WEBVTT - So Far From Care

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<v Speaker 1>This is Latino USA, the radio journal of news and

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<v Speaker 1>curture Latino USA. Latin Latino USA. I'm Maria Inojosa. We

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<v Speaker 1>bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered to you,

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<v Speaker 1>overlooked by the rest of the media, and while the

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<v Speaker 1>country is struggling to deal with these, we listen to

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<v Speaker 1>the stories of Black and Latino Studios United, Latino Front,

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<v Speaker 1>a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Maria Inojosa, nose Bayan. Hello, my dear Latino USA listener.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, living on the Texas Mexico border is challenging

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<v Speaker 1>for a lot of reasons right now, and so today

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<v Speaker 1>we wanted to bring you a story about what it's

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<v Speaker 1>like to give birth in southwest Texas, where there's only

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<v Speaker 1>one hospital serving a region of twelve thousand square miles,

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<v Speaker 1>and it doesn't get better on the Mexican side of

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<v Speaker 1>the border. Brisa Levezma knows this all too well. She

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<v Speaker 1>lives in Ohinai in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, but

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<v Speaker 1>she works in the Texas bordered town of Presidio. For

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<v Speaker 1>the birth of her second child, Bisat, decided to schedule

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<v Speaker 1>a c section at the only maternity hospital available in

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<v Speaker 1>southwest Texas. It's called Alpine. Bisa thought it would be

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<v Speaker 1>safer than delivering in Mexico, but things didn't go as planned.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a story from our friends at Marfa Public Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>It's part of the series So Far from Care. We're

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<v Speaker 1>going to find more stories about the challenges women are

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<v Speaker 1>facing to access reproductive healthcare in the Big Bend area.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's the episode. It's called Alone on This Side.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a cold night in February up on a

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<v Speaker 2>highway through the oil fields of the Permian Basin. And

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<v Speaker 2>if you've been up there, you know people tend to

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<v Speaker 2>drive pretty fast, lots of f one to fifties and

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<v Speaker 2>big tank trucks. But there was one little car that

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<v Speaker 2>was moving a lot slower than the rest, and everybody

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<v Speaker 2>was honking at it, passing it, trying to get it

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<v Speaker 2>to go faster. What they didn't realize was that this

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<v Speaker 2>car was actually in more of a hurry than anybody

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<v Speaker 2>else on the road because inside the woman in the

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<v Speaker 2>passenger seat was in laborer.

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<v Speaker 3>Partners.

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<v Speaker 2>That's Brisa Levesma. She'd been having contractions for more than

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<v Speaker 2>a full day by this point. Her mom Lauda was

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<v Speaker 2>driving as fast as she could, but Lauda lives in

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<v Speaker 2>a small rural community in Mexico, and she wasn't used

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<v Speaker 2>to having to keep pace with oil field workers. Yes on,

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<v Speaker 2>this was an emergency, and she was trying to keep

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<v Speaker 2>her foot on the gas, but she was watching all

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<v Speaker 2>these huge trucks zoom by and didn't want to get

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<v Speaker 2>in an accident. Meanwhile, Brisa was in a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>pain and they were both trying to keep calm in Miauela.

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<v Speaker 2>In the car, they talked about Brisa's grandma, Lauda's mom,

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<v Speaker 2>who died just a few years before, remembering her. Trying

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<v Speaker 2>to distract themselves with stories, Lauda told b He says

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<v Speaker 2>she felt like Thelman Louise, two women on the run

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<v Speaker 2>down a desert highway that made them laugh and then

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<v Speaker 2>also cry. I me and Rosenthal and this is so

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<v Speaker 2>far from care. If you heard our first episode, you

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<v Speaker 2>know that long, scary drives like this one aren't uncommon

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<v Speaker 2>in West Texas. There's only one hospital in the Big

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<v Speaker 2>ben region, serving an area of twelve thousand square miles.

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<v Speaker 2>People here have even given birth on the side of

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<v Speaker 2>the road because the delivery room was just too far away.

