Sunday, September 8, 2013

The Tunnel People Become Tent People?




In the first pic you see the vacant lot that is beside the resort where we are staying.  The street that goes around the vacant lot is a street where we can leave to get off the property.  From our 7th floor unit the view to the right is what is in this picture.  At the top left hand corner is a big white building; that is the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which fronts onto the strip.  If you can enlarge the pic or look closely, you'll see a street light just a little to the right of the center of the picture.  Near that street light is the entrance to the tunnel where the folks live who we've been observing this week.  In the next picture I zoomed in to show the 'community' a little better.  At first glance it looks like a pile of junk.  But, if you look closer there are a couple of women leaving with their dogs on leashes.  One woman has a cigarette in her mouth.  Just to the left of the pole are a couple of men.  Yesterday was a very active day.  If you look at the weather map on the TV, you'll see that it is mostly dry all over the country, BUT we are having what they call monsoon rains here in the desert!  That's been kind of a hoot for us because it doesn't look like much rain to us, but it causes all kinds of flooding out here. It's enough to run the tunnel people out of the tunnels, too.  They have built quit a tent community over this week.  It's been very interesting to watch them.  There are at least a dozen folks coming and going out of this location.  I googled it and find that there are 1000 people living in the tunnels under this city.

At first I felt sorry for them, but after watching them for a week, I realize that they are living just like they want to live.  They have choices just like I do and they are living their dream.  I nearly flipped when those women emerged with dogs on leashes!  Later another woman took off her shirt and washed her hair in her bra and put on another shirt and then left with a guy.  I use the phrase 'washed her hair' loosely; she bent over and poured a jug of water on her head, called it good, put on a 'clean' shirt and off she went.  I'm sure glad I remembered the binoculars for this trip!  It made my observations of the tunnel people much easier!  I live and learn and I'm sure I have lots more to learn. I thank God for the opportunities to learn and to make choices.  "As for me and my household we will serve the Lord."  I'm thankful for the opportunity and choice to have a house!  I'm thankful for the opportunities and choices to work and save.

Look back at the first pic; notice the mountains all around this valley.  This is certainly an amazing place.  I'm glad to get to visit here and observe, but I'm grateful for home!  Everything we see is like scripture; it's all good for learning.  God bless!

Note:  for me to make these pix bigger, I right click on each one and then choose to "open link in a new window."  Then click on that new pic and it gets bigger.  Maybe it works like that for you, but it probably is different from computer to computer.  Good luck with that. :)

2 comments:

  1. That is so interesting about the tunnel people. It always makes you wonder what about their lives led them to this point. People-watching is something that intrigues me too. An interesting book could probably be written about each one. Glad you are enjoying your trip. Love you, Doris

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  2. Doris, isn't that the truth. I wanted to go down and interview the folks! I was so interested in how they fill their days, etc. It was so very interesting! This trip has been so awesome, from the geography to the sociology! We've been blessed with safety and great times. Love you, too!

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