Yeah, I’ll get back to the sailing stuff next post. I just had one more thing to say
Once upon a time, I did some church mission work along the Mexico-U.S. border, helping to build homes for poor people. I went to Agua Prieta, just across the border from Douglas, Arizona.
Much of the economy of border towns depends on trade with the U.S., especially the maquiladoras, factories where Mexican workers work for American companies. The maquilas get special tax treatment, so the Mexicans will stay in Mexico, but they still enjoy some of the benefits that American employers offer, such as retirement and health plans.
In Agua Prieta, one of the biggest employers is General Motors. All of the seat belts in all General Motors vehicles are assembled in Agua Prieta. So if your life has been saved by a General Motors seat belt within the past 20 years, you can thank somebody in Agua Prieta. It wasn’t just the airbag that saved Tadpole’s life; it was also the seat belt. So somebody in Agua Prieta deserves thanks.
As for Dayton … When we first got El Caballero, there was a card inserted in the owner’s manual, signed, by hand, by all of the workers who had had a part in building the car. OK, maybe this was an idea from GM’s public-relations department, to try to make a more personal connection between the car buyer and the corporation. But, hey, I want to thank those workers. The steel frame they built around the passenger compartment of the car held, so Tadpole was not seriously injured, and if he had had passengers, none of them would have been seriously injured either.
In honor of all the hardworking auto workers everywhere, I hoist a toast of Tecate, and another of Bud Light.
Labels: cars, family
4 Comments:
Douglas, AZ... The town whose gas stations have clothing sections for the illegals who have just snuck across.
The human and drug traffikers have free reign as long as they don't attempt to collect one of Arizona's protected reptiles. Never mind the thousands of backbacks, clothes, and trash they leave blanketed throughout the mountain and desert trails.
Hike in the Huachuca Mountains, and you'll see more Mexicans than tourists. You can pick up some great backpacks though.
P.S. For those not familiar with Arizona ecology, I believe the reference to Arizona's Protected Reptiles does NOT refer to members of the legal profession, legislators, lobbyists, or state officials. But I COULD be wrong.
Update: The insurance company called, and they're taking the tire as evidence. If you look at the first picture in the previous post, you can see that it looks like someone took a knife to the tire -- there's clear evidence the tire was defective.
Traffic update: We have now had more than 20,000 visitors. Visitor Number 20K was somebody in an unknown location, using an unknown ISP, in North America, with a computer set to US English, in the Central Time Zone, who arrived on the usual search string.
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