Question asked "Are we safe"

I received a email today from my old boss asking if we still feel safe here with all the TV news about Mexico. I wrote back jokingly saying we're fine as long as we watch out for car chases, keep a eye on the helicopters in the sky and the Border Patrol entering our community.

We haven't been to Mexico since all the fighting started. Not because we are nervous about going, only because we haven't gotten around to it. As I told Dale (boss) the city of Reynosa (12 miles from us) is one of the more dangerous places with daily news reports here of killings, kidnappings and like this mornings paper, finding three grenades in the local bus station. This central bus station is a common stop for Mexico-bound buses that leave McAllen with destinations across Mexico. We get several Mexican News Stations and even tho I don't understand what they are saying you get the jest of it just by watching. Unfortunately their stations are not as concerned about showing very graphic pictures of bodies and the gun battles as our U.S. Stations. There was a article in today's paper saying the governor is sending more law enforcement to help prevent spillover violence from Mexico. We have already seen more air activity with hearing the helicopters at night and the border patrol vehicles in our area.

So what does all this mean to us. First we have and probably never will go to Reynosa, this is a very large town with a million plus population. There are two kinds of people there, the rich and the poor. In googling info I found Reynosa has seven industrial parks that employ a half million people. The factory workers do have medical and dental benefits but after those are taken out the wage for workers come to around $10.00 per day. Can you imagine trying to support your family on $10 a day. Know wonder the young people join the cartel when they see the life their parents have.

When we go to Mexico we go to a border town called Progreso which is about 30 miles east of us. It is a small town with only a few thousand in population. They say by Mexican standards this is a very clean town which I guess if I compare it to the town of Paloma's we went to while staying in Deming NM it is. But the town of Algadonas just over the Calif. State line near Yuma was one of the better ones. OK I've kind of gotten off track here but what I wanted to say was because Progreso relies almost completely on the US travelers for their support the city does everything they can to make sure people feel safe while there. Several months ago there was some gun fire several blocks from where the tourist were. The local paper here had many articles of the store employee's and street vendors ushering the gringo's inside buildings to keep them safe. And of course there are the ever presents of the Military Police that should (not sure of that) give you a warm fuzzy feeling of safety with their great big guns. Of course we don't even no if those things a loaded. My guess they are but since your not allowed to talk to them or even take a picture hopefully we'll never no.

Again, off the track but unless problems start arising in Progreso we will continue to go there. It doesn't matter if your in the US or Mexico you have to be aware of what and who is around you.

Guess that's it for today. Hope everyone has a great St Patrick's day tomorrow. We are having a big Irish dinner at the clubhouse so have been helping with that.

Welcome readers from Beverly Hills CA (maybe a movie star) Mesquite NV and Grundy Center IA. Till next time...................................