1/09/99 Snow.
Ice. More snow. Turned on the
Saturday "Today" show and looked at Ohio on the weather radar.
The big band of ominous orange color seemed to have passed through the state, headed
to the northeast. Maybe I would be able to catch a plane out of Columbus
after all. I called America West...no delays, but it was still early.
Ray arrived at
9:00, and we headed down the slippery roads en route to the airport.
Ray's nice that way... always offering to give rides... always has the can of de-icer
handy... both of which were useful this morning. Got to the airport an
hour and a half early and watched the clear sky turn to flurries then
turn to full-fledged snow. My flight was still scheduled to leave on time... except
there was a plane that was supposed to be heading to Baltimore stuck
at the gate. This is what happens when you find a cheap, last-minute fare
on the Internet to somewhere warm and sunny. Gate change.
Flight left about 45 minutes late. Uneventful. In-flight movie was "Rush
Hour." I didn't pay the $4 to watch it, though. The meal consisted of
a cold roll with a piece of ham and hard American cheese. There were also
orange, red, and "natural" tortilla chips with a side of salsa.
I *was* going to Arizona after all. Got to Phoenix
about 45 minutes late and set out to look for Steve who was meeting me…he'd
found a cheap fare from London. Not there. I sat for a minute. I went to use the restroom. I sat for a minute. I headed out to the security booths, and there he was….looking much as I remembered him from the 3+ years ago when we last saw each other. We added me as a second driver,
at no additional cost, "per Nick," and we went out to the parking lot to
see our "big boat of a car," a dark green Dodge Intrepid with a trunk
so big we could smuggle some illegal aliens over the border.
We headed south, thinking we'd go to the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, but I wanted
to stop and see the big fiberglass Indian at Picacho Peak. After taking
a picture of that and a huge cowboy boot, we headed down the frontage road
for chocolate dip cones at Dairy Queen. Have I mentioned it was 68 and sunny
here today??
Somewhere in there, we changed plans and arrived at the Pima Air & Space Museum at 5:07,
just a bit too late to go in. Too bad, too...looked like a fun place to
walk around. Maybe tomorrow. Not a duo to be daunted, we ontinued east
to The Thing?, one of America's greatest roadside attractions.
I've been numerous times, but it's always a pleasure to see the Bear Trap
and Grinder display box...and the painting, described simply as "Italy.
Very old." And let's not forget the "Woodcarving carved completly [sic]
from wood." Then, of course, there's The Thing? itself, looking as radiant
as always in its protective, glass-encased box. And it's always
nice to view The Thing? Through the eyes of someone who's never been exposed
to it.
We backtracked
on I-10, the boulders of Texas Canyon silhouetted against the cerulean
sky. Checked into the Lazy 8, "Arizona's Cleanest Budget Motel," where
I always stay when I find myself in Tucson. We called The Loft, which is
the local art house and found out show times for "Gods & Monsters."
We bought tickets then cruised E. Speedway in search of food, finally settling
on pulled beef and pork sandwiches from the Bar-B-Q Ranch, an odd little
joint with a collection of western collectibles intermingled with Star Wars
ephemera.
Got back to The
Loft, which was pretty danged spacious for an art theater and pretty danged
empty on a Saturday night. "Gods & Monsters" was okay, although it wouldn't
have made my top 10 of 98 list, which is okay, since I'm gonna count
it as a 99 anyway, but I don't think it'll make *this* year's top 10
either. Sort of dragged near the end, or maybe it was just the change of
time zones catching up with me. Glad to have seen it, though...and
add that one to the list of films with full-frontal male nudity... Back in the Lazy
8 now...getting ready to settle in for the evening.
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