I love it! Sent from my iPhone
> On May 25, 2018, at 9:17 PM, Mixon Bill <[email protected]> wrote: > > Back in the ’70s (and even today) there were persistent > rumors that the CIA was secretly running drugs to > finance its operations. I think cavers may have played > into that perception, at least in the eyes of a couple of > American tourists. Here’s how. > In 1978 Tennessee caver Chris Kerr broke his leg in > Cueva del Brinco, part of Sistema Purificación in the > mountains northwest of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. > The relatively small crew on site was not sufficient to > mount a rescue, so cavers were called in from the US. > Austin got the call, and within twenty-four hours Terry > Sayther’s truck and eight cavers were ready to go. The > team consisted of Jerry Atkinson, Gill Ediger, Tracy > Johnson, Mark Minton, Terry Sayther, Bill Steele, Bill > Stone, and Terri Treacy. As anyone around in those times > could attest, we were a pretty hairy and wild-looking > bunch. Air transport had been arranged through the > National Cave Rescue Commission and US Air Force, > so we set out for Bergstrom Air Force Base, now the > Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. At the gate they > wanted to know who was in charge, and they seemed > both amused and concerned when we looked at each > other blankly and then said nobody. We all felt equally > competent and didn’t need a leader. > After some unavoidable delays, Sayther’s truck was > loaded into a C-130 military transport plane, along with > all of us and our supplies. We flew to Brownsville and, > after a brief delay spent in a holding pattern, received > clearance from Mexico to enter their airspace. There > was apparently an agreement concerning how many > US military aircraft could be in Mexican airspace at > one time, and that number were already there, so we > had to wait while one cleared out. We then flew to the > Victoria airport, which at the time did not have commercial > flights. The runway was somewhat short and > potholed. We made a pass or two so that the pilot could > assess the situation, after which he said he thought we > could make it. Gulp! > After a successful landing, the plane rolled to a stop > and the back hatch went down. Terry drove his truck > down the ramp and the rest of us got in. We pulled up > to the small airport office, where a Mexican government > representative handed us a sheaf of papers and > assured us that all of the immigration paperwork had > been taken care of and that we were good to go. We > signed nothing, but thanked him and headed off on > our quest. The C-130 took off and returned to Texas; > we would have to drive back. > Observing all of this was a couple of Americans who > had apparently recently arrived in a private plane. They > watched agape as a civilian Chevy Suburban full of > hippies that had just come off of a U. S. military plane > exchanged pleasantries with a Mexican official and > roared off into the sunset. No doubt they were sure they > had just witnessed first-hand that the US was involved > in some highly suspicious activities in Mexico. > —Mark Minton, Texas Caver, fourth quarter 2009. > > Reprinted AMCS Activities Newsletter 38, 2015, page 88. > ---------------------------------------- > A chicken is the egg's way of making another egg. > ---------------------------------------- > You may "reply" to the address this message > (unless it's a TexasCavers list post) > came from, but for long-term use, save: > Personal: [email protected] > AMCS: [email protected] or [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com > [email protected] | Archives: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers _______________________________________________ Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com [email protected] | Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
