Great story.
My husband spent many years in Arizona and Texas and used to tell me the stories of the fresh tamales he used to get and how much he missed them.
I decided to surprise him by making them one day......how was I supposed to know it was an all day project, I'm a Irish kid from Brooklyn!!!!
I've been making them ever since.
LOL... That they are, kind of like when my neighbor & I BBQ. That takes a minimum of 6 - 8 hours over the pit.