The First Year

This first year in "The Zona" has absolutely flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were leaving humid Illinois for "the dry heat" of Arizona. People back in the Land of Lincoln say it gets hot here, and it does. But, let's face it, 110 degrees with 15 percent humidity is a little less oppressive than 95 degrees and 85 percent humidity. Here it is hot and the sun warms you and makes you sizzle a little. Back there, it warms the water ON you and makes you boil.

I do miss seasons. Fall went by without much fanfare. I was in my pool on Christmas and New Year's Days. We opened presents and I called back to my brother in New Salem, Illinois (a suburb of Pittsfield) to wish him a merry Christmas and to rub in the fact that I was in flip flops and shorts while he had on his wooly muck mucks and three pairs of long underwear. I called the bank in Paxton and they told me to quit calling! If I did not quit, they would keep my money! We all laughed, me louder than them. But I have seasons if I want them.

When winter comes, I can go to Flagstaff, they get 20 Feet of snow, then it is back to the warmth of valley. If I want to see the change of seasons, I can go to Sedona, and also catch the beauty of the Red Rocks. I never have to wear a winter coat, though the people out here do buy and wear them!

I was astounded that the folks out here will run around in heavy down jackets in December or January,while I am cruising around in the convertible with the top down. Don't get me wrong, it does get cold here. Two days in January, the overnight lows were in the high 20s and the pipes that are on my house froze until 9AM...never happened in Illinois, we put our pipes on the inside of the walls. But overall, things go by fast.

I have no grass in my yard. Had it removed. Decided that since I lived in the desert, I was not going to pay to water my lawn just so I could pay someone to mow it, or mow it myself. I had enough mowing with the acre I had back in Illinois. No, here I rake rocks! I spend actual time after I trim my bushes out front raking the rocks so they have little lines in them like I would have after I mowed back in Illinois! Am I crazy or what? I always told Dorothy that if I started doing that, she should kick me...

I also found that the number one industry out here is not construction. It is car washing! There have to be at least 10 car washes within a mile of my house. Some cost as little as two dollars, others eight. The more expensive ones have people that wipe the car off for me and vacuum. A lazy man's heaven!

Speaking of lazy man's heaven. Every one out here has "a guy". A guy for every chore. A guy for cable, phone, plumber, Air conditioning (a must have guy) pest control, car washing, landscaping, windows, carpets... you name it and Arizonans have a guy for it.

Me? I wanna be "a guy" but what talent do I have? I know! I can be the Pooh guy! I pick up more pooh from my yard that my daugther's four-legged pooh machine leaves, than any "guy" I know!

Later, Tater.

Doughnut