"Good morning. A new day to start over again, like magic, and no one will stop you but yourself."
Remember those words?
For 10 years, Lee Vigil, aka the burrito man, and his wife Stella operated Daniel's Den Quick Stop CafÇ next to the Duck Pond.
Vigil was best known for his burritos and his philosophies on life.
"He always had something to say, something positive," UNM junior Sarah Garcia said.
Nearly two years ago, Vigil was asked to either renovate his food cart to meet health standards or leave UNM.
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He chose to leave.
"I didn't want to do them," he said "It was my choice. After 10 years of doing it day after day, you start burning out."
Many UNM students said they noticed immediately when the Vigils were no longer selling 'the best burritos.'
"I felt very strange that he wasn't here, said Adonis Fromme, UNM student. "He was very upbeat and friendly."
Vigil sold the cart and the couple put their house up for sale.
They left UNM in October of 2002.
"Though we miss it, we run into some of our customers, and it's really gratifying that our experience at UNM was rewarding," Vigil said.
Afterward, they made plans to begin traveling. They left the following April and didn't return back home to Edgewood until October.
"We are on a quest to be full-time RVers," Vigil said. "We've been working all our lives, and sometimes a change does a person good. When the opportunity arose, we took advantage of it."
They traveled to the Northwest, visiting places such as Crater Lake, Yellowstone and tried to get into Alaska a week before Saddam Hussein was overthrown, but couldn't get through due to security issues trying to cross the Canadian border.
When they arrived at the Grand Teton Lodge near Yellowstone, Vigil said they flipped a coin, heads they were going home, tails they were staying.
It was tails.
Vigil ended up as a laundry truck driver during the months they stayed at the lodge.
After coming back to Edgewood for the holidays, Vigil worked as a greeter at Smith's.
Though the two are now on the other side of the business-ownership spectrum, Vigil said owning a business is sometimes a win-win, and other times somebody gets the upper hand. He said it's a part of life that is not always easy.
"It has been a transition on my part," Vigil said. "I'm used to being in full control. But we see it as an opportunity to grow with what is happening in our world and leaving a good, positive trail, with a kind word."
Lee and Stella are now flipping burgers again, only now they're at the Hoss Burger Stand at the Ponderosa Ranch, instead of at UNM.
"We're happy and there's no telling what we'll do," he said. "Our life is an adventure. We've always been risk takers and positive thinkers."
