Sarah’s Diary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6lySDeuXZA

Thanks to Tiffany for this clip from Slimfest 2009 at The Cactus Cafe!

I sure felt like one of the cool kids that night, getting to be among Slim’s many super talented friends. Slimfest was originally a benefit years ago, when their house burned, but they kept it going as an annual event for sheer pleasure.

Notice Meaux Jeaux’s glasses lighting up? I don’t know how she does that without a migraine.

Update – I’m even more amazed now. I just phoned Senator Hutchison’s office to thank her. They put me through to Carolyn Kobey in her Dallas office. It turns out, she’s the one who helped us. She has worked for the Senator’s office for 16 years and she says we were the only thing she did all day yesterday.

“It was a pleasure to be able to help you all. Believe me, I felt your pain and with the swine flu, I just thought, ‘We gotta get them out of there.’”

She confirmed that Cynthia was wonderful… a real spitfire.

When it was all resolved, Continental even sent Carolyn an email to let her know that we had made our connection to Austin. Talk about Guardian Angel!

Oh! and Carolyn has already emailed every person in Mexico and the US that she dealt with yesterday to thank them and to let them know we got home. Man, I just love these ladies who can get the job done and again, I am SO GRATEFUL!

So, my Rock Star Husband got this killer gig, playing for a fund raiser for an orphanage called Casa Hogar in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was a Celebrity Golf Classic Tournament. Actors, football players, and very down to earth, interesting RICH PEOPLE who love to have fun for a good cause. If you have never looked on a map, click this link, because this will be pertinent. Notice how Cabo is at the very bottom tip of a narrow peninsula, 775 miles from the United States border.

The band got to bring the wives and girlfriends. A villa on the ocean was donated for us. Incredible rock star treatment and the orphanage was so amazing (more on that in another post. Hopefully I can get a link to the video that Donna DeBerry made about the boys). I got to watch a whale frolic in the ocean FROM THE POOL. We had a very good reason for leaving our babies (now 2.5 and 8 months) home for the first time and we felt it was good practice for me returning ever so gracefully to my career as a touring musician. They knew they were safe with their Grandfather Diddy and my 2.5 year old knew EXACTLY when we were coming home, because he has his own little calendar and he and Diddy marked the days off.

At Buffalo’s gig on Friday night at The Hard Rock Cafe in Cabo, his wallet was stolen from the stage while the band and the company that provided the backline were packing up.

I knew instantly, the severity of our situation. I’m not certain that anyone else did or possibly could know the severity, without having lived in a multinational marriage. I started to see my little boy’s face, when we didn’t come home as promised… HEARTACHE. TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF TRUST AROUND MOMMY LEAVING. (you can’t understand unless you have kids). I also knew that because I speak Spanish and have traveled extensively in Mexico and because of emerging situations in the country, I could not leave my husband, who grew up in a Welsh village with more sheep than people and speaks ZERO Spanish alone to sort it out.

The following article covers the current situations in Mexico. The title pretty much sums it up. Swine Flu, Earthquake, and Drug Wars Rock Mexico.

Note: Going into this trip, Swine Flu and Earthquake had not happened and the drug Wars are not know to be a problem in Cabo, because it’s SO FAR AWAY from the rest of Mexico and the border.

Ok… so on this trip, we were surrounded by lots of highly capable, generous, successful people full of ideas and contacts who might be able to help us. One person spoke directly with someone they know at the State Department. One person emailed a Senator. John Zaring, the amazing, amazing event producer was relentless in trying to help us and he started making arrangements for IF we had to stay longer in Cabo.

In the mean time, we spoke with the Cabo and Mexico City Consulates and EVERYONE said the same thing. Cabo consulate could do nothing for us. Buffalo’s two options were to obtain a Transportation Boarding letter IN PERSON from the Mexico City Consulate in order to be allowed on a flight to the US and then apply for a replacement card in person or to make his way to the border, where he could apply for a replacement card. Everyone said, “Your Best Bet is to get to the border.” I mean everyone other than the many (clearly not experienced with anything INS related) people who said things that all started with phrases like, “well, shouldn’t you be able to…” and “surely you could just…”, and “I would think that because Sarah is a US citizen…”

-Transportation Boarding Letter to allow Andy to fly home could only be obtained in person in Mexico City or Tijuana.
-Mexico City (and Consulate) closed indefinitely due to Swine Flu Epidemic
-Next Flight to Tijuana from Cabo = 4 days after our scheduled flight home
- What I found on the internet about driving from Cabo San Lucas to Tijuana, the nearest border town
About 775 miles. If you plan to drive make sure you don’t drive at night or after dusk - ever. Cows and horses walk in the roads at night and you can’t see them until you are a part of them. It is very, very dangerous. Cell phones - all carriers - do not have coverage most of the way to Cabo or San Jose. It takes 2 very full and very long days to drive in the summer and 3 days in the winter due to shorter drive time hours.

