𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗖𝗔𝗥 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥, 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞

 "Seven days, seven more days she’ll be coming

I’ll be waiting at the station for her to arrive

Seven more days, all I gotta do is survive" (B. Dylan)

Toiling in this mundane blogosphere is nothing more than "busy work" in lieu of real life.  Chronicling the whims, pontifications and missteps of Brownsville politicos is the creative equivalent of ringing a bell, harmless, but inconsequential.

The only thing ever giving my life meaning, substance and/or direction has been working in tandem with a strong, independent woman and I've been "blessed" with two of such; one for 49.5 years, another now for 6.

For me, YouTube, while an escape, is also a vehicle, transporting me to the "old city" of Chiang Mai, then 80.2 miles up a twisting mountain road to Pai.  Anyone who can read maps knows Pai is just a hop, skip and jump from Chiang Khong, across the Mekong River into Laos.

Brownsville, misnamed and misunderstood, is also a consequential city, not Asian, but Hispanic, north of much of Mexico, on the southernmost continental point of the 48 contiguous states.  

Who knows what a metropolis our town, this town, would be at this very moment, had it not experienced such a seasonal "brain drain," with most of our brightest seeking a well-compensated life beyond in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, etc.?  Don't expect SpaceX to alter that historic out-of-town migration as Elon Musk will end up taking more from this community than he gives back.

My two precocious grandsons won't be forced to leave, as one, a techie, will be able to work anywhere, remotely or physically present, and the other, a natural-born politician, doesn't seem to want to stay.

My own leaving or going is tied to the wishes and needs of my current life partner, an Asian, who's always succeeded everywhere she's been.  Pushing 77, I'm along for the ups and downs of the roller coaster track, not self-steered, but mechanically maintained and oiled by the carnival's best mechanics. 

I keep telling myself that, while I don't necessarily "fit in," I can function most anywhere.