Almost Legal.
Green Truck.
The very first time I crossed the border from Mexico into the US, was in December 21 1977, this was not ordinary for me. I had never been in Juarez, so when I saw the crossing point at the " Puente Stanta Fe" I thought, maybe I will be invisible. I started to walk into the US from the right side, when I went over the hump , I started to panic, I saw a way to move towards the left side, there was a lonely one person caseta, so as I walked toward that check point I begin to create in my mind all the scenarios that could come up, like where was I going? Or if I was a US citizen, lying doesnt come easy for me, so I thought "I'll tell the truth" so all they willl do is turn me around and show me the way out.
As I approach the "casetita" I noticed that it was empty, I looked to the right and all the officers were busy checking vehicles, I simply kept on walking. It was late, like passed 6 o'clock. The sun had disappeared and the light from the sky was very deemed, but the lights in the post were not yet turn on. I was wearing dark clothes and I assumed it would have been difficult for anybody to see me. I kept on walking until I came across the main freeway that crosses El Paso east-west, I had some problems crossing it, but again I felt in a surreal world, I jumped over the railing and went to the street that was nearby, As I walked I choose the right side, crossed a neighborhood that seem deserted and far away I saw a sign that read "Fort Bliss", I might have walked several miles, the lights in the street were on, far into the distance I distinguished a green truck, I thought , this is the "migra" so I signal it to stop it. I have been walking and taking rides for three days, scarcely eating and drinking water on the way. It had been three days since I left Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, the reasons why I will visit them later. So, as the truck got closer I signaled it again. The truck stopped and and then I noticed it was an army truck, the officer inside was in uniform, he asked me
- " where are you going?" my answer.
-"no englich", ok, he say ,
-"subete".
As we started to drive away, he started talking to me in Spanish, he was married to a mexican lady and he said
"we will go home and she can translate for you. "
At his house, the wife was very nice, she invited me to stay for dinner while the officer begin to ask me questions.
He said :
-"do you have friends here", the wife translated "tienes amigos aqui";
my answer was that yes, I knew a missionary name Parker, so he grab the phone book and flipped through it, he stopped at a name and pointed , "is it spelled like this?" He asked. I didn't understand but I say "Si" he marked the number and begin talking to somebody in the other line , he asked for my full name I answered: Ray Hernandez. The person in the other line might agreed to talk to me, because he handed me the phone, I took it and begin to talk. Parker was a missionary that years earlier went to Guerrero a small city in the state of Chihuahua, located in the sierra madre, he knew my grandfather, a tall man who had been a captain in the mexican army during the revolution of 1910. He sounded suprised to hear from me, he asked :
-" How did you enter the US" (como entro a los estados unidos?) I explained to him my little ordeal walking , he asked again :
-" nobody stopped you?" (nadie lo detuvo?) I answered no.
He proceeded to give me instructions to give the phone back to the army officer, who promptly begin to make plans with Parker and then promised him that he would take me after dinner to his house.
When we arrived at Parkers home I saw the 1956 suburban type that he had driven into Mexico back in 1969 and also his Mercedes, a diesel car that he was proud of owning. He opened the door and greeted the army officer first, then me. He was very polite and apologized that he was not ready for such a visit. The officer excused himself, presenting the argument that his wife was waiting home and maybe she was worried, so he left. Parker and his wife talked to me for a while then they fixed a couch for me to sleep in it and we went to bed.
The next morning I saw their daughter, she was a couple years younger than me, she was ready to go to school. Senior in high school she asked me what was I studying, I answered "nada". She laughed and say bye, that was the last time I saw her. Around 8 am Parker begin to lecture me about arriving in the US without passport, but he stated if God wants you here, then doors will open, if not you probably will end up in Mexico again. He prayed for me and my journey and he made sure I understood that I was putting him and his family in a lot of problems if immigration ever found out I was there illegal. His wife had prepared a couple of sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, and she handed me a coke can. Parker went outside and started the car, the Mercedes one, it was cold so it took several minutes of cranking, to get it started. His wife asked me about my mom,
-"does she knows where you are?" (ella sabe donde andas?) no, I answered.
Well she said as soon as you have an opportunity please let her know, she must be worried.
Parker begin to drive towards the freeway, his house was not to far from it, and he said to me " probably your best bet to try your luck will be going north toward Alamogordo" and I said, ok.
In a few minutes we were on a two lane highway, he drove in to the shoulder and said to me " here is the place, from here on you are on your own, if la "migra" stops you please don't mention my name. That cold December day I was destined to know how much God loved me.
Army Helicopters.
It was drizzling, a very cold rain, it keep hitting my face I got off the highway and begin to walk in the rought terrain, it was so cold I knew there were no rattlers any where to be found then. However, mud and clay begin to build up on the bottom of my shoes, I walked and walked, all day, by evening when the light was deem I saw a helicopter fly over, I was scared that it was "la migra"helicopter so I hid in the bushes. After it got late, I decided to get out of the bushes and walk on the pavement. As I walked, I begin to fret, how am I going to spend the night? It was cold, raining and possibly will snow that night. One car went by, and then after several minutes another one. I was not signaling for a ride because I was afraid this time I wouldn't be so lucky. Another helicopter flew by over head, and I didn't look up, kept going at this time the rain was beginning to get stronger.
