Month: February 2020

Asylum: Chaos on the Border

~ Julie Robinson ~ Leave a comment
border wall
Border Wall

My husband and I spent a long weekend in Tucson a few weeks ago. The topic of the border wall, and US military activities along the border are not only salient for Arizonans but in your face. 

We ate lunch with friends in Tubac, 40 miles south of Tucson, and 20 miles from the US/Mexico border.  Every car returning from Tubac to Tucson is stopped by the military and checked by a dog for drugs.  There were at least 30 cars parked in the parking area as we passed.  I don’t know if the cars belonged to the many military personnel on patrol or people who were stopped. Either way, a lot of human manpower  in one location.

As four older white adults, we didn’t raise many eyebrows at checkpoint.  I’m sure if we sported young brown Hispanic faces our experience might be quite different. Ironically, we weren’t even crossing the border. This stop, is not at the border but rather between two U.S.communities.   According to my friends, our cursory stop was the shortest wait they had at this particular check point.  Sometimes, cars are backed up for 30 to 40 minutes.    

While visiting,  we attended a presentation by a national expert on Asylum. The expert told us that the rules were changing so quickly that no one could provide a clear answer to anyone wanting accurate information about what steps to take to seek asylum. 

I had hoped to tour the wall while visiting the southwest for a better personal understanding of what we are talking about when we say the U.S. is building a wall to “protect” us.   We are going back in March to Tucson with a different set of friends. Unfortunately, all the tours by the Border Community Alliance, a Tubac, Arizona nonprofit, committed to wider public knowledge of border issues are booked through March.  My husband and I may drive down to the border crossing at Nogales just to view what is going on.  But Tripadvisor recommends against American tourists going further south than Tubac unless on a legitimate tour.

I heard on National Public Radio (NPR) today.  That we have just changed Asylum regulations again.  Anyone who is visibility pregnant is not allowed into the country even if they have a legitimate already assigned court date to determine if they qualify for asylum.  Since these pregnant women are stopped at the border trying to get to their court date, they miss the appointment.  One of two things happens; best case scenario they get another court date after the baby is born or they are disqualified for asylum because they failed to show up for their court date and were unable to provide notice.  The obvious reason for this policy is to keep their babies from being born in the United States and qualifying for citizenship.  There is an churlish unfairness  underlying this change in policy. Poor, probably homeless and abused pregnant women  are trying to follow our rules and we are constantly changing them without notice.

The border problems have not been part of the Democratic debates but they certainly should be part of every American’s civic discussions.  We are a country of immigrants. We should be able to agree on a policy on how to process entry into the United States that is easily understandable for individuals legitimately seeking asylum, protection from persecution or fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” Message on Statue of Liberty Plaque.Statue of liberty

Flight of the Snow Bird:Tucson in Winter

~ Julie Robinson

We just spent the past few days with long-term Wyoming friends in Tucson. Our friends used to escape Wyoming’s long hard winters in Tucson but now they have sold their Wyoming home and moved permanently to Arizona. They live in a Robson community for 55 plus seniors called Quail Creek near Green Valley, Arizona. The advertising says, “Living here is like being on vacation every day.”

Desert Beauty is all around one in Tucson

We spent our mornings drinking coffee on the veranda, swimming in the heated outdoor pool, and going for walks. We spent our afternoons exploring the gorgeous desert landscape and viewing Native American and cowboy art. We ate wonderful food at exotic restaurants ranging from a five course Valentines dinner to a lunch on the patio of the resort used to film the movie, “Tin Cup”. We spent an afternoon in the quaint community of Tubac. We saw kitschy art and gorgeous Native American Art. We were stopped by American soldiers driving back, checking for drugs coming into the country. One afternoon we attended a lecture on “Asylum”. The politics of the wall and border are very salient in an area less than an hour from the border.

The temperatures hovered in the low seventies during the day but dropped drastically at night to the 50’s requiring jackets.

I go every year to visit my friend who I have known for thirty years. I would visit her if she lived in Alaska. But over time, I have come to welcome this break from Idaho’s winter. We enjoy the sunshine but we enjoy each other’s company more. As I age, I have come to appreciate the joy of shared memories. We laugh spontaneously over silly things we did in our youth. It’s great to be in vacation land but it’s better to be in vacation land with our very good friends.

