Dreams, Moments, Travels
While I have posted a few saguaros here over the past year, there is something especially enticing about them this time of year. Maybe it’s because they are greener and plumper due to the spring rains. Maybe it’s because the purple flowers in front of this one with a crisp blue sky in the background simply strike the eye. I am not certain why this giant cactus should be so appealing but it does seem to have universal appeal.
All around us, we are seeing bright splashes of color, no, it isn’t due to excesses during acid house days. Har, you may have thought I’d reference the hippies or something, well I’m not old enough to have been a real hippy, my youthful music fascination spanned punk rock and industrial to acid house and the birth of techno.
We made the long 25-mile drive to a local discount theater to see the Hindi film Malamaal Weekly. We held six additional seats for the friends who were joining us. Previews of coming attractions hint at what’s to come in the next months and then the feature film rolls. The titles play, the music starts, the voice-over starts narrating and Caroline and I are left wondering, well, just what is this guy saying in Hindi? Grrrr, no subtitles. Three hours of Hindi comedy without a clue about the dialogue would not have left us very entertained. We got a refund and caught a different film.
The bus is the medium, get the message. No matter that I choose not to watch television, read the local papers, listen to commercial radio. I am still bombarded with the slogans and marketing campaigns of trash companies I would rather not have floating around my conscience. One of the pleasures of small-town America is the absence of this intrusive and constant barrage of advertising. At least in Los Angeles, the ads are occasionally provocative and at times entertaining. Here in Phoenix, Arizona, I have seen billboards inviting mothers who do not know for sure who the father of their child is to ‘Call us to determine paternity using DNA’, or to call the Sheriff’s office to be certain that as your violent offender is released from jail that you are safe. Then we have all the ads for the various law firms promising to keep you out of jail for drunk driving, beating your wife, beating your pet while drunk, hittings someone with your car while drunk and fleeing the scene, handling your divorce, or suing the crap out of the business where you ‘accidentally got hurt. Finally, the reminder that this week’s lottery is up to $175 million – god, I hate that I fall for that one.
Back row: Sonal, Krupesh, Khushboo, Renu, Gautam. Front row: Caroline, Hemu, Rinku, and that big bearded dhoriyo on the right is me, John Wise. For the first time in a long while, we have gotten together for dinner. Unfortunately, no one told me the off-limits subjects and so true to form I was able to divulge two or three ‘secrets’ that were supposed to stay with me. No matter, we had fun, talking about…..well I can’t talk about that right now, or how someone might be going….oh yeah, can’t talk of that either, ok, we reminisced about Jay who moved back to India and stared at a Rinku who looked especially funny – in a veerd kinda vay.
Protected like a well-defended prison, this cactus on our patio isn’t about to let birds, lizards, or any other critters get very close. It does flower occasionally and the bees have no problem getting at the pollen, but as you can see, anything bigger than an ant better find a more friendly place to call home.