Come sun up, I'm gonna saddle up and head for the border.   Yeah, I'm gonna get on old brownie, pack along some gear, and head down towards that ole river, the Rio Grande.  When I get there, I'm gonna drink some good whiskey and dance with the purty ladies. 

I've always wanted to start a blog with those lines, but it won't happen quite like that.  Actually, I'm going to pack up brownie, the Buick Park Avenue, with a bunch of cameras and head for the border to do some serious photography.  Former son-in-law Tracey Hamilton, who lives in Edinburg, says it's raining there.  But Grandson Colton has a power lifting meet on Saturday, and I still owe him a birthday present.  He turned 15 earlier this month. 

I need some decent photography for a book I finished a few months back, and it needs graphics before going to the publisher.  But I also plan on doing some blogs about the border, since that area is such a hot topic of discussion right now in political circles.  Maybe I'll post some neat pics over the next few weeks so folks who don't live here can get an idea about what causes so much discussion with these politicians.  And none of them seem to know a damn thing about the border, or what to do about the immigration problem.  It is a problem, and a big one - perhaps even bigger than anyone suspects at this time.

But I know the border, know people down there, and I understand the culture in place there.  Frontierizos, as they are called, are not like the rest of us Texans.  They don't want to be like us, and most Texans sure as hell don't want to be like them.  Even most Texans don't understand the border.  George Bush, the prez, is from here in Texas, and he doesn't understand.  I can't fault him much for not knowing what to do about the border because he doesn't know what to do about anything.  At least he's consistent.

In lieu of what I come up with over the next few weeks in the way of pictures and presentations of the border, I can assure you of one thing - you'll be surprised, and you might be pleasantly surprised.  The area is not the hell hole most people picture in their minds, that's for sure.  It's got some problem areas, some really ugly places and people, but there's much more to the borderlands than that.  The part I'm going to this weekend isn't bad at all.  In fact, some of it is exceptionally nice.  

You'll see.

D. Paz, 1/25/08