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<v Speaker 2>But the situation Brisa faced was even more dramatic than

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<v Speaker 2>what we're used to out here, because she'd already been

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<v Speaker 2>to that one hospital and they couldn't help her. Britisa's

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<v Speaker 2>story is about a real low point in access to

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<v Speaker 2>reproductive care out here, when the only maternity ward in

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<v Speaker 2>far West Texas started shutting down. But it's also about

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<v Speaker 2>another force that shapes life in the region. One you

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<v Speaker 2>might not immediately connect to healthcare. That's the border and

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<v Speaker 2>what it can mean to somebody becoming a mom, how

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<v Speaker 2>it can divide a family but also create options where

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<v Speaker 2>there seemed to be none. I met Brisa last year

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<v Speaker 2>at a cafe in the border town of Presidio. She

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<v Speaker 2>came in with her mom and her baby daughter.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Barisa lives just across the Rio Grande in Ohinada Chiuahwa,

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<v Speaker 2>but she has a green card and she works in Presidio.

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<v Speaker 2>Her prenatal visits were here in town, and she'd scheduled

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<v Speaker 2>a c section at the Hospital Alpine, an hour and

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<v Speaker 2>a half away. She'd had one before with her first child,

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<v Speaker 2>so the doctors thought that was the safest way to.

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<v Speaker 4>Go brevia, more complicate than canine pusil.

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<v Speaker 2>They'd planned everything out. Brisa's mom was in town to

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<v Speaker 2>be with her for the birth, and the doctor Brisa

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<v Speaker 2>had seen her whole pregnancy would deliver the baby. But

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<v Speaker 2>five days before the section was scheduled, Brisa started having

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<v Speaker 2>contractions and they lasted all night, so in the morning,

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<v Speaker 2>she and her mom headed for the hospital, but when

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<v Speaker 2>they got there.

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<v Speaker 5>No, we are personal, but.

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<v Speaker 2>The staff told them the maternity ward was about to

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<v Speaker 2>close post pandemic. Like lots of rural hospitals, Big Ben

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<v Speaker 2>Regional Medical Center was really struggling by the summer of

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty one. They didn't have the staff to keep

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<v Speaker 2>everything running, so that meant for part of the week

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<v Speaker 2>the maternity war would go on something called diversion. Basically,

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<v Speaker 2>it was closed and that would go on for days

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<v Speaker 2>at a time. So if you went into labor during

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<v Speaker 2>that period and didn't want to give birth in the

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<v Speaker 2>er with whatever staff was on hand, you had to

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<v Speaker 2>make it to another hospital, and the closest one was

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<v Speaker 2>in Fort Stockton, another hour away, But he said, her

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<v Speaker 2>mom decided to head back to Mexico. They were hoping

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<v Speaker 2>she could wait until the ward reopened. But by the

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<v Speaker 2>time they got to Marfa, still more than sixty miles

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<v Speaker 2>from home, the pain was getting worse, so they turned

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<v Speaker 2>around again and drove to Fort Stockton. On the way there,

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<v Speaker 2>Brisa says they lost service and they couldn't get it

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<v Speaker 2>at the second hospital either, But he says husband was

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<v Speaker 2>back in Ohinaga with their older daughter and they couldn't

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<v Speaker 2>reach him for hours.

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<v Speaker 5>Navia the lips p lesnou po now.

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<v Speaker 2>They stayed at the hospital until nighttime, but then Brisa

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<v Speaker 2>says the staff told her it wasn't time to give

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<v Speaker 2>birth and that their doctor was heading home for the day.

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<v Speaker 2>Laura couldn't believe it isn't a She said, I give

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<v Speaker 2>birth to four kids. I know she's about to have

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<v Speaker 2>her baby. Barisa says the nurse unduty told them I'm

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<v Speaker 2>the only one here is if you're gonna have your baby,

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<v Speaker 2>She says. The nurse said, I'll be the one to

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<v Speaker 2>deliver it. But it won't be a sea section. It'll

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<v Speaker 2>be a natural birth. Now, after you've had one sea section,

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<v Speaker 2>vaginal birth can be really risky, but in Fort Stockton,

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<v Speaker 2>but he Sai didn't feel like she had a choice.

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<v Speaker 2>She called up her original doctor, the one who was

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<v Speaker 2>supposed to deliver the baby. She says, he told her,

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<v Speaker 2>if you can move, move, try and get to Odessa.