I Saw some lights coming from behind, I moved to the shoulder on the highway, and the light seem to follow me, I heard the tires in te gravel getting closer, then a van stoped a little up ahead. The driver stepped out of the van and asked me if I was cold, I just nodded, not understanding, I said " no hablo englichh", ok he say, and started with some broken Spanish to explain to me that we were very close to the Oro Grande check point. He asked me where I was going , I remember what Parker mention earlier about Alamogordo and I told him "Alamogordo", he said ok, I will drive you up ahead, then you get out and go around the check point and I will be waiting for you in the other side, after several minutes of one word in english and two in spanish I finally understood his intentions, he wanted to help me pass the check point. We might have been to busy trying to make each other understand or the rain coming down so hard that we missed the sign that marked the place where I was suppose to get out of the van and sooner that we thought here we were, right in the front of the check point trailer, he slowed down and said,
-"God must be protecting you my friend, there are no lights and it seems closed for the night."
Indeed it was closed he passed slowly and then accelerated and just couldn't believe it, he stated that he had passed the same check point hundreds of times in the last 7 years and it had never been close.
Taco Bell.
When we arrived at Alamogordo it was passed 10 pm, he told me that the only place to get something to eat was "Taco Bell" I didn't understand what it was, he said, well is mexican food, we went tru the drive window and he order two burritos, two tacos, and a large drink. Drove home, he asked me to sat there and eat my taco bell food. Even though I was hungry, the food was so blend, it didn't settle well, he returned back with a comforter and told me I had to sleep int he van, it was so late he couldn't introduce me to his keds and or his wife. I slept in the van, waking up every few minutes, it was cold, I could hear the wind shear tru the trees nearby, sometimes knocking some where.
Early in the morning, he come over and opened the van, asked me to step outside and once he saw my face, he figure it was safe to invite me inside his apartment and share breakfast with me. His wife was extremely polite apologizing for her husband behavior the night before, he explained to her, I coudn't understand her, so it didn't matter what she said. She smiled, and told him to take me to the house of one of her friends, her friend's father knew Spanish, he could translate.
After breakfast we went to his friends place, they receive us very nice, the old man begin to speak to me in Spanish :
-"Como esta?
-Como se llama?
-Busca trabajo?
-Cuanto quiere ganar?.
After answering all of his questions he turned to my friend who listened very careful to the recommendations of the old man. He explained to me later after I learned English that this was a kind of an interview because he was not going to recommend someone who was a criminal or had come from Mexico to harm US citizens in any way. He was a retired air force officer, but that he was very impressed the way the "angels" protected us when we crossed the check point.
My first job in the US.
We drove passed Alamogordo towards a small town named La Luz, after that it was gravel road, going east. On the left side it was an old fence with post that seems to be floating, or some not even there. We found the house, and he parked the van under a huge tree, it was a pecan planted in the front .
An old man come outside followed by a young woman with two kids, maybe 3 and 5, the kids I mean. My friend, the retired airforce guy, started talking to the old man and then they both come towards me , the old man asked " do you think 5 dollars a day are ok?" (piensas que 5 dolares al dia esta bien?) I said, yes. I was thinking 5 dollars a day, in Mexico the minimun wage in 1977 was 18 pesos per day. The exchange per dollar was 21 pesos per one. I was going to make more tha one hundred pesos in a day, that meant I was making more money than teachers in Mexico, career that I abandoned during my second year in college.
La Luz New Mexico.
The old man's property who hired me to mend fences was located east of la La Luz New Mexico, I have arrived at his property a couple of days before Christmas, the first night, I was left to slept in the porch, place that was covered with screen all around, and it had some curtains that could be lower down and stopped somehow the cold breeze at night, however the next morning, they invited me for breakfast. The breakfast table was set, I found myself in front of a plate with two eggs , bacon and toast. I couldn't remember when was the last time someone have taken the time to cook me breakfast. The old man's daughter had done such a wonderful job, I felt guilty to eat there.
After breakfast, him and his wife invited me to go into town, La Luz, I agreed and hop in the back of the pick up, he frowned and say "No", and pointed at the seat inside, next to his wife. Outside was snowed, they drove for a few minutes in silence, then when we arrived to La Luz , he stopped in front of the local Church. It was the Church of Christ, I was familiar with it, since I grew up visiting several churches among them, baptist, Methodist and church of Christ. They took me inside and the pastor that didn't speak Spanish introduce himself and asked if I have been baptized, I understood that word, I said "no, no baptized..." and I shrugged my shoulders, they walked toward the front of the church and I was left behind to admire the small town, and also small church, there were probably five or seven benches in all, but it felt warm. I carefully lifted a song book, it seem it had seen better times, the cover was a bit beat up, carefully opened and found a song, I didn't know english, but I could read some music so I began to mumble the melody of "How great thou Art" my grandfather's favorite.
After the meeting with the pastor and apparently I didn't know it had been schedule a baptism in Alamogordo with the Spanish speaking pastor of the church of Christ there, we went to Alamogordo. They took me into a store and helped me pick up a Jacket, I didn't have one when I arrived to their home, and they didn't have any spares. They took me to the Spanish church of Christ, the other pastor had already talked on the phone with the local one, he received us and hug me, talking in Spanish really fast, explaining that the water might be a little cold since he didn't have the time to warm it up. We continuo our conversation in Spanish, it was then when I found out that this particular couple would not allow an unbaptized person in their home. It reminded me of the Mennonites in Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua the Mennonites were a christian culture that left Europe right before WWI and found locations in America where to live with the community around them dedicated to agricultural farming and dairy. The Mennonites have known me for years, I grew up around them but they always kept me at the door, never inviting me inside. As a Mexican I was baptized as a baby in a catholic church, even though the doctor that deliver me was Jewish and had advised my mother of the evils of the church. I stated that I didn't mind, after all why should I mind? What had the catholic church done for me? Created a country in which I was borne, a country without hope for the poor, no one could advance there, since the revolution of 1910, people were getting poorer, so I just agreed to live my religion behind and start a new life. The Spanish -speaking pastor explained to me that just because I went to summer christian school at the local town in Mexico, it didn't make me a christian, I needed to get baptize "pronto."
Comments