Tucson Begins

I arrived safely back in Tucson, AZ on Tuesday evening and have been adapting to my temporary life in my old home town. I'm experiencing a bit of a culture shock already. Man, I can't wait to move to Egypt and see how drastic that shock will be. I have to be brave through this though. I'm on a spiritual journey and I can't deny myself any inch of my past. It's what I've been running away from all this time and I now have to face it head on before I can continue my life as a whole person.

My first day back I drove down to 4 Avenue; a street near the university where all the non-republicans go to hang out. It's the only area in which I ever felt comfortable when I lived here so I thought it would be the best place to visit first. I was right. I was surrounded my liberal brothers and sisters in the southern heart of this red state. I did notice, however, that people aren't nearly as friendly here as they are at the Golden Hill neighborhood haunts: Jaraco, Krakatoa, the Turf Club, Luigi's, Grant's Market, Hamilton's. They don't smile as much here. It's almost as though they are all afraid of human connection. Who knows, maybe they think I bite. I think it has something to do with the driving culture which is stronger here than in San Diego if you can believe it. I miss the old neighborhood already. Maybe it's because this place is new even though I spent eleven years here before I moved to San Diego.

I went to a bar with my best friend from high school last night. A nice little dive she patronizes when she can. She has three children, a husband who works 80 hours a week, two jobs, and is going to school to finally finish the degree her first child interrupted. I mean to say she doesn't get a lot of time away from her life but when she does she goes to The Saddle Horn. I have been there with her before when I've visited Tucson to see my mother or my aunt when she was ill. It was fun because I was able to step out of my own life for a bit and learn a bit about the kind of fun had on the 'the other side of the fence'. On previous visits we ran into people we went to high school with. People who barely remembered me and who I only pretended to remember.

At The Saddle Horn I had a couple of Bud Lights, if you can believe it, and played a terrible game of pool. The bar was filled with people my friend knows casually. In typical bar form two of them started chatting with us, drunk as they were, and I ended up having a discussion with one of them about presidential candidates. Oh Ben, where are you when I need you?

To say this guy was an under-educated, ignorant redneck would be kind. He actually said that he didn't believe Barack Obama had the country's best interests at heart because his grandmother lived out of the US and he wasn't really an American because one of his parents was naturalized.

Of Republican candidates he said Romney was the best because he had 'family values'. When I asked him to tell me in detail which family values he felt Romney possessed that the other candidates didn't he said 'you know, like work and providing and stuff.' His opinion of McCain was that he was unsuitable because 'he was a prisoner of war and when they asked him if he wanted to be released he said no.' It sounds to me like someone watched a special on FOX and stopped looking for more information.

He ended our 'discussion' by yelling the word NO at me as though I were a dog who had just taken a dump on the carpet for the tenth time. This nameless man is ruining Arizona for me because I know there are more of him out there. I also hate that someone this dumb actually gets to vote. But I also love that someone this dumb actually gets to vote. 'Tis the nature of our system.

Internet access is spotty but I'll try to post again soon. I'm having a lot of thoughts I want to share. I may have to write them all down then post them when I can.

Obama '08!