9/18/2014
The evening of the 22nd ended with some good Thai food and some great company. My friend Z picked up Crystal and me from the Honey House bed and breakfast and took us to a restaurant called Thaiger. A few years had passed since I last saw any of my Arizona friends. Where did the time go? I guess I decided to plan this trip to connect with old faces and meet many new ones. Sometimes old friends are the only link to your past. Nostalgia is a way of looking at ones evolution. It is replaying the chain of events that have molded and shaped our being. It is funny the people, places and things that linger in our memory.
As for new friends I have no doubt Jeanette Irwin, the proprietor of the Honey House, will be a person we see again. This former high school teacher has an incredible sense of humor as well as a rich knowledge of history. The years have treated her well and it is probably due to her caring and cheery disposition. I think she was happy to have our company while her husband Larry was in California for business. Her property sits on an acre of land which was once part of a bigger estate owned by a Mormon family. The story is, the Mormon family had moved to Arizona when the state was still a territory. At that time a man could have more than one spouse. The hidden cottage, which was surrounded by lush greenery, just happened to house wife number two. Another unique attribute about the place was that Jeanette kept a couple of hens and they provided her with fresh eggs every day. They produced both green and brown ones. Organic would be the best word to describe this little gem.
I did try to run on day 23. I figured I would tackle my miles and my childhood friend Roger Stidham could pick me up and take me to Saguaro High School where I would speak to a high school cross country team about our great reading run. My run was not to be. A mile into the day I felt a light sprinkle. Tiny cooling drops hit my face. I thought I was in heaven. Another half mile in I was no longer in heaven. Hard rain pelted my body and some insect flew into my eye. I suddenly remembered I had a cell phone in my hydration pack and I started dashing for cover. It took me another half mile before finding a small shelter from the storm. As luck would have it, my phone was dry. Sitting under an apartment complex carport I waited for the rain to lighten. It did so rather quickly but my clothes and shoes were waterlogged. I decided to call it the day and headed back to Honey House. The moment my feet touched the driveway all the rain stopped. Perhaps it was the universe’s way of making sure I kept my engagement at Saguaro High.
Roger came to pick me up anyway. It was great to see him. He looked almost exactly the same as he did twenty some years ago. Of course he had grown and matured but, it was still the same friend from many years ago.
We had Mexican food at a place called Teepee. It is supposed to be one of the famous Mexican joints in town. I looked at the many celebrity photos lining the hallway to our dining area. As we continued, the scent of salsa hit my nose. Just like people judge books by their covers, I judge Mexican restaurants by their salsa. I ordered the vegetarian burrito. By now you must know I’m always trying to make sure I eat something from every color. The veggies in this burrito provided just that.
We got to the Saguaro High campus a few minutes early. I saw a fine campus with immaculate, manicured landscaping. The student were also very cheery and helpful. I noticed the area must have been big on safety because one kid left his backpack on the ground without concern to act as our guide. My mouth dropped when I saw their gym equipment. It looked nicer than the gyms of 24hour fitness. Everything about the place was impressive. When we reached the wrestling room the kids began their cooldown stretches. Coach John looked like a runner. His lithe body didn’t carry an ounce of fat. He even participated in pushups with the team.
He introduced me and suddenly I was in the middle of a circle of high school kids finishing their stretches. Without my books, without my presentation, and speaking to mature kids, I found myself being pulled out of my comfort zone. It was good to branch out into older kids because literacy and fitness are two things that we should prioritize at any age. It was great to see that what I was doing resonated amongst the youth.
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