All is secure as I leave the Texas-Mexico border. Or not.

Here I am sitting in the El Paso airport about 40 minutes before boarding time as I slowly make my way back home via the Dallas and Houston airports.

Friday with a canceled flight was pretty crappy with exceptions but all in all it was pretty crappy. But Saturday through today with my friend Rene and his wife Martha was definitely a great time. Rene, his wife and daughter who all live at home share their place with five dogs and five cats. The dogs were a trip. One male dog seemed bound and determined to stare down the white-wing doves that have taken over the neighborhood. Of course, when one barks, they all bark. That seems to work for my friends as one means of home security. They keep one of their little dogs in the front part of their house when everyone is gone and the remaining are in the back. I guess you would call that layered security. They also have a humongous Lab who I guess could be the next layer.

My friend showed me the border fence today before taking me to the airport. It’s hideous for more reasons than one.

For one the fence hides the barrios across the river in Ciudad Juarez. The little homes and shacks aren’t attractive to look at but it is a site that every American needs to see. The site across the river is what the immigration issue as it applies to Mexico is all about. Poverty and slums can be seen from this side even through the hideous fence but the view isn’t as clear.

Also, I think the fence is a big, ugly knee-jerk reaction to a problem so complicated that it can’t be solved by erecting huge fences. What are we going to do, fence up the coasts once we get all of our border fenced? Because illegal immigrants will surely be entering the U.S. by boat, raft, anyway possible. They might also be even more desperate than they are now, which could lead to more violence.

It is getting close to boarding so adios from the Texas-Mexican border where it seems — after going through airport security — “secure” is the watch word.