--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I decided that there is really some sort…" description: "\"I decided that there is really some sort of entity that I call Imperial, and I decided to extend it all the way along the California-Mexico border and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/william-t-vollmann-2100_borders_i-decided-that-there-is-really-some-sort_1967665.png" --- # I decided that there is really some sort of entity that I… ![“I decided that there is really some sort of entity that I call Imperial, and I decided to extend it all the way along the California-Mexico border and into Tijuana and then to the Pacific because it all has a similar feeling.” quote by William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/william-t-vollmann-2100_borders_i-decided-that-there-is-really-some-sort_1967665.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/william-t-vollmann-2100_borders_i-decided-that-there-is-really-some-sort_1967665.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18d/william-t-vollmann-2100_borders_i-decided-that-there-is-really-some-sort_1967665.png) > “I decided that there is really some sort of entity that I call Imperial, and I decided to extend it all the way along the California-Mexico border and into Tijuana and then to the Pacific because it all has a similar feeling.” [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He imagines a vast, unified entity spanning the US‑Mexico border, suggesting shared cultural and geographic continuity. **In simple terms:** A big, connected region across the border. Key Takeaway Recognize cross‑border ties. Themes identity geography culture politics borderlands Mood reflective analytical Type theoretical political When to use this quote - policy analysis - travel planning - cross‑border business - environmental stewardship Key Concepts regionalism imagined communities Questions to Reflect On - How does a shared identity affect border policy? - What challenges arise when uniting diverse regions? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex political realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Mexico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mexico/) [Pacific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacific/) [Tijuana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tijuana/) ## Related quotes > [San Diego, in fact, is one of the hardest places to sell Mexican food. You just cross the border into Tijuana and they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/san-diego-in-fact-is-one-of-the-hardest-places-to-sell-mexican-food/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) > [My parents immigrated to California from Mexico in the 1960s in search of a better life. They arrived from different regions of Mexico with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-padilla/my-parents-immigrated-to-california-from-mexico-in-the-1960s-in/) [Alex Padilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-padilla/) > [We're living in what used to be Mexico, and there's this very fluid border feeling. You go a little bit south of Tijuana, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/we-re-living-in-what-used-to-be-mexico-and-there-s-this-very-fluid/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I called my managers, and they were like, 'What is Tijuana Jackson?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romany-malco/i-called-my-managers-and-they-were-like-what-is-tijuana-jackson/) [Romany Malco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romany-malco/) > [Of course, San Diego chooses not to regard the two cities as one. Talk about alter ego: Tijuana was created by the lust of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/of-course-san-diego-chooses-not-to-regard-the-two-cities-as-one-talk/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [“Such was the case for the Mexican city of Tijuana, called "Satan's playground" in those years due to the scandalous behavior that was supposedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/such-was-the-case-for-the-mexican-city-of-tijuana-called-satan-s/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [I really only eat burritos in Tijuana from street corners that come out of coolers from businesses with no name, telephone or website.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/i-really-only-eat-burritos-in-tijuana-from-street-corners-that-come/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) > [When I was a little boy in Tijuana, it was wonderland. We left when I was probably four - I was dying of tuberculosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/when-i-was-a-little-boy-in-tijuana-it-was-wonderland-we-left-when-i/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I talk about reducing our dependence on foreign oil. If we're buying electricity from a solar-thermal plant in Tijuana, I'm not sure we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-inslee/i-talk-about-reducing-our-dependence-on-foreign-oil-if-we-re-buying/) [Jay Inslee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-inslee/) > [I'm born in Tijuana, I grew up there, I went to the school there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-moreno/i-m-born-in-tijuana-i-grew-up-there-i-went-to-the-school-there/) [Brandon Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-moreno/) > [What has happened in the last generation is that Tijuana has become a new Third World capital - much to the chagrin of Mexico…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/what-has-happened-in-the-last-generation-is-that-tijuana-has-become-a/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [I've crossed the Mexican border and gone to Tijuana a few times over the years, but I've never felt comfortable there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-ve-crossed-the-mexican-border-and-gone-to-tijuana-a-few-times-over/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [The average age in the U.S. is now thirty-three, whereas Mexico gets younger and younger, retreats deeper and deeper into adolescence. Mexico is fifteen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/the-average-age-in-the-u-s-is-now-thirty-three-whereas-mexico-gets/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [In Tijuana, because there's such a mix and match of people and regions and we're a newer city and everyone comes from some place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/in-tijuana-because-there-s-such-a-mix-and-match-of-people-and-regions/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) > [We have a great, positive relationship with Mexico. The Tijuana mayor crosses into San Diego, we talk all the time and vice verses. