BACK THEN

HOWDY
Well the month of July 2020 will be remembered here in Del Rio for a long time. This virus that has taken over Del Rio has got a lot of people either confused or afraid, maybe a little of both.
On July the 15th the mayor stated that we were up to 11 deaths and that there was no room at the local hospital and even in San Antonio they were not taking any cases of the virus from Del Rio.
I believe what surprised a lot of people was when the mayor stated that they were trying to locate a refrigerated trailer to put the people that had passed away in because there was no more room, not even in the funeral homes. I am not sure what it will take for the people to realize that this is very serious.
It took me back to the flood of 98 when they had to bring a refrigerated trailer for the people that were lost in the flood.
Driving down highway 90 East I noticed the barricades in front of the entrance to the blue hole or to what we all called my favorite swimming place the pump house. It is sad to see that we have reached that point that we are not even able to go to the park and go swimming.
For as long as I can remember the parks were always full during the summer time and especially on the fourth of July.
When I was young, we would get up early and eat breakfast usually cereal, make a sandwich and head out to the San Felipe creek. We would spend the day laughing, swimming, goofing off just enjoying being with good friends.
My best friend back then was Roberto Diaz. We went everywhere together. We got our first bike at the same time then later on we got a car about the same time. Robert lived on Ware St. and I lived in the San Jose project. Our other friends that went with us some times were Salvador Torres Tobie, Danny Mesa, Jimmy Flores, and others it was a good time to be alive and we did not even realize it. I worked for Rudy Corbinas and Robert worked for Ross Drug Store but we spent a lot of time together. Roberto passed away in 1999. I remember Victor Camposano told me that he would go and dive in the San Felipe creek to get golf balls and then sell them to people that played golf to get a little money to buy some thing to eat or drink. I have not seen or spoke to Victor in a while but I was told he is like me with a few health problems.
What really impressed me about Victor was he is very smart and he knows a lot about the way Del Rio was back in the good old days and a lot of people do not know that he knows a lot about the bible. At one time we would talk almost every day, so if you want some history about Del Rio talk to Victor, he remembers things that I forgot or never knew.
I can recall the time when you could walk down Main Street and have trouble walking because there were so many people. We would stop at the entrance to Kress just to smell the popcorn that they were making and selling
Then we would cross the street to the city café I believe that was the name. I know that a man named Harry Pierce was the owner. They made good hamburgers.
Then we would go across the street to the Rita theatre since Roberto and I worked in the early morning cleaning the Drive-In theatre we were able to get in free to any movie we wanted to see.
He has been gone a long time but I still visit his grave and still talk to him.
At night we would go to San Felipe to pick fights. Since we lived in Chihuahua we were really not welcome in that part of town and me being gringo just added to the problems we were faced with.
Let me finish this by saying you never forget things that happen to you when you were growing up, but right now we live in a Del Rio like I have never seen. We are faced with a deadly enemy we cannot see but it is there so we must learn to face it and deal with it. Listen to what he city and county leaders say and let’s get through this. To do that we must work together and pray that the good lord can help us get through this time. Stay safe take care and remember wear your mask when you leave your home so that soon we will be able to walk the streets and enjoy my home town Del Rio Texas GOD BLESS. Thanks to the Victor Cirilo and the Val Verde County Library.