Visiting Phoenix: Landing Firebirds

“All that humans have built came with a certain amount of mortal defiance.” – Old Sean

Unscorched

After a wonderfully gluttonous weekend in Mattoon with old friends, I found myself landing in Phoenix, Arizona to once again meet old friends. In this case, I came in contact with a very dear person from my high school days named Bella, along with her daughter Julie.

After being picked up from the airport and brought to a lovely little house gathering, we soon made it back to Bella’s apartment for an evening of getting settled and making dinner. All around us, Arizona’s pale sun hammered down with it’s legendary intensity.

Phoenix was built in defiance of all weather and I was gladdened to see the region gradually becoming more impressively heat resistant. New roads are being paved with whitish materials, causing sunlight to reflect away. Hardy desert plants with broad leaves split up heat waves and provide shade while buildings follow strict construction laws to ensure passive wind flow. Additionally, Phoenix’s neighborhoods legally have a minimum standard of tree canopy cover requirement for most suburban developments.

Aside from infrastructure, there are also personal adjustments. Air conditioners are whirring prophets of relief in the region. Some metal door handles are padded with foam to prevent burns. Nobody in their right mind leaves anything in their cars. Dogs trot around in little booties to protect their paws from burning sidewalks. Curtains are UV resistant and special fans utilize ice treys to circulate cold air within a home. Windows are being treated to resist heavy sunlight heating, architecture faces away from direct sun rays, artificial canals flowing underground operate as veritable heat-sinks, and “tall pot” tree nurseries grow urban plants with deeper root systems which can survive on desert rainfall naturally.

I visited Phoenix a long time ago and it’s surprising to see how robustly the region has developed as the years has trickled past and temperature records have risen. Overall, it’s interesting to see all the clever innovations in the Sonoran Desert.

Stone Traipse

Over the next few days of staying with Bella, many of our activities were indoors. We would watch movies, cook meals, play games, do mini lessons and try local dumpling restaurants. Potato bacon soup was made, bagels were gathered, long passed days were reminisced about and occasional mini hikes were taken in the low mountains nearby.

I spent precious sunlit moments walking through the roughened shrubbery around South Mountain Park and Preserve and smaller nearby parks.

One of the funnier things that happened on my visit was a brief break when going out to lunch. One of my friends from Saudi Arabia lived in Phoenix while getting his Bachelors Degree. He had an excellent Middle Eastern culinary site he recalled fondly, so I took Bella and Julie to the restaurant Haji-Baba to showcase some of my favorite meals back in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Storytime Story-Sean

Not all of my time was spent with Bella and Julie. I managed to seek out another friend named Trent and his mother Cynthia. Though some of our time was spent enjoying snacks and bars, most of our hours were whittled away storytelling.

Half a decade of tales from South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Sates spilled out. Part of the reason I’m so diligent about upkeeping this blog is to ensure I can always remember the massive tapestry of events that allowed me to reach my current point in life.

So huzzah.

Boomerang Flight

However, my visit to Phoenix wasn’t entirely limited to Phoenix. Through a deft pair of clever machinations, Bella asked some weeks ago if I’d be willing to go to Dallas, Texas to drop off Julie, who remains too young to fly alone.

Thanks to many credit and travel points saved up, I agreed. Julie clutched my hand as we went through security gates and did an excellent job as a diligent travel buddy while we made the short hop to DFW. There, we were picked up by Auntie Arianna, who scooped up Julie in a storm of hugs and kisses.

Before long, we were back at Arianna’s home, after which Julie’s vacation began and my minor series of chores started. I cooked a little and played with Arianna’s foster kittens, eventually struggling to move a broken fridge out to the curb. I also managed to run a couple of errands to the grocery store and donation center. Meanwhile, Julie made the most out of Studio Ghibli films and Slippin’ Slides in the backyard. I read Julie a story about tigers for bed before she finally dozed off, profoundly exhausted.

My stay way profoundly short and Arianna woke up early the next day to drive me back to the airport so I could return to Phoenix solo. A massive stormwall crashed around us during the drive, but I made it to my flight on time and said my farewells. Within the hour, I was zooming back to Phoenix.

Downtown Runaround

The rest of my time in Phoenix was spent with Bella, on a bit of a vacation with her daughter staying at Auntie Arianna’s. We made a point of exploring several areas including the alcoholic ice cream site, Buzzed Bull Creamery. On other occasions, I got to check out Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights, the Elsie McCarthy Sensory Garden, Pueblo Plant Nursery, the Her Secret Is Patience Wire Sculpture, the Navajo Code Talker Memorial and a unique little shopping corner called Stardust & Sage Crystals Apothecary Botanica.

Basically all the rest of my time was wisely invested with Bella and her local friends. I went on small shopping trips to books stores with Bella’s roommate named Laura. I joined her gaming group to win a game of the Settlers of Catan. We watched a slew of movies and TV episodes together, including Star Trek: Lower Decks, The Cat Returns, Porcco Rosso, Kiki’s Delivery Service and a few giggle-worthy Youtube clips (thank you, Viva la Dirt League and Auntie Donna, for all that you do).

The beautiful thing about some people is their abilities to restore the souls of others by mere presence. I felt profoundly whole and at ease during my visit, gradually entering a state of core peace.

However, my time in Arizona wasn’t to last. Once again, I’m called to distant horizons. This time, I’m taking an early retirement in Colombia, South America to finish several writing projects that require my attention.

I’ll be in the coastal city of Cartagena, hammering away at work for the foreseeable future. So until my next break,

Best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written June 8th, 2024

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