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<v Speaker 2>That's another eighty miles away, but there's a big hospital there.

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<v Speaker 2>So they got in the car again and we're back

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<v Speaker 2>where we started. Lauda went from this two lane road

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<v Speaker 2>to the interstate, suddenly surrounded by honking trucks. Brisa in tears,

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<v Speaker 2>twenty four hours into her contractions.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah and I.

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<v Speaker 2>Well really They got to the hospital in Odessa around

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<v Speaker 2>ten thirty and in the middle of the night, after

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<v Speaker 2>driving nearly three hundred miles between two countries and three hospitals,

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<v Speaker 2>Brisa had her sea section and her baby, Andrea was born.

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<v Speaker 2>Brisa wasn't the only person with a multi hospital trek

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<v Speaker 2>like that. Over the full year that the maternity ward

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<v Speaker 2>in Alpine was on diversion, the hospital told me fourteen

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<v Speaker 2>women were turned away while in labor. Now the unit

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<v Speaker 2>is open twenty four to seven again, but the hospital

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<v Speaker 2>isn't equipped to deal with emergency cases, so if the

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<v Speaker 2>delivery is complicated or the baby comes early, it can

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<v Speaker 2>still mean a trip to Odessa. Brisa's story really brought

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<v Speaker 2>it home for me. Here, even if you have everything

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<v Speaker 2>planned out, you can find yourself in a really scary situation,

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<v Speaker 2>far from help, having to make big, high stakes decisions

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<v Speaker 2>on your own. It was especially jarring for Brisa because

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<v Speaker 2>the experience was so different from the first time she'd

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<v Speaker 2>given birth back in Mexico.

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<v Speaker 4>To Planifica zahiron Oke Is the Mamosa Programrte Unassaria Talia

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<v Speaker 4>at Talora.

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<v Speaker 5>As soon as.

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<v Speaker 2>Santas, she said before. Everything went smoothly. She came in

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<v Speaker 2>at the scheduled time, they did the C section, took

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<v Speaker 2>the baby out. It wasn't even painful, and that was

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<v Speaker 2>just a few hundred miles away. When we talk about

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<v Speaker 2>far West Texas, we often talk about how isolated this

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<v Speaker 2>region is, all these tiny towns in the middle of nowhere.

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<v Speaker 2>But that's only true if you forget about Mexico. Okinaga,

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<v Speaker 2>where Burisa lives, isn't a huge city, maybe twenty five

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<v Speaker 2>thousand people, but it's just across the river from Presidio,

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<v Speaker 2>and it does have a hospital. For Burisa, though, deciding

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<v Speaker 2>where to go for care and where to have her

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<v Speaker 2>daughter was more complicated than what was closest to home.

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<v Speaker 2>Bisa is from a smaller city south of oj and

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<v Speaker 2>she and her husband Efren had their first daughter, Michelle,

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<v Speaker 2>near there. They moved to Okinaga not long after for work,

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<v Speaker 2>but good paying jobs were hard to come by. Eventually,

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<v Speaker 2>Bisa found work across the border in Texas, cleaning rooms

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<v Speaker 2>at a resort down the river. She said the job

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<v Speaker 2>was tough, but it was the best she could get

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<v Speaker 2>for a couple of years.

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<v Speaker 4>Casidos esperandos buenos pos system physi.

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<v Speaker 2>Meanwhile, Efrin didn't have a visa that entered the US,

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<v Speaker 2>so he couldn't cross. Neither could little Michelle, so he

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<v Speaker 2>was raising her almost single handedly. Brisa would come home

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<v Speaker 2>to Ohinaga after a long day of work and basically collapse.

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<v Speaker 2>The setup didn't feel sustainable for either of them, so

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<v Speaker 2>when Brisa got pregnant again in twenty twenty one, they

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<v Speaker 2>decided this time they'd have their daughter in the US.

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<v Speaker 2>That way, she could cross two and they'd have options now.

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<v Speaker 2>That decision meant Efrin wouldn't be able to be with

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<v Speaker 2>Brisa when she went to give birth. When I met

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<v Speaker 2>him later on, I asked him what that had been

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<v Speaker 2>like for Himso, yes, they not being able to be

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<v Speaker 2>there to accompany Brisa, to help his wife and his

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<v Speaker 2>baby daughter.

