Robyn arrived in Tucson late last Thursday. I double-parked my car and sat listening to Albert King and his band playing the blues. Robyn’s flight was over one hour late. The airport felt deserted, but this did not prevent a cop on a bicycle from chasing me off a half-dozen or more times. I kept trying to reason with her to no avail and ended up circling the airport and vicinity. Every new lap, I drove a bit slower. Eventually, I could recognize several other cars she had chased. Some were now moving even slower than me. The bike cop’s show of police power seemed like a pointless waste of taxpayer dollars.
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On Robyn’s first visits, I wanted to show her around, and so crammed them with interesting, fun activities. This past week, however, we had no firm schedule. Often, we would simply be hanging out together. This felt familiar and natural, as if we’d never separated. I think Robyn would agree.
We take Lola the pup on long walks. Robyn’s brother came down from Phoenix one day to visit a sick friend, and we carved out time to have brunch with him and his wife. I took Robyn to a few of the adult education classes I attend here, including one informative session called “Cutting the Cord,” a technology primer for older folks like us who are interested in options to cable packages. She wants to come with me today for the weekly stand-up comedy workshop. Yesterday, we went to Tom and Sherry’s digs near Sabino Canyon to play a few friendly games of pickleball and schmooze. We also saw Ross and Joanne, who live in a tranquil desert setting adjacent to the mountains, while Lola visited her pal, Rez, Ross’s one-eyed dog. As I say, we’ve mostly been keeping things low-key.
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For Valentine’s Day, we took a scenic road trip to shabby chic Bisbee, Arizona, where I had reserved an overnight stay for us at a shabby hotel.
After locating the rear entrance and clambering up three flights of stairs with a suitcase, we located our “suite,” in fact, a small, furnished apartment that reminded me of my first place back when I was young. In a tiny kitchenette, I discovered the large, menacing-looking portable heater we’d use as it was getting dark. Robyn found the note from management stating it didn’t guarantee the sanitation of cups or dishes! Other amenities included a handful of old VCR tapes and what might have been an old Atari video game device. In the end, we watched the Milos Foreman film “Amadeus” on a twelve-inch television screen. Mozart’s wonderful music would get drowned out whenever someone in the building flushed a toilet, which occurred frequently. That night, after we retired, I noticed the walls of our bedroom plastered with a hodgepodge of old movie, video game, and computer posters one might see in a teenager’s room.
Strangely, this was my kind of place. Initially, however, I was concerned because Robyn tends to be a bit more of a swell. However, on this occasion, she howled with good-natured laughter, taking photographs of the place, which she sent off to family and friends. I laughed along with her.
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Unfortunately, after the sunny, warmer-than-usual initial few weeks I have enjoyed on my own, wouldn’t you know the weather in Tucson (and Bisbee) would “go south” for Robyn’s visit? On two days, the temperature here was barely warmer than it was back home. It was cloudier than usual, too. In the past week, it has rained twice already, a month’s worth of precipitation for this region of the country. And, of course, it is predicted to be eighty and sunny again by Sunday, when Robyn departs for home.
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Just in time for Craig and Donna, who are scheduled to arrive here on Monday for a short stay. It marks their first visit to Tucson. To mark the occasion, I will pull out my bag of activities for their entertainment and amusement.
