All Good Things Come To An End

Before leaving San Crystaból, we were told that our journey home would take us through unsafe areas, places where bandits rule the roads. We heard that travelers in motor homes were killed, left hung on the highways, robbed, and molested. Still, we had no choice but to head north to the USA. Of course, much of our time was spent reliving our remarkably real, mind-bending experiences. No explanations, only a lot of thinking and talking.

Our drive north was uneventful until two fully armed bandits stepped out on a lonely road about a hundred miles from the border. They motioned with their sub-machine guns for me to pull over, and of course, I did. Lenette was still napping, so I slowly got out of the car. One of the men motioned me to the side of the road, and the other opened the door and put the gun to Lenette’s head. She woke and became instantly aware of the situation. We both stayed remarkably calm, and since Lenette’s Spanish was far better than mine, she asked what they wanted from us. 

The one nearest Lenette replied, “Marijuana or pesos.”

Ironically, we were leaving Mexico because we were running out of money. We had enough left for gas to return home. Lenette invited them to search the VW, explained that we had no Marijuana, and showed them what little cash we had left. After one checked the VW, he found my Buck Knife, our only weapon. As the bandit examined it and fingered the blade, Lenette told him it was a gift from our son and important to me. He held it for a minute and looked us over. In those moments, I believe he considered killing us.

Smiling, he put the knife back where he found it and said, “Adios!”

Stunned but eager to leave, we quickly got back into our van and resumed our journey home, aware of how lucky we were. Serendipity? The word hardly does it justice! Or were we being watched over? In any event, it was a trip never to be forgotten.

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

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