WHO’S DRIVING THIS TRAIN?

My favorite character from Point Dume, Felix Duarte, has hijacked my next novel and I’ve been taken hostage by a new theme.  I intended to write about environmental terrorists and was really looking forward to getting my hands on the folks at PETA, Earth First and those nuts with the Sea Shepherd.  I went pretty deep on my research into the death of our oceans and the culprits. Fishermen versus environmentalists. I was (am) deeply concerned about the decimation of the shark population.  But as I was heading in that environmental direction, the plight of Felix Duarte, and people like him, continued to haunt me.  I just couldn’t put the migrant issues away.  And then, out of the blue, I got an email announcing a new documentary on this exact subject called The 800 Mile Wall. I ordered it immediately.  The 800 Mile Wall is one of the most important movies I’ve seen in years.  It is an excellent film and every American citizen should be required to watch it–twice.  Our border wall is not stopping people from entering this country.  It is just funneling them into the harshest deserts where they are dying by the thousands on US soil and our government doesn’t seem to care.  It’s an outrageous violation of human rights and WE are responsible.  It makes me so mad I can hardly see straight.  So anyway, I took the 800 Mile Wall as a sign from the all-powerful gods inside my head that this is a subject that I should continue to pursue.  I consulted my main character in the new book, Delilah Louise Donaldson, and she agreed.  (She is not an easy person to deal with.  I was very relieved that we saw eye to eye on this subject.)  And so, here we go down a new path.  Six months of environmental terrorist research will be put on ice.  Maybe I’ll use it in another book but not this one.

I had not visited the new wall, which the Bush administration signed into existence, nor spent much time in that area, and so I jumped into the car and drove down to Border Field State Park to see where the whole thing starts at the Pacific Ocean.

California/Mexico border

Border Field State Park is a beautiful wildlife habitat that consists of sand dunes and salt marshes in the Tijuana river valley.  It is closed to vehicles due to budget issues and so I had to leave my car outside the park and walk a couple of miles to get to the actual fence.  The place is swarming with Border Patrol agents, zooming around in their trucks, searching for illegal aliens.  Years ago this was a hot spot of illegal activity but it’s been a long time since anyone was shot here due to the double and triple fencing that defines this area.  And yet there is no shortage of law enforcement.  During my two hour visit I must have seen at least fifteen patrol cars, maybe twenty.

Triple fence in Border Field Park

As I walked down the beach I saw that there was a  patrol vehicle parked on the sand at the border, guarding the area and making sure that no one tried to swim around the fence.  When I approached his truck, I noticed he was sleeping and, not wanting to disturb him, I continued right up to the wall where I started taking pictures.  Apparently that was against the law.  The agent woke up, threw the truck in gear, drove forward twenty feet to where I was standing, and announced in a loud voice that I had to move back TEN FEET because I was breaking Federal law.  He was quite rude.  Unnecessarily rude. When I tried to question him about the lack of signage defining that particular law, he threw the truck in reverse and retreated to his original parking spot, then glared at me and pulled out his radio.  I took one more picture then dutifully followed orders and stepped back.

Border Patrol

I was confronted by several other agents during my visit.  One of them threatened to arrest me when I politely asked him some questions about the wall.  “Don’t make me mad lady.  I will arrest you.”  It was interesting to be treated so badly by so many people in authority.  Unpleasant but interesting.  I felt quite powerless.   I saw evidence of those who had crossed illegally and wondered about their fate, wondered how they would be treated if they were caught by these Border Patrol agents.

a doll's arm

a shoe lost in the mud

I’m going to Tijuana next to see this from the other side.  Somehow I think it will look much different.