It's not Tucson, though, about which I am thinking. It's no more than an hour south. It is the long arbitrary line we call the border, and we struggle as a nation to guard against the poor Mexicans streaming across (this was Mexico!).

It's a newsworthy item that gets all the hype (3.9 billion spent on the border wall!) but not the closer examination it warrants. People still come in desperation and die lost and heat-stroked in the summer sun. The Mexican consulate assists the families in the identification of remains. Some things we know. And others are vague. The judgement of who is good and bad shift constantly along the border. The chief of police of Sonora was shot in his hotel when he came to investigate a rash of gunfighting drug war deaths on the Day of the Dead this year. The cartels have started lopping off heads, mass executions, this explosion of the drug business, it's coming across, it surrounds us now, but still I am vague.

Two weeks ago I read that the Calderon's regime is supporting the Sinoloan cartel, it was stated like a fact but it was the first time I'd heard it. I don't know what's going on, but I'm asking all border watchers and Mexico lovers to help me shine a light. No story too small, no opinions too big, all comers are invited to post your border stories here.