The Citizens Of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Embraced Alex Garcia— And Now They Want Him Back From The Church Basement Where He’S Been Hiding For The Past 18 Months.
ON A RAINY SPRING day in 2002, Alex Garcia jumped off the slow-moving freight train, hungry for a meal. He’d been traveling for two weeks, alternately riding on the outdoor platform at the rear of a railcar and walking alongside the tracks. He hadn’t eaten in three days.
Garcia’s journey originated in Honduras, and he first hopped a train after crossing the border in Laredo, Texas. He wandered down a road, carrying a plastic bag with an extra set of clothes. “I thought I was in Houston,” he told me. He’d planned to meet a friend there. In fact, he was in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Bruce Peterson, a contractor who owns several rental properties, vividly remembers the sight of a drenched, noticeably gaunt man coming up the road. He looked Hispanic, unusual in Poplar Bluff, and he looked lost. Peterson beckoned him over, out of the rain, under a metal car canopy he and a friend were dismantling. Though Garcia spoke no English, he was able to convey that he’d help the two men with the job. Peterson suggested he rest first and gave him a can of soda and an apple, which Garcia devoured. Garcia then picked up a screw gun and gestured to the top of the canopy. “Next thing I know, he was on top taking it apart,” Peterson said.
Once they were done, Peterson signaled to Garcia to get into his pickup, that they’d get something to eat. Garcia, who said he intuitively trusted Peterson, didn’t hesitate. They drove to Peterson’s in-laws, who made dinner for the young man. Afterward, Peterson gave him $50 and a bag of food, then drove him to a Mexican restaurant where he knew the manager. There Garcia consumed yet another meal.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Early and Often: David Freedlander - Momentum vs. Machine The Trump and Harris campaigns battle it out for every last vote.
WIth two weeks left to go, the contours of the 2024 presidential election are clear: Both campaigns need voters who usually don’t vote, and Kamala Harris needs to bring the Democratic coalition, including its Trump-curious members, back home.While the Republican side plans to spend the remaining days of the contest trying to lure low-propensity voters to the polls, the Harris team will attempt to persuade voters of color to return to its side and will try to increase numbers among white voters in previously red suburbs.
Drowning in Slop - A thriving underground economy is clogging the internet with AI garbage-and it's only going to get worse.
SLOP started seeping into Neil Clarke's life in late 2022. Something strange was happening at Clarkesworld, the magazine. Clarke had founded in 2006 and built into a pillar of the world of speculative fiction. Submissions were increasing rapidly, but “there was something off about them,” he told me recently. He summarized a typical example: “Usually, it begins with the phrase ‘In the year 2250-something’ and then it goes on to say the Earth’s environment is in collapse and there are only three scientists who can save us. Then it describes them in great detail, each one with its own paragraph. And then—they’ve solved it! You know, it skips a major plot element, and the final scene is a celebration out of the ending of Star Wars.” Clarke said he had received “dozens of this story in various incarnations.”
The City Politic- The Other Eric Adams Scandal The NYPD shot a fare evader, a cop, and two bystanders. He defends it.
On Sunday, September 15, Derell Mickles hopped a turnstile, got asked to leave by cops, then entered the subway again ten minutes later through an emergency exit. This was at the Sutter Avenue L station, out by his mother's house, five stops from the end of the line. Police said they noticed he was holding a folded knife. They followed him up the stairs to the elevated train, asking him 38 times to drop the weapon.
Can the Media Survive?
BIG TECH, Feckless Owners, CORD-CUTTERS, RESTIVE STAFF, Smaller Audiences ... and the Return of PRINT?
Status Update
Hannah Gadsby's fascinatingly untidy tour through life after fame and death.
A Matter of Perspective
A Matter of Perspective Steve McQueen's worst film is still a solid WWII drama.
Creator, Destroyer
A retrospective reveals an architect's vision, optimism, and supreme arrogance.
In Praise of Bad Readers
In a time of war, there is a danger in surveying the world as if it were a novel.
Trust the Kieran Culkin Process
First, he nearly dropped out of Oscar hopeful A Real Pain. Then he convinced Jesse Eisenberg to change the way he directs.
The Funniest Vampires on TV
What We Do in the Shadows is coming to an end. Its idiosyncratic brand of comedy may be too.