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-faulconer/we-have-a-great-positive-relationship-with-mexico-the-tijuana-mayor/) [Kevin Faulconer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-faulconer/) ## More by William T. Vollmann > [Some friends and I, we went right up there behind the studio and we got on a train, we could tell it was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/some-friends-and-i-we-went-right-up-there-behind-the-studio-and-we/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I read and write for most of the day, but I do let myself be interrupted by real life. I enjoy going out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-read-and-write-for-most-of-the-day-but-i-do-let-myself-be/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“A treble clef, for example, resembles a Muscovite or Leningrader in a bulky hooded parka. A bass clef bends as simply and painfully as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/a-treble-clef-for-example-resembles-a-muscovite-or-leningrader-in-a/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/oh-ants-my-sisters-good-old-honeydew-seekers-from-close-up-you-are/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [It will be fun to give some to prostitutes,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/it-will-be-fun-to-give-some-to-prostitutes/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [If I didn't feel that I was doing something or trying to do something for others, then I would have very little excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/if-i-didn-t-feel-that-i-was-doing-something-or-trying-to-do-something/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Just for the hell of it, try to love someone as unlike you as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/just-for-the-hell-of-it-try-to-love-someone-as-unlike-you-as-possible/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“The shortest man, codenamed RIMSKY, said to me that freedom means understanding our place within the laws of history; we are more free when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/the-shortest-man-codenamed-rimsky-said-to-me-that-freedom-means/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“Do you want to know what happiness is? Happiness is the absence of unpleasant information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/do-you-want-to-know-what-happiness-is-happiness-is-the-absence-of/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [My father hates organized religion, probably because he hates the God who killed his little girl back in 1968. I find religions variously bemusing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/my-father-hates-organized-religion-probably-because-he-hates-the-god/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [There's an Inuit myth about the origin of the human race. There were two brothers, and the younger brother eventually gets changed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/there-s-an-inuit-myth-about-the-origin-of-the-human-race-there-were/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Don't write for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/don-t-write-for-money/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I first got really interested in Noh in about 1977. There was an independent bookstore in Bloomington, Indiana where I was going to high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-first-got-really-interested-in-noh-in-about-1977-there-was-an/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“More aid, better directed! Couldn't we all use that? And what if the universe enacts less aid, more poorly directed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/more-aid-better-directed-couldn-t-we-all-use-that-and-what-if-the/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“whatever fate sends us quickly becomes us, and we grow blind to what we might otherwise have been. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/whatever-fate-sends-us-quickly-becomes-us-and-we-grow-blind-to-what/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) [Explore all 186 William T. Vollmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) ## More Borders quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [When I went to law school, which after all was back in the dark ages, we never looked beyond our borders for precedents. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/when-i-went-to-law-school-which-after-all-was-back-in-the-dark-ages/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Schengen cannot survive without the most dramatic reform, and the external borders of Europe must be rapidly strengthened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-soames/schengen-cannot-survive-without-the-most-dramatic-reform-and-the/) [Nicholas Soames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-soames/) > [The troops were occasionally occupied in pursuing scattered bands going north or south, and on three occasions the large camp of Sitting Bull ventured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-a-miles/the-troops-were-occasionally-occupied-in-pursuing-scattered-bands/) [Nelson A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-a-miles/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [When we talk about contemporary art and contemporary artists, we usually imagine artists who are alive. But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasumasa-morimura/when-we-talk-about-contemporary-art-and-contemporary-artists-we/) [Yasumasa Morimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasumasa-morimura/) > [Photography... unites the obvious and the unconscious at the level of the limimal - the border between what we see and what we suspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-lorca-dicorcia/photography-unites-the-obvious-and-the-unconscious-at-the-level-of/) [Philip-Lorca diCorcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-lorca-dicorcia/) > [When you have the Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee and the political director of the Romney campaign, and their two companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-caddell/when-you-have-the-chief-of-staff-of-the-republican-national-committee/) [Patrick Caddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-caddell/) > [Fifty thousand people in Mexico have been murdered. Puerto Penasco, 60 miles south of our border, just had five people and a police officer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/fifty-thousand-people-in-mexico-have-been-murdered-puerto-penasco-60/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [The unpleasant truth is that some borders are untenable and preserving them causes conflict, not peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mearsheimer/the-unpleasant-truth-is-that-some-borders-are-untenable-and/) [John Mearsheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mearsheimer/) > [Interesting things happen along borders - transitions - not in the middle where everything is the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/interesting-things-happen-along-borders-transitions-not-in-the-middle/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [House Republicans want to pass a strong border security, illegal immigration bill. We want a bill. There is no ifs, ands or buts about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/house-republicans-want-to-pass-a-strong-border-security-illegal/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) [Browse all 1,650 Borders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borders/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I decided that there is really some sort of entity that I call Imperial, and I decided to extend it all the way along the California-Mexico border and into Tijuana and then to the Pacific because it all has a similar feeling.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William T. 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