You can always tell a true New Mexico resident by these three behaviors:
- When it rains, we stand outside getting wet it to fully immerse ourselves in the rare phenomenon.
- We spend too much time deciding whether to order green or red chile on our favorite Mexican dish.
- We always complain about how many Texans are around.
In Tuesday’s Albuquerque Journal, there was a story that Texas has erected a razor wire barrier in southern Dona Ana County to keep people in New Mexico from entering the Lone Star State.
For years, many of us in New Mexico secretly wished we could erect some kind of barrier to keep Texans away. They overwhelm our favorite spots like Santa Fe, Ruidoso, the Gila and Pecos Wilderness, Taos, Gallup, our ski areas and our favorite camping, hiking, hunting and fishing spots. This feeling has been evident for decades. Territorial Governor Manuel Armijo, who served three terms from 1824 to 1846, was once quoted as saying: “Poor New Mexico! So far from Heaven, so close to Texas.”
I’m not going to venture into the politics of the issue of border fences. The move to install fencing near Sunland Park was the latest effort by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stem the influx of migrants from central and south America into his state. He claims that too many migrants are dodging the barriers he has installed along the Mexico border near El Paso and are now coming to Texas by a more circuitous route through New Mexico.
My first thought about this concerned future trips to see our daughter and grandchildren in Austin. If things get too serious, I guess we’ll have to drive to the northeast corner of the state to cross into Oklahoma, then drive through the Texas panhandle to get to Austin.
And if serious repercussions gain momentum in the Land of Enchantment, maybe we’ll erect anti-Texan barriers on our southern and eastern borders and won’t see as many black and white license plates with a lone star at our favorite places.
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Briefly on another subject, I have agreed to serve as an early voting election official again starting this week and going through the election on Nov. 7. I did this last year for the general election. This election is for local races in the various communities in the county, as well as school board positions.
I’m sure it won’t be as intense as the last election, but it will keep me occupied for a couple of weeks and my posts may be limited during that time. I’m sure I’ll have things to discuss when I’ve completed the job.
Stay tuned.
aero-cordero.com 