Good friends make every trip more fun

Starbucks welcomes you, whoever you are, until their mobile app fails

~ Julie Robinson ~ Leave a comment

Starbucks cup
Mermaid Brand is so well-known that ads don’t have to say Starbucks

This past week I experienced problems  with Starbucks’ mobile app. The subsequent follow-up through  on their mobile  helpline was horrendous.  I now know the frustration volunteers experienced in Iowa with the Democratic Caucus, though I live in Idaho.  I sat waiting 30 minutes  to get a real person on the Starbucks phone line.  During this period, I listened to terrible electronic music and a pleasant female voice would break in periodically and say, “Help will be available shortly”.

Here was my problem.  The Starbucks app automatically downloaded $25 on Wednesday.  On Thursday without being near a Starbucks my phone was reporting that I had $.67  and needed to reload.  I was able to purchase two lattes for a friend and I during the Starbucks Thursday happy hour. I received a receipt saying I had $20.42  remaining, the correct amount.  But my phone app continued to report $.67 available and direct me to add more funds.  The Starbucks’ baristas told me to call the helpline but had no number.  One barista told me that her mother’s Starbucks account had been hacked and she lost $60. The barista suggested I had been hacked and lost my money.  She recommended that I change my password immediately.

tmg-article_default_mobile
Thursday Happy Hour at Starbucks has proven to be a success!

Given the potential for hacking, I called the helpline as soon as I was home. Erin,  the helpline assistant, was very pleasant but he had difficulty helping me also. He finally contacted his supervisor.  I spent a total of 60 minutes on the helpline. Erin came back from visiting with his supervisor and told me I was locked out of my account following his advice. I was given a reference number and told to call back in 24 hours.  I would need to go through the same phone triage and wait again.  At which point, maybe someone else could help me.

I am pleased to let my readers know I solved the problem myself or more likely some anonymous person in Starbucks tech land fixed the glitch overnight.  When I successfully logged in the next day, everything was working perfectly.

I now have great sympathy for the volunteers in the Iowa Democratic Caucus.  We are increasingly dependent on technology.  When an app doesn’t work correctly, we are dependent on anonymous voices stationed all over the world to help us.

I believe a huge, successful, customer-service company like Starbucks can afford to pay enough people to not have folks waiting substantial amounts of time on the phone.  At the very least they could offer to call back so the customer is not chained to the phone.  Starbucks is known for their great customer service.  Yet their move into mobile apps is thwart with squirrelly technology errors and back to the past phone system.

Starbucks mermaid
Starbucks revenue in 2019 was about $26.5 billion

 

Santa Barbara Holiday

~ Julie Robinson ~ 2 Comments

We just spent the last six nights seven days in Santa Barbara (SB), California. We were treated to gorgeous sunny days in the low seventies though one day hit low 80s. Late January early February is the off season for the California coast. High season starts in May and continues into December. We chose California to get out of Boise, Idaho’s gray season. We could have gone to Hawaii but the draw of a shorter flight and cheaper accommodations made our choice easy. Also I’m still recovering for surgery last fall and can only walk about 2 to 3 miles a day on flat surfaces. Sand is a no for me. SB has a wonderful walk way/ bike path right along the beach. Folks without a handicap were out enjoying the pleasures of the beach including swimming, paddle boarding and surfing.

With the warm weather, we spent out mornings out walking and our afternoons napping and swimming for me. My husband, Pete, always goes to the YMCA for a couple hours anywhere we go. The report from Pete was the Y in Santa Barbara is large and new. The advantage of going to Ys if you belong at home is you can get in at no cost. Usually the facility has excellent equipment, sometimes pools and activities for kids.

We stayed within a half mile of the SB beach at the Inn by the Harbor. The Inn offers cooking facilities in the rooms, continental breakfast, wine and cheese early evening, and milk and cookies late evening. Free bikes are available. The bikes had gears and looked like nice cruisers. I just wasn’t able to use them. The Inn also has a nice pool and hot tub. The Inn was full the entire time we were there with Canadians who apparently knew each other because they gathered in the small lobby every evening for wine. We knew they were Canadians because their cars were parked outside. I think you could stay at the Inn and never rent a car. We rented a car because of my handicap.

Breakfast at the Inn was a mundane continental with cereal, fruit, juice, yogurt, muffins, and bagels. But by having a breakfast provided, we could afford more elaborate dinners. Every meal we had was excellent. All of them were along the beach and we found them through Yelp. We pieced lunch together with left overs and fruit from breakfast.

Looking for a sunny long weekend in the winter, SB may be for you.