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<v Speaker 3>See.

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<v Speaker 2>He said it felt like not having limbs. He felt useless. Luckily,

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<v Speaker 2>Brisa's mom had a visa, so she wasn't completely alone.

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<v Speaker 2>When they decided to go to the Texas route, Brisa

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<v Speaker 2>and Lauda knew they were going to a smaller hospital,

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<v Speaker 2>one far away, with fewer resources than one's in Chihuahua.

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<v Speaker 2>That was a price Brisa was willing to pay, but

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<v Speaker 2>Lauda said they didn't expect to find themselves speeding between hospitals,

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<v Speaker 2>for the process to be so long and complicated and scary.

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<v Speaker 2>And it wasn't just the distance, Brisa said. Until they

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<v Speaker 2>got to Odessa, it was hard for them to even

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<v Speaker 2>understand what all the medical staff were telling them. She

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<v Speaker 2>says almost no one spoke to them in Spanish. Her

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<v Speaker 2>English is limited, but she said the pain helped her

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<v Speaker 2>concentrate on understanding the important stuff. And Brisa told me

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<v Speaker 2>she keeps thinking about other women she knows who've also

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<v Speaker 2>given birth in the US. A lot of them don't

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<v Speaker 2>speak English at all, and not even their moms can cross.

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<v Speaker 2>Some have even lost their children in the delivery room

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<v Speaker 2>and dealt with that totally alone.

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<v Speaker 5>I am as camp Ala.

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<v Speaker 2>Even before giving birth to Andrea, I'd been thinking she

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<v Speaker 2>only wanted to have two kids, but now she's sure

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<v Speaker 2>no not. I thought a lot about Bisa after our conversation.

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<v Speaker 2>For her, living on the border meant possibility, increased options

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<v Speaker 2>for work for medical treatment, but it had also separated

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<v Speaker 2>her from her family and pushed her to choose a

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<v Speaker 2>riskier option for her own health care. I wondered about

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<v Speaker 2>the aftermath of that decision, what the border would mean

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<v Speaker 2>for her as a mom, and whether a year and

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<v Speaker 2>a half after her childbirth odyssey, she felt like she'd

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<v Speaker 2>made the right call. So this summer I went to

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<v Speaker 2>go meet her in Presidio at her job at the

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<v Speaker 2>Mexican Consulate. But Hesa told me she'd been worried about

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<v Speaker 2>what it would be like to go back to work

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<v Speaker 2>after a maternity leave, but she said the consulate had

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<v Speaker 2>been great about it. For the first few months. She'd

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<v Speaker 2>been allowed to go home early every day. Now she

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<v Speaker 2>heads out at four pm to pick up Andrea.

0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:20.240
<v Speaker 5>And and that wasn't at first.

0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:22.400
<v Speaker 2>Brisa and Eviden weren't sure how they were going to

0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:25.480
<v Speaker 2>handle childcare, but on this front, the Mexican side of

0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:28.440
<v Speaker 2>the border had come through for them. In Ohinanga, they

0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.640
<v Speaker 2>found a nursery that would take Andrea starting at three months.

0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.920
<v Speaker 2>We drove across the border into Mexico. No stopping required here.

0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.400
<v Speaker 2>The Mexican officials just waved us through and then pulled

0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:52.800
<v Speaker 2>up to the daycare. Brisa told me the nursery was

0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:56.400
<v Speaker 2>subsidized by the federal government. She said it charged less

0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:58.560
<v Speaker 2>for a month of care than the small daycare and

0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:07.520
<v Speaker 2>Presidio did for a week. To enroll, Andrea had to

0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.760
<v Speaker 2>be registered as a Mexican citizen, but compared to the

0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.720
<v Speaker 2>process of getting a US visa, signing her up for

0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:16.680
<v Speaker 2>dual citizenship was a breeze. But he's I could do

0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:24.560
<v Speaker 2>it right at work, says he. The last time I'd

0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:28.160
<v Speaker 2>seen Andrea, she was barely a month old. Now, at

0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:31.480
<v Speaker 2>eighteen months, she'd grown into the little boss of the family.

