Tumbleweed, Oil and a Question?

I sometimes pinch myself to make sure that I’m not dreaming. Who would believe that people would pay me to travel around the country, touring wonderful communities, meeting dynamic town leaders and getting to share my passion for the agurbs®?

It was a beautiful spring day for the 2 hour drive from Lubbock, TX to Lovington, NM late last week. The roads were fine and fast (no speeding tickets!); farmers were in the fields; and country music was flowing from the radio. I even saw some tumbleweed! Oil rigs were pumping away and new wells were going in right and left. I saw 10 oil rigs drilling in a 10 mile stretch in TX and 6 in one small spot in NM. The oil boom is beneficial for many, especially the many towns that are at its epicenter.

One such town that looked like it could use some help was Brownfield, TX (population 9,500). Brownfield’s downtown had more vacancies than occupancies and almost looked like a ghost town. It’s sad, terribly sad to see a town of that size in such bad shape. As I sped out of town I wondered why it looked like it was dying when across the border Lovington had so much more vibrancy.

“Why do some towns boom, even as others die?” continues to drive me on my quest across the country.