By John McEvoy
An unobstructed panorama of the San Luis Valley stretches out around from the aptly named small town of Center, Colorado. Once bustling with migrant workers arriving in the spring to tend the surrounding potato and crop fields, Center now sits alone in the middle of the Valley, waiting for the future to find it again.
A testament to the once-busy past is the rusting stoplight, no longer functional, that stands unused in the middle of downtown. It is now just a tired sentinel that juts up out of the pavement, conjuring up scenes of times past when the many automobiles and trucks passing through needed a traffic light.
Half a block away, across from the town hall, is Tortilleria La Unica and Carniceria Y Abarotes, which, translated means: one and only meat and groceries.