"Dear Dolls and Wolves-- Dollings all--..."

With Phillip doing most of the driving we went right through to the border, at El Paso, then taking it easy a few hours till the border and customs opened up. I think Phillip got his biggest eyeful of foreign life, not in the poor shacks and poor people, but in the customs office!!

If someone were to write a story telling of the interminable duplicate, triplicate, twenticate rubber stampings and initial signing and inspections, and then re-repeating, you would say Well, he had to exaggerate to make a good story, but actually the truth was beyond an American's belief in the possibility. Not that they were deliberately trying to bother us; rather they were interested in us and our work and doing their best to--Ripley-- expedite us. Others that they were not interested in were there three days going around the rounds, while we made it in a record- breaking 3 quarters of one day. I guess it was good you were not along Mrs. D, youda died not from Montezuma but boredom or incomprehension. When we would think we had been to every office, got every stamp and initial, some inspector would point out a flaw, and we would have to go back and get a correction. When you are actually out on the road, you can't believe it, some inspector's going to pop out of the bushes and send you back for another rubber stamp. After all that the trip itself was a breeze to Mexico D F.

Phillip took a lot of pictures of the Teotihuacan Pyramids which I approaching was not especially interested in, thinking I had seen it or several equivalents, but discovered it had been so worked over, what I had seen before was just the ante room. For years they had known there were archeological things under the mounds, but they had only cleaned off a small fraction. But a few years ago, Mexico went to work on its biggest and it turned out simply mind-boggling gigantic! Mayan Guatemalteco Tikal has always been called numero uno on the archeological charts, but that must be from being found and cleaned up first, for now it is seen to be but one tenth or less of that big Mexican.

I met a dreamy eyed chica off the beaten path somewhat looking off into the spirit world or something and for a joke I said, Do you feel the old spirit power around yet? To my surprise it was like striking a match. Absolutely! My forefathers had a spiritual purity that the modern religion does not have. The power is not apparent to most here after all these years, but it is here.

I said, still in a lighter vein, All you'd need to bring it back into full flower would be a sacrifice, say after a severe drought, the virgin daughter of a chief, taken aloft to the heights with a hundred thousand Aztecs filling the surrounding area, and Cut Out her Heart and hold it aloft to the gods while it still beat and palpitated.

She said, Lies, lies, all that was made up by Catholic priests, Christianity is an evil religion. All lies. A group approached that apparently were her friends, so I had to close fast, with, Listen You're right about the Catholic system being full of evil, but don't confuse that with Christ's teachings full of love and mercy. Read His Words for yourself, and feel some Real Power and Purity. Adios, Dios le bendiga y le guie.

Phillip decided not to stay on in D F alone, Perhaps old Monty helping in the decision. So at 8:30 a.m. we ambled toward the Airport to see what planes there were, the ones he had tickets for being 8:30 and 9:00, one leaving right then and the other long before we could hope to get there. But as it turned out though there were no other planes, things meshed and --most unlike the former Mexico customs gang-- we got to the ticket counter, with the door closed and everyone settling for a long snooze till the next day's flight. But I yelled hold the train, open the door, and while the guy kept saying it was impossible he was doing it, and Phillip went through. I don't know it he made the plane. Maybe He's still there.

Went on to Puebla alone, and youda died laughing at me going down a canyon road driving with my knee trying to get a bottle of Coke open and ice into it, or maybe you don't laugh easy. The old heap --both of em-- ran pretty good and we met the friends the next morning almost on schedule. Almost, because while everyone at the bus station had said there was only one bus and it was for 8:30 a.m. another had come in at 4:30 with my gang, and they had 4 hours to build up a nervous loving pressure so that when I showed they exploded smothering me in latin brasos and besos, hugs and kisses, almost worth the delay. Keep it in mind for future mileage.

Although more packed than formerly, it bothered no one, the young mechanic liked to drive, and I slept on the bed.

I recalled among other interesting memories, thousands of em, Mart's surprise mixed with teensy touch of chagrin-- I don't know how to spell that any better than the Greeley stenogs-- when we were well not arguing, discussing ecologists, Tennessee valley snail's warts, etc. that I said they were fanatics and it was their religion, and Bob comes in 5 minutes later and said the identical, like we had made it up before the show and Mart looks from one to the other to see if we had not. But there was no mystery, identical twins and great minds just think like, right Bob? Pardon the belittling liberty.

Was treated well at Guatemala customs. Your letter impressed them, also some helper reading over the chief's shoulder, when he turned the page to the Spanish version,, said quite loud, Oh! Misiòn Bìlica, that's the outfit in Zone 3 that gives out milk daily and food to all the poor children. The chief still wanted some things opened and one of the first was an accordion, which I pulled out for him, and then instead of putting it back, began playing, and the joint stopped dead.

Every single person left his desk and gradually began moving forward into a circle, and after a few moments-- as I looked around-- I could tell every Evangelico there. Singing the words softly of the songs I was playing. They all put the pressure on the chief to keep things light and easy, so we got out in an hour or two paying less than a tenth of what mightabeen.

Got in, to find the place flooded with hurricane-rain, but everybody happy!

Waking up here with a nice radio that turns itself on I couldn't figure for a few seconds why Bob didn't come on with inspirings to begin the day right.

Tede Amor

Orland