Background Check

It's raining here again. I'm so tired of it. I'm tired of carrying around stuff and fumbling with the umbrella so I can walk to and from my car.

However, my hometown, Nuevo Laredo, the place where I was born and spent countless summer nights in is slowly going under water. So, I'm trying very hard to not complain about the heavy rain. I was on MSN messenger with one of my cousins there who sent me the following photos that were taken today.

This is the only bridge, of three, that allows people traffic. The water is almost level to the bridge. When I was a kid, the water seemed so far away which always made the trips across scarier just in case I slipped and fell into the Rio Grande. To see it that close to the bridge terrifies me more now than it ever did back then.

A park is located under all that water as well as some of the stations for crossing the bridge.

In my 33 years, I have never seen the water this high. To make matters worse, and just that much more heartbreaking, is one of my mom's beloved cousins, my second cousin, died yesterday evening after a long and painful battle with cancer. My Grandma has buried 3 of her nieces in under 2 1/2 years.

My mom is trying to figure out a way to be with my Grandma and the family but one of my uncles just emailed me with the message that the water has just hit the base of the the bridge that is suppose to allow vehicles and people to pass through. It's only a matter of time until the water surpasses the bridge.

And the shit just got real.