Filling the Spaces

We departed Puerto Vallarta, Mexico around noon, and arrived in Brownsville, TX the following day, around 10:00 in the morning.  Mark and I had independently decided that the first thing we would do in the USA would be to find a pancake house.  We stopped in at Denny's and everybody had pancakes- Robert's were made to look like a smiley face, with whipped cream and a cherry.

By the time we left Denny's, it was still too early to check in to a hotel, so Mark suggested we continue driving to Corpus Christi, where he knew we could find dinghy wheels.  Neither Robert nor I were excited about the prospect of getting back in the car for another two hour drive.  In fact, Robert pointed out that there was a hotel right next to Denny's, so why don't we just go there and take a nap?

Mark's logic won us over- in Corpus we would find dinghy wheels and we could go trick or treating at a mall.  So, we got back in the car and headed a little further north.  We checked in to a hotel, took a nap, and then participated in the new American tradition of trick or treating at the mall.  Robert and I have both missed being around other kids, so this was a fun time for everyone.  There were hundreds of other kids at the
View Larger Map mall, and Robert enjoyed seeing all the kids and all the different costumes.

We were also able to go to a park while in the US- something that is a huge treat for us.  In Kansas, we literally went to a different park every day with Robert's cousins.  In Mexico, a playground is very difficult to find.  The few we have found have been very dilapidated, to the point of being dangerous.  Luckily, there is an indoor playground at the mall at the top of the marina here- a McDonald's playplace.  But, a true American park with wood chips and shade and things to climb on and slide down was a luxury for us.

I was surprised at the amount of stress I felt while in the US.  While living in the marina, we have noted that no matter how big one's boat, one is always complaining that there isn't enough space.  If the boat is smaller, like ours, you're wondering where you can possibly store one more spare toilet paper roll.  But we have seen huge yachts overcrowded with two dinghies, two sea doos, and several fishing poles- and those people are probably wondering where they can possibly store one more scuba tank.

It's the same in a house- if you're in a smaller home, you complain about storage space. You buy a bigger home, and you feel compelled to fill the spaces with "stuff" until you have no more space, and then you go back to complaining you don't have enough storage.  The fact is, Americans will continue to buy more and more stuff to fill all their spaces.  We feel compelled to buy.  In fact, it is often considered patriotic to buy.  If you're not buying, you're not participating in growing the economy.

So, there we were in Texas, with absolutely anything and everything available to us, after having to scrounge and learning to do without in Mexico.  What were all those things I needed that I couldn't find in Mexico?  I don't remember, but here is a bleach pen, and here is a WD-40 dispensed like a felt tip marker, and here is a cell phone holder that also holds business cards and has a key ring.  Not that I need any of these things, but my, how clever!  How convenient! And Armour All sells wipes for your dashboard and for your chrome and for your tires, what a great idea!

Suddenly I'm getting caught up in capitalism and consumerism.  But, I only have 48 hours to get done what I need to get done.  And I only have a 46 foot boat to store stuff in. And, I don't NEED any of this stuff anyway!! It was all terribly stressful.

And then, suddenly, I was longing to be back in Mexico.  I didn't have the time to get back into the swing of retail shopping, and I really didn't want to be back in it, anyway.  All I wanted were some Goldfish crackers and some Welch's fruit snacks for Robert.  If I can find a few tension rods for a makeshift shelf, great.  I can't find these items in Mexico, and I've been looking for weeks.  But if I can't find them in 48 hours, I'm sure we'll get by.

As we drove back across the bridge to Matamoros, I was glad to see the street vendors in their rickety homemade bicycle carts, and the city buses recycled from used US school buses, and the laundry hanging from the line.  I was relieved from the stress of having to shop through aisles and aisles of sparkling new merchandise of every sort beyond imagination, and I was freed to make do with what was available- which isn't much.  It is oddly freeing to live in a small space, and to live in an environment where not only do you not feel compelled to buy the newest and best widgets, but the newest and best widgets are simply not available.