by Judy Eron

“ Used to be that ... “

So many sentences start that way , comparing to when things were different . These days , of course , it ’ s often a comparison to pre-Covid times . Used to be that ... the shelves in the grocery store were full . Used to be that ... you could just go out to eat and sit at any table . Used to be that ... there ’ d be a family gathering and we ’ d all go .

The other day I was driving from my house on the main Terlingua Ranch Road towards Highway 118 and I noticed that I was lifting my index finger off the steering wheel as a hello , a how-do to others driving in the opposite direction . I don ’ t think I ’ ve done that for years . Used to be that ... it was automatic , never even had to think about it 20 years ago , we just did it . It was sort of a signal acknowledging that we were common souls out here in the middle of nowhere , a place where so few people actually lived , where at any minute we might need one another because we hit a deer or suddenly got a flat tire or a broken radiator . And the other driver would always signal back with a finger raised off the steering wheel . Felt good . the road was unpaved than paved so probably we were all driving more slowly and it was easier to catch the eye of the other driver . And perhaps it was also before most of our vehicles had darkened windshields and window glass , so we could actually see who it was we were greeting .

But mostly what it is , why I don ’ t think to raise my finger in greeting , is it used to be that ... I knew almost everybody I passed on the road , that we were a small community of people who knew each other , recognized each other ’ s vehicle . I don ’ t want to paint too cozy a picture--I ’ m not saying we necessarily all liked each other , but we knew each other .

This desert was once referred to as “ el despoblado ,” which means deserted or the place with no people . Used to be that ... you could drive on any of the two-lane roads around here for miles ... for miles and miles and miles ... and not see a vehicle , not see a dwelling . You could walk for great distances and not see a trace of anyone . Used to be that ... on the drive from Alpine to Big Bend there were vast stretches where it was only the desert , no white spots dotting the landscape , no trailers or houses . Just pristine desert .

That was years ago and it ’ s true that it was when more of We who have lived here for decades have a favorite saying :