[BrianR]

Border Patrol and Customs are siezing that stuff by the truckload down here.

One of the reasons I am going back to OTR driving is my desire to buy new and higher quality firearms than I currently own. The drug wars are a big part of that decision.

Even my wife, a native-born El Pasoan, is starting to look at real estate elsewhere, although she denies it's due to the rapidly rising crime rate here and just across the border.

But she doesn't fool me... I see her eyes and feel her emotions on the rare occasions that we travel across the border. She is getting scared.

I even worry since I'm not going to be home to protect her and the dogs (dog theft is rising, too) while I'm earning a living.

If only we would hit a big lottery and be able to retire with all the things we want. Sigh. I could see myself on a twenty-acre spread with horses, dogs and an airstrip.

She wants to buy new furniture, clothes and the usual girl stuff. I want something typically guy-ish. This:


So back to work I go. But I still dream of a small farm/ranch in the Smoky Mountains.