Sunday, February 26, 2017
Two weeks ago my friend Jose was killed in a car accident. He was 33. I had not seen him in person for a while, but had been recently thinking that we should go have dinner together and catch up.
Jose worked at a dentist's office. He had the biggest, prettiest smile on his tiny, 5 ft 1 inch body. He was fun to be around. Always smiling. Really wish I had called him up and spent time with him, but what can you do?
Lately I haven't been smiling much. It is hard to do so when bad things happen. Puff is getting old and cranky, wakes me up at night. If I lock him out of the bedroom he cries loudly non-stop. As a result, I'm not getting much sleep.
A close friend is moving away, someone I have depended on. Not too far, but far enough that I won't be able to see him in person except maybe once a year. He probably doesn't know how much his friendship has meant to me.
And then there is the political stuff to stress out over.
So yeah, 2017 is likely to be as bad as 2016.
Jose worked at a dentist's office. He had the biggest, prettiest smile on his tiny, 5 ft 1 inch body. He was fun to be around. Always smiling. Really wish I had called him up and spent time with him, but what can you do?
Lately I haven't been smiling much. It is hard to do so when bad things happen. Puff is getting old and cranky, wakes me up at night. If I lock him out of the bedroom he cries loudly non-stop. As a result, I'm not getting much sleep.
A close friend is moving away, someone I have depended on. Not too far, but far enough that I won't be able to see him in person except maybe once a year. He probably doesn't know how much his friendship has meant to me.
And then there is the political stuff to stress out over.
So yeah, 2017 is likely to be as bad as 2016.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Two weekend. Craig and Chris came down from Phoenix. We headed south to Madera Canyon, but stopped first at San Xavier.
The church was completed in 1797 and was restored in the 1990s. I often take out-of-town guests there to see the beautiful architecture, paintings, and statues.
Tower.
The cemetery chapel is decorated with statues and is hot with candles.
Baby Jesus.
I made Craig and Chris pose for a photo.
Chris and Craig.
We then headed off to Madera Canyon, The one trail I thought was wheelchair accessible was not and although we managed to get down it, it was awful. Then we found the paved trail and it was much less stressful.
The next day I made waffles, carmelized mandarin oranges, and cheesy scrambled eggs for breakfast and then we went to Sabino Canyon. We rode the tram to the top, and them walked the four miles down. Craig got to run his chair through the stream crossings. The water was very cold on my bare feet.
Craig crossing one of the six running stream crossings.
Then last weekend my friend Dave arrived on his cross-country trip. I have known him for over a decade but had never met in person. We had a nice time. On Saturday we went to the Venture and he and Patrick got to smoke cigars.
Dark photo of the three of us.
Spring has started here. The flowers are starting to bloom. We had a mild, rainy winter and there should be a lot of wildflowers this year.
Creosotebush.
A coyote wanders by my window at work often. It looks well fed. I tap on the window and it turns to stare at me before running off.
Coyote.
Wednesday, February 01, 2017
I missed the Women's March in Tucson a few weeks ago because I had to give a talk that day. Yesterday was a protest outside the Federal Courthouse in response to Trump's ban on immigration from seven Muslim majority countries.
I dressed up (I always wear a tie to protests!) and made a sign and went down. After a while, co-workers Jenny and Jane showed up, I did not know they were coming.
Jenny, Jane, and I.
There were probably over 1,000 people. We had a good time, as cars drove by people honked their horns and waved at us. A few people flipped us off. I blew kisses and one angry man shouting at us, I don't think he appreciated that.
I dressed up (I always wear a tie to protests!) and made a sign and went down. After a while, co-workers Jenny and Jane showed up, I did not know they were coming.
There were probably over 1,000 people. We had a good time, as cars drove by people honked their horns and waved at us. A few people flipped us off. I blew kisses and one angry man shouting at us, I don't think he appreciated that.
My sign.
Did we accomplish anything? I don't know. It is important to not remain silent in these awful times.
