December 14, 2017: Del Rio News-Herald * Letter to the Editor * Bright Lights in a Texas bordertown

Letter to the Editor,

Bright-lights in a Texas Border-town

Vista Buena and Felipe San both graduated from Riverville High School the same year. Now they were sitting in the beautifully recently renovated landscaped area at the Centro Cívico with the festive lights of the Christmas season illuminating the dark of night.

The Christmas tree was all lit up; the air was cold and the hot chocolate felt warm in their hands.

Both were on Christmas break from college and coming back home was the only place to be this time of year with family and friends.

The lights glowed all around them as they sat with their large thermos of hot cocoa, a bag of marshmallows and a candy cane to stir their delicious holiday concoction.

In the stillness and silence of the bright Christmas lights suddenly they heard a whimpering sound that made them turn to each other and then they turned to where the faint, muffled sound was coming from. They both instinctively thought it was probably an injured animal.

They both stood up and ventured toward the sound. They walked past where Santa Claus sat on a sleigh and his reindeer stood waiting to take off up again, then they came upon the Nativity Scene and what do their eyes behold but a real, live baby bundled in a blue blanket laying in the wooden manager filled with hay.

Off in the distance they could hear jingling bells.

“It’s a baby!” excitedly exclaimed Vista.

“Call 911!” Felipe exhorted as he bent down to pick up the baby.

Vista quickly called 911 and gave the operator the information that they found a baby in front of the Centro Cívico. She thought it would not only be too much information to add that the baby was in the manger in the Nativity scene but so unbelievable as to make the operator suspicious.

Every year on the day they found their baby boy they eventually adopted, Vista and Felipe come to Centro Cívico and fondly recall what they will always remember as “Our Christmas Miracle”.

Marian Casillas, Ed.D.

Del Rio