A local Hindu youth group performs a street play for family, friends, and anyone else who happens to wander by Indo Euro Foods this afternoon. The play is presented in Hindi without subtitles and there are no scenes involving pyramids, snowcapped mountains, or rapid costume changes, so it might be difficult for the casual passerby to pick up on the real context of the play, but it was nice to see their enthusiasm for conveying a positive image and message to a welcoming audience. This was a repeat performance; last August we had a similar show in front of the store, but this time Caroline was able to understand a few sentences. Next year she just might be able to follow the whole thing!

This is 1-year-old Aditya on his first birthday visiting with his uncle Jay Patel in Bombay, India. Jay’s own birthday just happened yesterday, he turned 28. You might remember our good friend Jay from old postings on my website, many years ago. For the love of pani puri, Jay left America and followed some crazy dream that someday he would fly airplanes. Well, as a matter of fact, he’s going to do just that. Jay has taken a copilot position with Jet Airways. After a long delay looking for the perfect job – now he has it. So, marriage must be just around the corner, right? Look, ladies, he is sooooo good with babies, I think he needs five or six.

You are missed by many people over here Jay, all of who wish you well. Happy birthday wishes to you, and a BIG Happy Birthday to you too, Aditya!!!

Our friend Mike Devarennes is in the hospital with a blood clot in his lower left leg. He is wearing one of those gowns with the open backside, exposing his butt, and next to him is his pee bottle. So what’s a friend to do? Take photos of the guy looking stupid, that’s what. You can believe me that I tried getting a photo of that backside but he wasn’t budging. Maybe I can sneak another photo when he gets his surprise colonoscopy.

Cpt. Kirk left the valley of the sun after he and I stopped for a bite to eat late in the evening. He went somewhere, somewhere other than this boiling wasteland of conformity. Phoenix is a great place to make money, it’s a great starting point for branching out to travel the southwest. But as a community, Phoenix may be the most isolating big city in America. The desert lifestyle, too much sun, or maybe new money bring on a pretentiousness wrapped in hideously trendy yet generic behaviors and elitist trappings of arrogance unbacked by intellectual integrity, social awareness, or compassion for our fellow citizen. It was this distancing that pushed Kirk out of the normal social circles that keep the herd cohesive. I wish Kirk good luck in finding his place in a funky new environ that is more tolerant than this desert that has been sterilized of its humanity.

Meet Shamil Patel, he’s watching over Indo-Euro Foods, the grocery store owned by his aunt and our friend Sonal. Sonal is on vacation in India, probably shopping for more than she can carry home. While she is away, a number of family and friends are caring for her shop. Shamil has been the main guy watching the counter the past couple of weeks with his sister, mom, and former employee Gautam sharing the responsibilities. Next week, Rinku and I will take the helm until Caroline and I leave for a weekend in Utah followed by our departure for vacation in Texas over the 4th of July.