Friday marked our 9th month of living in our RV full time. It was also the 78th day since we left Centertown in early December.
Outside temperatures were in the high 40's when I got up this morning. It was windy and cool all day.
The highlight of Fridays is the people coming in with fresh fruits and vegetables. They set up about 100 yards from where we are parked. I took this photo standing in the "checkout" line. A lady works full time as a cashier while a guy splits his time between "peeling and coring" pineapples and being a 2nd cashier. Another guy is constantly refilling boxes with produce off the truck, and sorting out any less desirable produce. Our purchases included 3 grapefruits, a bunch of radishes, a bunch of green onions, some cucumbers & a head of broccoli.
Kathy says that in general their prices are a little higher than at the grocery store, but it is fun participating in buying from them. It is great to see people with a hard working entrepreneurial spirit. On top of that all three of them are very pleasant people. We normally check out with the lady and she always ends with "Have a blessed day."
For months the spacebar on my notebook computer has often included two spaces when I hit it. I took it over to the guy who refurbished the charging port on my cell phone ($35) and he fixed (probably cleaned the contacts/keyboard), $30. When I arrived to drop off the computer he and another adult male were out in the parking lot, along with 2 kids (I assume they were the owners kids) and a manually powered "scooter". He was blasting around the parking lot on it.
There is a gatehouse at the campground entrance. Every time we have entered the campground there has been a guard on duty to look for the placard you are supposed to have on your dash. (If you come in during the overnight hours, when no "guard" present you have a code to punch in and open the gate. Two different guys seem to man the gate. They always have a smile.
Kathy and I were talking about this. This area is obviously economically distressed. The population of Hidalgo County is about 900,000 (554 people per square mile). 93% of the permanent residents are Hispanic/Latino. The median household income is $44,700 (national average $69,000) and 29% of the people live in households with below poverty level incomes (national average 11.6%). For comparison the following are some statistics on the last 2 counties where we have lived. Cole County, MO & Boone County, IN. Cole County population 77,000 (197/sqmi), median household income $64,700 & 11.6% below poverty level. Boone County population 73,000 (168/sqmi), median household income $94,800 (Zionsville $141,500) & 5.5% below poverty level. The main focus of our discussion was how pleasant, and happy (maybe not the right word) local people seem to be around a couple of rich (by local standards) white peope down here to escape the winter.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.
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