So I got on Facebook last night and here is what I put as my status: “Sarah needs a friend at the American consulate in Mexico City or Tijuana pronto, por favor. Bufalo’s wallet w/ GREENCARD stolen on stage Friday night. Swine Flu not helping matters. We r in Cabo but they say our only hope is to get to a border town. so many conflicting answers from 1 person to the next. Not kidding.”

Ideas and possible connections poured in on FB. Cynthia Colpaart wrote, “I will contact Kirk Watson in the morning. Don’t panic!” Sure, that would be great, Cythina… all avenues, please!

First thing this morning, I called Continental Airlines while Andy called the INS and triple checked that he couldn’t fly into the US just as an English visitor. A very definite answer from both that we had to have this Transportation Boarding Letter. Andy was off waiting outside the Cabo Consulate for them to open (late), in case he could convince someone to fax this important letter.

Meanwhile, I was trying to find domestic Mexico flights that would get us to the border, preferably the Texas Border, even more preferably, a border town closer to Austin. Cynthia popped up on my Facebook Instant Messenger. It went something very roughly like this…
‘I’m on hold.’
‘They put me through to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s office!’
‘She’s going to help you, don’t worry.’
I emailed Cynthia photocopies of all of Buffalo’s documents, including the stolen Greencard
‘She’s contacted the Cabo Consulate, the State Department, such and so, such and so’ ( I don’t even remember it all, wish I had saved the chat!)
‘She’s says don’t worry.’
‘She says, Let’s get them home!’
Somewhere in there, Cynthia mentioned that she needs a job and I’m thinking… “This lady knows how to get things done! Who wouldn’t want to hire her?”

I’m waiting for Cynthia to fill me on on the details of how on earth this all worked out, but while it was going down, I asked her, “How are you doing this????”
Her answer was so amazing to me, “I’m a child of the 60’s and I learned a long time ago to be patient, to never get angry and to make my politicians earn their votes.”

Just then, Buffalo called and said that the Senator’s office had called the Cabo Consulate (again after getting nowhere with them on the letter) and the message was for Buffalo and I to get to the Continental Ticket counter immediately. They would be expecting us.

And so we did and indeed they were expecting us and from what I gather, Senator Hutchison was able to communicate directly between someone way up at Continental and the head of the Houston INS department. They gave us our boarding passes and told Andy to expect to be detained in Houston, but that it would only be for a few hours and he would probaly miss his connecting flight. And that is indeed what happened. The whole time we were still terrified that their would be a break in the lines of communication that would mean Buffalo was “in trouble” (which can mean deportation… REALLY) and I think I grew a golf ball sized ulcer waiting for them to set my Buffalo free, but after about 3 hours, he came out unscathed and his application for a replacement card had been filed. And really bad weather in Houston even made our connecting flight to Austin wait for us while Buffalo was detained! Can I get an AMEN?!!!

I must mention that every single immigration officer was as courteous and professional as one could possibly be to us and everyone we witnessed.

And from what I also gather, Cynthia was able to get through to Senator Hutchison so that she could SAVE OUR BUMS, simply by being a concerned citizen with good manners… not by being wealthy, connected, whatever. Does that warm your heart or what???? I know mine’s warm right now, but how could it not be? We’re home, our babies waited up for us, and they are now so fast asleep and we are all safe and sound!

I know we are the exception in this nightmare situation. I am feeling EXCEPTIONALLY grateful to Cynthia, Senator Kay ‘Bailey-Me-Out’ Hutchison (my new name for her) and to God for letting me be born in the USA!

oh! and Buffalo is applying for US citizenship PRONTO.

Thank you!

Sarah Sharp, vocals
Slim Richey, guitar
Francie Meaux Jeaux, bass
Thad Scott, sax
Brian Smith, drums

Ginger Leigh created this to help book our Italian tour.

Also, there is a new Jazz page on my site so you can lear more about the Dream Lovers & our Italian quest.

An interview with Radio Mike from a while back. Last year, I think.