0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:36.200
<v Speaker 3>At home.

0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.800
<v Speaker 2>In their new house, she showed off her outfit, a

0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:50.320
<v Speaker 2>pink shirt that said my mom is magical. That's Prettysa's

0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:53.560
<v Speaker 2>older daughter, Michelle. They're still waiting for her green card

0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:58.479
<v Speaker 2>and evidence. It's now been three years since they filed applications,

0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:01.080
<v Speaker 2>and the length of the whole pros has been hard

0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:02.320
<v Speaker 2>on Brisa, and.

0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:12.200
<v Speaker 5>It'sla and so Andrea.

0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:17.080
<v Speaker 2>In the US, She says, it's still Brisa and Andrea

0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:21.760
<v Speaker 2>against the world. The hospital trip wasn't Brisa's last long

0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:26.720
<v Speaker 2>drive to care. Andrea's pediatric appointments were in Alpine. Brisa

0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.120
<v Speaker 2>had to take the baby alone, and she says every

0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:32.520
<v Speaker 2>time she panicked about Andrea by herself in the backseat.

0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.600
<v Speaker 2>When the baby would start to cry, Brisa would pull over,

0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:45.040
<v Speaker 2>leaving the car running to keep her warm and breastfeed

0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:47.480
<v Speaker 2>her there on the side of the highway. She'd changed

0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.399
<v Speaker 2>Andrea's diaper, play music, try to get her to go

0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:52.480
<v Speaker 2>to sleep before getting back on the road.

0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:59.480
<v Speaker 5>Altres Allo stops.

0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:03.080
<v Speaker 2>Manuel. Was usually a two hour drive became three hours

0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:06.760
<v Speaker 2>each way, and eventually Brisa decided it didn't make sense

0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:10.440
<v Speaker 2>there was no pediatrician in Persidio, but they'd have to

0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:14.119
<v Speaker 2>make it work with the regular doctor. When I visited,

0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:16.960
<v Speaker 2>Efrin was also home, helping the girls pack for a

0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:20.560
<v Speaker 2>trip to see their Grandma Lauda. He told me he

0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:23.120
<v Speaker 2>still struggles with the ways the border keeps him from

0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.640
<v Speaker 2>being able to support Brisa, but on the other hand,

0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:30.119
<v Speaker 2>the limitations of the migration system have given him the

0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:34.040
<v Speaker 2>chance to be a really active parent to Michelle, especially

0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:45.440
<v Speaker 2>when she was little. With Pam, he said he's found

0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:48.399
<v Speaker 2>little ways to bond with each daughter, dancing with them

0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:51.800
<v Speaker 2>in the morning, getting to know their personalities as they form.

0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:53.360
<v Speaker 3>The demos inclusive.

0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:03.600
<v Speaker 2>And I asked Prisa and Efrin if they felt like

0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.320
<v Speaker 2>considering everything the decision to give birth and Texas had

0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:08.200
<v Speaker 2>been worth.

0:19:08.000 --> 0:19:21.040
<v Speaker 3>It aid process there, you say, see.

0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:23.960
<v Speaker 2>Briso said to a certain point.

0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:32.440
<v Speaker 6>Yes, Alao, But if she'd known everything she knows now,

0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:35.080
<v Speaker 6>she might have done things differently from the start.

0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:42.159
<v Speaker 5>Chose is right officas.

0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:56.119
<v Speaker 2>In healthcare in the US is overrated, She's decided. But

0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:59.080
<v Speaker 2>if you're willing to try it, you give your kids options.

0:19:59.440 --> 0:20:01.560
<v Speaker 2>If they want to study, if they want to work,

0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:05.240
<v Speaker 2>if they want to travel, then they can. And in

0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:08.240
<v Speaker 2>the end, she said this was the most important decision

0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:20.240
<v Speaker 2>she and Evidence had made as parents. And she told

0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:22.640
<v Speaker 2>me we could have said let her be born here,

0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:25.320
<v Speaker 2>but we said no, We're going to give her the

0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:31.000
<v Speaker 2>opportunity to not have to struggle. Once we'd finished talking,

0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.760
<v Speaker 2>but Hesa drove me back across the bridge, stopping at

0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:41.560
<v Speaker 2>the kiosk to show the customs officer our documents. While

0:20:41.560 --> 0:20:43.840
<v Speaker 2>we waited for him to scan my passport, I thought

0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:46.960
<v Speaker 2>about how this everyday experience for Brisa is one that

0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:51.040
<v Speaker 2>half her family still doesn't share. The West Texas highways

0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:54.199
<v Speaker 2>define this region for so many of us, and they

0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:57.200
<v Speaker 2>were the site of Brisa's scariest moments and the first

0:20:57.320 --> 0:20:59.280
<v Speaker 2>experiences of her daughter's life.

