management positions work but that live in the US side of the border.

What is a maquiladora?  A maquiladora in Mexico is a factory that operates under preferential tariff programs established and administered by the United States and Mexico. Materials, assembly components, and production equipment used in maquiladoras are allowed to enter Mexico duty-free.  They produce such goods as motor vehicles and automobile parts, electronics, clothing, and furniture. The overwhelming majority of maquiladora plants are foreign-owned and situated in Mexico to take advantage of low labor costs and less-stringent environmental regulations.

Many US citizens live in Mexico because it is cheaper to do so. They have children who are also US citizens and that daily cross the border to attend school. Many people have families on both sides of the border. Remember my mother's friend that I took to see her sister at the hospital?  She decided to stay in Mexico in case something happened to her sister (she is not doing well). If the border closed and the worst happened she would not be able to attend her sister's funeral.

I had a dental appointment, needed to get my medical labs done, go to the beauty shop, take Paquito to be neutered, take Nico for a follow-up visit after his own neutering.  Even though our current administration now says there will not be any border closings nobody believes them.  So much so that you can actually go to HEB and Walmart and there are not as many people as usually frequent these two establishments which are the largest in Del Rio.

It is not that people do not want to come to Del Rio or on our side of the border go to Ciudad Acuña, it is the uncertainty of it all. The only time our mutual borders were shut down was during the 9/11 attacks.

Take the point of view of a regular Mexican citizen shopping in Del Rio, would you like to be in their shoes if the border all of a sudden shutdown?  Even if you have family in Del Rio do you really want to go invade their space for an unknown amount of time when you have your own family that you need to take care of but cannot?  If you do not happen to have family or friends in Del Rio can you afford to pay for a hotel room and meals until they re-open the border?

Imagine me trapped in Ciudad Acuña...I am fortunate to have dear friends on the Mexican side...however, I would not even consider going to bother them especially with one or two cats in tow.  I would have to go to a hotel but at least hotels are cheaper in Mexico than in Del Rio.

I personally will not be going to Ciudad Acuña until the crossing times stabilize. There is no way I am going to be in line for two to three hours.  Laredo and El Paso, Texas have the worst waiting times in Texas...regular vehicles 3 to 4 hours...and 18-wheelers 10 to 12 hours.

Frann, if you are reading this I always remember you saying that you never had to wait in line in Presidio, Texas. This evening at 10:00 p.m. they had a 30-minute wait!

Here is a link that covers all the border crossings wait times along the Mexico-USA border. https://bwt.cbp.gov/index.html?com=0&pas=1&ped=0&plist=2302,2303,2304,2403,2608,2504,2408,2505

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.