Recently we received an excerpt from Gina's novel. It's a semi-autobiographical story of a family vacation to Mexico in the 60's.

Maybe if we all clap our hands she'll actually finish it.

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A VW bus rolled into the parking area and stopped next to theirs. Two boys tumbled out of the back and ran off toward the ruins. A man and woman emerged from the front. They were speaking English. Painted on the side of the bus was an outline map of United States with the individual states outlined as well. Some of the state maps were filled in with solid colors.

Marian and Enrique struck up a conversation with the couple. Their family was driving around the country much like Gina's family. The U. S. states they had traveled through were painted as a record of their travels. Their bus was a real camper with built-in beds, table and a true refrigerator. The man pointed to a hole in the rear side door. "Can you guess what this is?" Nobody ventured a guess. "I drilled this hole so we don't need to stop every time the boys need to pee". Inside he pointed to a funnel that attached to a hose that snaked through the door to the outside.

Gina and Rosie took a step back. The painted map lost its appeal as they realized that the smeary streaks on the side of the vehicle weren't the result of splatter from the wheels. Gina was horrified, but heartened to learn that there were stranger families than hers.