What has to happen for a town to die? What does it take for people to leave their homes and businesses and walk away from everything familiar to them?
When Jay Rohrbach makes an unplanned visit to Encino, New Mexico he expects to find the small but active mining town that his late father had told him about. What he finds is totally different. No people walking the sidewalks, rows of empty houses and a silent, boarded up main street paint a totally different picture than the one he'd imagined. A shell of a town that once had over two thousand people now has just a handful of residents barely hanging on.
Jay contacts his photographer friend, Saul, to help him figure out what happened. As creators of television documentaries they immediately feel they have to uncover the story behind the town's situation. When they stop for gas outside of town a brief conversation with a sad, quiet man offers a glimpse into Encino's vibrant past, its current state and its unknown future.
In City of Dust Jay and Saul explore the almost empty town and talk with some of the people still hoping something will change. A brief stop to view the mine leads to a confrontation with some of the miners and discovery of the sinister reason behind the town's plight.
In Wade Teller - Side B an aging Country music star sees the Encino documentary and hires Jay and Saul to produce a documentary about his life. What starts out as a trip to Nashville and a deep dive into the music world uncovers family secrets and a criminal enterprise that no one expected.
Alive...for Now takes Jay and Saul back to Encino. With little sign that anything has changed they accidentally discover evidence that the mining company has hatched a plot to take over the town. It leads to what's left of the people coming together to make a final stand to rescue their home.
Not Dead but Almost is a novel written in three parts. It follows Jay and Saul through the process of creating three documentaries, seemingly unrelated at first but with the common thread of the small New Mexican town and the mine. The story blends rural life, the Country music business and corporate greed to tell the tale of good folks trying to hold on in a struggle they never expected. Along the way the colorful mix of people that live in Encino, the beautiful high desert scenery and the town itself tell the tale of people desperate to keep their world alive.
