Amazingly, LPD spoksman Eloy Vega told reporters that an "artifact" had been secured in the 3200 block of Salinas. Not knowing the full details, when I heard the word "explosive" mentioned in the same conversation, I figured, what kind of artifact could they have come across for them to be calling it an "explosive" find? I conjured up images of some ancient Aztec, Mayan or other Amerind figurines but I knew those tribes had not inhabited the Laredo area during the Pre-Columbian era.
The truth is that I had jumped, broad jumped mind you, to conclusions. What Mr. Vega called an "artifact" turned out to be some sort of old grenade or smoke bomb that some residents had come across in cleaning out a storage area in their back yard. Still, I was puzzled. I wondered why not refer to it as a possible explosive device resembling a grenade. The only thing I can think of is that he was trying to be frugal with words and thus it became an "artifact".
Being curious, I looked up the definitonn for "artifact" and it said "an item made or used by humans". So, I figured that Mr. Vega was technically correct. However, upon reading further I did find that artifacts are usually items that are found during excavations. Ok, now we're splitting hairs. The bottom line is that the LPD did a good job in taking care of what could've been a real explosive, "artifact" or not. Appropriately, laredotejas congratulates you on a job well done.
To him it was from WW 2 or the Vietnam but more of a souvenir brought from a returning Laredo vet.
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