Mingling With Humans
Several years ago I had two friends in Arizona. My old friends Tom & Sue had moved to Tucson in 1999. I had a large going away party/cookout on Labor Day weekend before they departed. It was my subsequent trips to AZ to visit them that sent into motion our eventual move to PHX. It's all their fault.
On Friday night they were passing through town, on their way home from a California vacation, so we met for dinner. I had never been to the Cheesecake Factory. It's a chain, I didn't expect much. When I reached chapter nine of the menu I realized why Cheesecake is popular. They have everything on that menu. I could have ordered a freshly killed goat if I wanted one.
I opted for the mahi mahi and we had a nice dinner with old friends.
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The third friend I made in Arizona was Randy the Mexican. I flew to AZ for job interviews months before our move. Randy met me for lunch and brought me into a few machine shops in our business. He sells machine tools.
Since that time he's never missed a poker game at my home. We meet for a few beers or dinner after work from time to time. I sent out poker invites via email last week. Randy replied, "Can't play, moving to LA."
"What? You can't play poker?" Then I gave him my best Walt Kowalski. "Just what LA needs need, another beaner. Are lawns not being mowed?" He fired back with his own barbs. This is how we interact.
Saturday night Randy came over for dinner. It would be his last home cooked meal before driving to the coast, New York strip, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, caprese, French bread, pale ale and tequila. We sat by the pool smoking cigars until 1 a.m.
It's a business move. He picked up the SoCal territory. He'll be coming back to PHX from time to time. He still has the AZ turf to operate.
I can't believe he's missing poker night. His pesos will be missed by the eventual chip winner. There will no Mexican jokes at the poker table, unless I can find another to play.
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Today Jeffrey and I rode the Silent Death downtown for the Dodgers @ Diamondbacks game. It was our first time on the light rail system. We boarded at the terminus in Mesa. By the time we hit Tempe the train was pretty crowded with baseball fans opting for public transit to the game.
My first impressions are good. For $3.50 you get an all day pass. It's cheaper than the combined expense of parking fees and gas. It's also nice to get out of our personal pods and mingle with other humans. I will definitely use the Silent Death in the future. There's a part of me that wishes it was more conveniently located near my home. it comes no where near our town.