"We're tying down the house that cost us an eye from the face (to build)," said fisherman José Manuel Callejas, 46, standing on the stairs to his wooden house on stilts.

"I've been here thirty years and I know how these things play out," said fisher Lázaro Osorio, 61, citing a familiar local saying: "It's better to say this is the place he ran from than to say this is the place where he ended up."

After working all day to get the house ready for Hurricane Dolly, I'm tired. And worried. My first hurricane. Worried about flooding more than anything. Worried about those who live closer to the gulf, and those who live near the levees. Worried about the folks transported from the immigration detention centers. Worried that papeles are still important during disastrous times. Upset that the fed. gov. started working on the border wall this week instead of doing more to help us survive. Worried that the shelters being set up in town do not allow pets. Worried about projectiles flying through windows. Worried about those with infants. Worried about the elderly. Worried about those with few family members nearby. Happy to see neighbors joking today, at the sandbag station. A sense of comraderie as we filled our sandbags. Someone said, "Hello, Dolly!" and joked that the exercise in the heat was working off the big hamburger he ate. The RG Valley was alive today with activity. I can see now why people stock up on cerveza and party along with the storm. Now it is quiet. It's still quiet here. The rain is coming and the wind--soon. Before it got dark, the sky was pink, a pink I've never seen or noticed before. A slight flush, fever before the storm. It was hot today. I brought in all my lawn furniture and a few creepy crawlies came in too. I thought, should I save the fly that wants to come in with me or wave it outside? The bird (sparrow?) nest under the porch was just rebuilt this week after knocked down by wind. It will be the first to go. I heard a few green parakeets squawk by before sundown. I am impressed with everyone working together today. At the same time, I did not like how a woman opened her car door at the HEB that slammed into my car and didn't even say sorry. Just kind of looked my way for a second. And then proceeded to walk into HEB, fixing her hair. It wasn't even windy yet. Not one bit of wind. I'm in the outer bands, I believe. I send a prayer to the universe for all who are closer to more flooding and more struggle and hope all make it through this. I grew up in Cali, and don't fear earthquakes. But I fear hurricanes (and tornadoes... thought about The Wizard of Oz today... yes, the early evening sky felt like that eery and strangely fascinating technicolor); the unknown. Peace.

"The federal government was to begin this week constructing the first part of the new border fence in Hidalgo County. While project supervisors met with emergency officials about the storm, large cranes unloaded steel beams and other supplies at a staging area near the levee Monday. Concrete walls will be incorporated into the river side of the levees to keep floodwaters, illegal immigrants and smugglers out."

Hurricane season. Hurricane Dolly. The Rio Grande Valley in deep South Texas. The border wall construction. The levees. Construction of the wall halted for the time being. But when the storm blows over, construction will start again. This border wall horrible, horrible, horrible. And now, added to the list of why it is so obviously horrible: the future safety of millions who live here, one of the poorest counties in the nation. Hurricane warnings and with levees in need of repair.

I'm building my little boat in preparation for the tropical storm, possibly a hurricane. Can still cross the Rio Grande~Bravo.

"when the herd returns
we'll be asking for peace,
we'll be asking for a blessing,
we'll be making peace with our mothers,
when the herd returns
...
we'll share our bounty with those who didn't plant,
we'll eliminate poverty and hunger,
when the herd returns
we'll live with less,
...
we'll be singing to bring rain,
singing to heal our grief
singing to the moon.
..."



from "On the Wing" by Margo Tamez from Naked Wanting (University of Arizona Press 2003).

"The Río is called Bravo"

"The Río is called Bravo
because of the walking Pirañas
that patrol along
the steel laced fence."

from "Río Grande" by José Antonio Burciaga

SOUTH TEXAS PROTEST AGAINST THE BORDER WALL

What: A protest opposing the border wall followed by a march on the Hidalgo County Commissioner’s Court

Where: Where: Beginning at the UT Pan American Student Union Theater [please note location update from ballroom to student union theater].

When: Saturday, July 12, 2008 at 5:00 pm (click to read all the details)

"Saturday July 12, 2008 has been designated a Day of Protest against the Border Wall. Construction on the first south Texas sections is scheduled to begin on July 14."

This is real. We are a real place here in South Texas. The border is a real place. A beautiful place. Please lend your support to our communities. Attend the protest and/or sign the petition Oppose the Border Wall Petition