0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:09.679
<v Speaker 5>And Alexorcista.

0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:12.840
<v Speaker 2>Brisa says, she tells her family, I can still smell

0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:17.040
<v Speaker 2>the oil. She remembers, the moon, the highway, the cars honking,

0:21:17.760 --> 0:21:20.520
<v Speaker 2>her body twisted up like the girl in the Exorcist.

0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:25.520
<v Speaker 2>But that landscape, those roads, Brisa's husband has never even

0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:29.080
<v Speaker 2>seen them. I can't imagine them. So when she found

0:21:29.119 --> 0:21:32.080
<v Speaker 2>herself scrambling to make game time decisions on the road,

0:21:32.760 --> 0:21:35.440
<v Speaker 2>she says, he told her, you make the call. I

0:21:35.560 --> 0:21:38.719
<v Speaker 2>can't tell you what to do. Before I met Brisa,

0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:41.800
<v Speaker 2>I thought mostly about the loneliness that comes from a

0:21:41.920 --> 0:21:45.399
<v Speaker 2>lack of options when it comes to care. But hearing that,

0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:49.240
<v Speaker 2>I thought, here's a different kind of isolation, one that

0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:53.480
<v Speaker 2>comes with choices, having to make decisions without being sure

0:21:53.560 --> 0:22:02.720
<v Speaker 2>what's right, and having to do it alone. Brisa dropped

0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:05.000
<v Speaker 2>me at the consulate and then turned around to cross

0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:08.440
<v Speaker 2>the border again. As she drove off, I thought about

0:22:08.480 --> 0:22:11.399
<v Speaker 2>something she'd said earlier when I asked what she wanted

0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:13.800
<v Speaker 2>to do when all the visas were approved and her

0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:21.080
<v Speaker 2>family could come to Texas together. She told me she

0:22:21.160 --> 0:22:23.760
<v Speaker 2>wanted to bring them to the observatory in Fort Davis

0:22:24.280 --> 0:22:25.440
<v Speaker 2>to see the Marpha Lights.

0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:28.160
<v Speaker 5>Marpha Lights.

0:22:31.000 --> 0:22:40.240
<v Speaker 2>And tourists come from all over the world to peer

0:22:40.280 --> 0:22:43.520
<v Speaker 2>through a telescope at the stars, which shine more brightly

0:22:43.640 --> 0:22:47.400
<v Speaker 2>here than almost anywhere else in the country. Brisa said

0:22:47.600 --> 0:22:49.879
<v Speaker 2>she wants her family to be able to see them too.

0:22:57.680 --> 0:23:00.600
<v Speaker 2>This episode of So Far From Care was produced by

0:23:00.760 --> 0:23:09.480
<v Speaker 2>Zoey Kurland, Carlos Morales, and me Annie Rosenthal. Muchamlia Combarta,

0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:15.240
<v Speaker 2>thanks also to Stephanie Quo and Ruxandra Guidi. The music

0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:18.639
<v Speaker 2>you heard was composed and performed by Clara Brill, and

0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:21.800
<v Speaker 2>the episode art is by Hannah Gentiles and Dio Kramer.

0:23:22.960 --> 0:23:25.320
<v Speaker 2>So Far From Care is a production of Marfa Public

0:23:25.440 --> 0:23:28.760
<v Speaker 2>Radio and is made possible by support from listeners like you.

0:23:29.480 --> 0:23:32.920
<v Speaker 2>Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find the

0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:35.600
<v Speaker 2>rest of the episodes and ways to support the station

0:23:36.280 --> 0:23:38.239
<v Speaker 2>at Marfa public radio dot org,