Run to the border over?

Beach resort at Sandy Beach Mexico
My favorite pool at Bella Sirena Resort in Mexico.

On our last trip to Mexico I wrote “Run for the Border.” You can read it HERE. There were two odd things that occurred on that long weekend that made me question our favorite vacation spot four hours south of home. First was getting pulled over by cops at the Mexican border town and being shaken down for $160.

Here’s a snippet from local Arizona news:

Lukeville border closed: How to get to Rocky Point and how much longer it will take

Michael Salerno

“It sucks.”

Esme Hernandez, a local business owner who enjoys traveling to the Mexican beach town of Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point, didn’t mince words in reaction to the closure of the Lukeville-Sonoyta port of entry.

That border crossing provides the most direct route between Phoenix and Puerto Peñasco.

“I just can’t imagine the effect it’s going to have on Rocky Point and the economy. They’re already in the slow season,” she said in a TikTok video and Instagram post about the border crossing’s temporary closure, which U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Friday, Dec. 1.

Why is the Lukeville border crossing closed?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection closed the Lukeville port of entry on Monday, Dec. 4, citing an increase in migrants at the border and a need to assist U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody.

CBP did not say when the border crossing might reopen.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2023/12/05/travel-to-rocky-point-lukeville-closed/71803351007/

Have you? If so, was it on local or national news? Why do you think young men by the thousands are traveling here without any women or children? What do you think could be done about the border being closed to Mexican and American citizens?

My aching back

Have you ever injured yourself without trying? Is this what getting old feels like?

Interesting interview with a favorite author

Ann Patchett Shares Her Reading Resolutions for 2024

The author, most recently of ‘Tom Lake,’ talks about her to-be-read pile, running her beloved Nashville bookstore and when she gets her best writing done

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/ann-patchett-tom-lake-nashville-35f2415b?mod=arts-culture_trendingnow_article_pos5

Here’s a snippet from the WSJ article:

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/ann-patchett-tom-lake-nashville-35f2415b?mod=arts-culture_trendingnow_article_pos5

Are you an Ann Patchett fan? What are some of her books you like?
Who are your favorite authors?

My New Buddy

Rescue dog named Buddy

Here’s a view of the dramatic mountains near Tucson while out walking with Buddy.

How not to be boring at 60

diving off the blocks
That’s me diving off the blocks in my first swim meet.

From the article:

That’s when it hit me: I didn’t have anything new and exciting to tell them. My life had gotten entrenched in routine. Calcified, if you will. I had stopped evolving, and I think we all know what happens then—like the dodo, you stop flying, get fat and Dutch sailors eat you on their voyage home.

I needed to figure out a way to turn this around. I vowed to take that big, upsetting number 60 and remake it into something positive: I decided I would do 60 things I’d never done before. Maybe that would force me to forge new neural pathways in the dog-eared map that was my brain.

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/how-to-avoid-being-boring-at-60-1e9d087a?mod=lifestyle_trendingnow_article_pos1

I was a guest on a podcast hosted by Wynne Leon and Dr. Vicki Atkinson on The Heart of the Matter.

I went to Sacramento and gave a talk to a group of swim parents due to my weekly swim parenting column on a website that had millions of readers per month. (Oh yes, I also started writing that column! Plus started a website where I interviewed swimming stars and coaches in Southern California). Public speaking is one of my biggest fears. I practiced and practiced. My son drove me to the meeting and sat in the audience, so I spoke directly to him.

What would I like to do that I haven’t done?

What’s on your list of things to do to not be boring as you age?

What have you done that you believe keeps you young?

Chit Chat Class

Red Northern Cardinal
A Cardinal visiting my BirdBuddy AI feeder. He has a beautiful voice.

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/colleges-teach-chitchat-to-shy-students-81fe9db1?mod=lifestyle_lead_pos2

What are your thoughts about chit chat class? Do you think the art of small talk is getting lost in today’s society? With just our youth or with everyone and why?

Thankful for Thanksgiving Pets

“Quick, get the kitty!” I yelled to my daughter.

My kids and Waffles

I cooked for our family, my college roommate, who was visiting from Seattle with her mom and brother. Plus a former coworker of mine — and dad of course. Waffles was a hit with everyone — except Olive. I remember my college roommate’s brother thanking me over and over for a home-cooked Thanksgiving. They had planned to eat in their hotel restaurant.

Waffles was beyond cute and so tiny!

What is it about Thanksgiving and adopting our pets? I’m thinking our prior two, Sherman and Angus joined us in the fall as well.