The Journey Home Is Underway

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I’m at that bar-like table at the airport. You know, the one with plugs. I am taking full advantage.

It looks like a geek’s campout! Laptop plugged in. Compact Flash card from the camera plugged into it. Cellphone plugged in and charging too.

Thank you Tucson International for free WiFi. It’s the cherry on top of a brief, but fun weekend.

If you’re just joining us, it was Orange County first with a little house recon. Next a few great days in nearby Los Angeles with Stef. Finally, two nights, but really just one full day in Tucson for Aunt Sue’s 100th birthday.

Aunt Sue is Helaine’s aunt. We both have very small families (number and height), so events like this are cherished.

We came to Tucson with some apprehension. We hadn’t seen any of the party goers in thirteen years! And, of course, having been on the news I’ve seen more than my fair share of hundredth birthday party stories. You know the one where the birthday girl (seldom birthday boy) is wheeled into a common room at a ‘facility’.

This was anything but! Aunt Sue was vibrant. She drove until she was 91. Yesterday she held court with the three generations beneath her on the family tree. Her memory isn’t quite what it once was, but everything else was firing on all cylinders.

She walked around. She played with the kids. She served herself punch and food.

Being 100 like Aunt Sue seems less daunting than being 100 should be.

The party was held at Sharon and Arthur’s (Helaine’s cousins) house north of the city. We went through lots of nothing to get there! Lots of pretty, stark, majestic nothing.

Here’s where Connecticut and the West differ. Much of our tiny state features homes on large lots. In wide open Arizona (and California) the homes are on tiny lots, surrounded by scrubland. Each is distinct and beautiful in its own way.

This is the desert. So far 2013 has produced under 2″ of rain in Tucson!

We briefly slipped away during the party so Cousin Knight could take us for a quick photo op. This is the very short moment when the desert is awash in color. There’s a lot to shoot, including the iconic saguaro cactus, found only in Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico.

This afternoon it’s Tuscon/Midway/Bradley, then home.

5 thoughts on “The Journey Home Is Underway”

  1. That kind of tight zoning is much more environmentally-friendly. We have it here in Oregon, too. Though, I will confess, we chose to move to a neighborhood that dates back to the 1940s- it looks a bit like CT.

  2. Beautiful pictures and family. Thanks for posting.
    Hope your flight home is a good one………

  3. Geoff, For no reason I can remember, I though of you today and looked you up on Google. Great to catch up on you and your family. Helaine and Stef good great (as does Helaine’s aunt!). Somewhere on a distant back-up disc I have a clip of you interviewing me at what was then the Volvo Tennis Open ( 1990s?) but I have NO idea where it is. Nice to hear about your move to LA and new business!
    I moved up to Greenfield, Mass. last year to join Sally, who has been Head of Stoneleigh-Burnham School. For the three years prior to that, I remained in Hamden and continued to teach at Hamden Hall while Sally made a name and place for herself. (Truth be known, she saved the school from going under at the last minute, but that’s a long story). Sad to leave Hamden Hall after 21 years, but there is NOTHING like teaching in a small (150) all-girls boarding school with students from all over the world. Does Stef have a daughter? Who rides? (SBS has a fantastic equestrian program, too). Sally comes back tomorrow from a week in California of visiting alumnae, one of whom is the wife of Craig Ferguson! (my Comedian Hero). She had coffe with him and Melissa yesterday, then was invited to the taping of the Late Late Show. Got the full VIP treatment. (I’m SO jealous!)
    Even though I love SBS, I’ve decided to retire at the end of this year and do some other things. I may just call on you for web design if I get my business (photos & transparencies-to-digital transfer) going. Wouldn’t that be ironic?
    Good to touch base. Give my best to Helaine & Stef!
    Hank

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