Just an absolutely fabulous day here in Tempe- blue skies, good breeze, got up to the 80’s and didn’t for one second feel hot. Joelle and I splurged and went to the Community Pool:
I say splurged because the price for admission is only $1.25. That is what is so maddening about this country. We can afford this most everywhere with somewhat decent population density. We could do that and have health care and fully funded schools and libraries and vo-tech places. We absolutely afford that and we wouldn’t have to tax any of these rich pricks to the point they couldn’t afford their own god damned multi million dollar pool. It’s just so infuriating.
At any rate, our time at the pool was great. Got a bunch of laps in, but the sun was super intense so I got out of it after an hour and sat underneath an umbrella listening to the kids play (if you were wondering, “Marco Polo” is still alive and well in our nation’s pools), and just read and had a good time. Dropped Joelle off and went to pick up some triple sec for her saturday night cocktail- I made a whiskey sour with half a regular lemon and a whole sweet lemon, some Bullit, a little triple sec, and then I put some lemon zest on top. We’re just going to have the other tbone from the two pack I bought (FOR 18.00!!!!!) some green beans, and a sliced tomato or two.
Joelle is out on the back porch, where earlier she took this great picture of Steve:
Steve is absolutely thriving out here, and is acting like he is several years younger. I think it is a combination of things- there is no humidity or cold so his arthritis is much better, he is eating very good food (basically rabbit in a can from Evanger’s), and both of those have contributed to him being more active, playing more, and just generally feeling and doing better. Remember, Steve is an old dude. I got him in 2013, and they thought he was 1-3 years old when I got him, so he is somewhere between 13 and 16, I would guess. He’s actually thriving at the point that he may just stay here this summer.
The other thing that has happened, and Joelle and I were just talking about this the other night while lying in bed, is that the cats have really adopted this as their home. They act like they run the place- we have a half door that at least a dozen times a day Steve demands we get up and open and allow his lordship passage, and we do. But they really just act like they own the place and we have even caught high strung maxwell relaxing from time to time. Speaking of, here is the viscount himself emerging from the shadows:
Handsome. Also, he is on a diet.
I am mentally preparing myself to head back home. It’s going to be quite the shock to the system, but I gotta go. My favorite thing when I get back is explaining to everyone that no, the Tempe/Phoenix/Scottsdale region isn’t a crime ridden hellhole and that I have never felt as safe (excluding my time on Army bases) in my whole life. There are some creepy backroad places I have been in WV where I have mentally said “Fuck this.” And yes, there is crime, but the average person is not experiencing it in my nook. South Phoenix is sketchy. And there is a shit ton of crime in Scottsdale, but it’s white people crime that doesn’t get prosecuted- callgirls/escorts/cocaine and party drugs/insurance fraud and financial crimes. Honestly, around me, the most dangerous things on the street is a white High School aged male from Gilbert or Chandler and the Phoenix Police. The Tempe cops I have interacted with have been laid back.
It’s going on seven and I have a grill to attend to, so I will holler at you all tomorrow. Do something fun tonight- watch a movie or read a book or play a game.
Earl
One of the reasons stepfather and I no longer spoke was him “learning” from Faux News how dangerous a piece of San Francisco was. At the time, I lived a block away and walked through that neighborhood daily. I wouldn’t say it was safe exactly — definitely there was the odd needle on the ground, street vendors selling stolen laundry detergent, and the occasional crazy person — but I’d walked through it several thousand times at all hours of the night and day and been shot, stabbed, and killed zero times. The only fight I’d witnessed was drunk assholes in a bar.
Him: It’s so dangerous you need to be carrying.
Me: It’s simply not, and unlike the Fox News liars, *I actually go there so stop believing that bullshit*. Zero headway made.
:shrug:
mrmoshpotato
CANNONBALL your bones like holy moly!
Also, wang chung tonight!
Ohio Mom
Try being from NYC and living in Ohio if you want people to ask you about braving crime-filled streets.
Melancholy Jaques
I am exhausted from explaining to people the same about Los Angeles.
Suzanne
LMAO. I mean, I lived in some sketchy-ass places in the Valley and in Tucson where there was a lot of crime. But, like…. this part of the country is really fucken fentanyl-ful. LOL.
hitchhiker
My grandkids are 4 (b/g twins) and 3 (boy cousin), and every once in a while they all arrive together. Today they were all here with various parents b/c our local library was having a grand opening & mr hitchhiker’s honk band was playing. Sun was out, people were dancing, lots of dogs.
We ate red beans and whole wheat bread, and — because I am that kind of grandma — a cherry poke cake with whipped cream/pudding frosting and fresh strawberries.
The good thing about living on an island is that guests have to pay attention to ferry schedules, by which I mean that when 3 pm rolls around, they all need to pack up their fancy water bottles and stuffies and containers of poke cake that I put together for them.
Island, berries, cake, frosting, preschoolers, red beans, sun, honk band … I can completely forget for an entire day that I’m witnessing the end of something that was pretty good. No matter what happens next, the old thing is not coming back. What comes next, who knows.
So now mr h. is watching pro rugby (which is funny because we cannot understand the rules!) and i’m just starting the apple+ show called Dope Thief. So far, it’s really fucking good. Like, The Wire level of good.
Peace to all of you.
lowtechcyclist
It was a pretty nice day in southern Maryland today too – sunny and 60s. Raked the yard so I could put some grass seed down, and I didn’t mind the work because the day was so nice.
mrmoshpotato
Marco! Bones-low! That totally slaps!
Melancholy Jaques
@hitchhiker:
That’s a bold statement. I will have to check it out. Severance is done & I’m open for a new show.
Kelly
I moved back to where I grew up in rural Oregon when I retired. I spent my career,30 years, in the Portland metro area. I regularly explain how safe Portland really is.
satby
@Earl: @Ohio Mom: @Melancholy Jaques:
Chicago native, and same. The bigots around here really freak when I show them that South Bend has a high per capita murder rate. And nobody is afraid to go to South Bend.
Of course “Chicago” has long meant “urban” which means “black”. Substitute city of your choice, the bigotry is the reason.
laura
There’s an air show this weekend and the Blue Angel’s have been doing their thing over the neighborhood. The clouds have finally parted, and tomorrow is predicted to be a treat, so we hope to see and not just hear the aerial acrobatics and formation.
We are sad, because we watched the final episode of Slow Horses last night and the series just ripped along and we thoroughly enjoyed it. So were going to watch Dope Thief in lieu of -the SacBee review raved about Brian Tyree Henry, so we’re going binge that tonight.
Jackie
John, if Steve and Maxwell stay in Arizona, you may as well put a For Sale sign on your house and raise political hell in AZ. Just sayin’…
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Reminds me of some of the guys on watch forums that think that you can’t walk out of your house in London without getting stabbed by 20 muggers or something
mrmoshpotato
@Suzanne: Well, when the entire GOP starts snorting cocaine like it’s adding sugar to their coffee…
And then there’s the orange shitstain who owns them…
Bupalos
I know people think we “red meat is planetary murder” people are killjoy scolds… and we are. But in the interest of keeping us at bay, can’t we just have a kind of “don’t ask don’t tell” rule where when you are constantly eating cheap greenhouse gas meat you agree to hide it?
VeniceRiley
Binged the new season of Gangs of London. Just an unrealistic level of shooting and death. All fictional fun tho.
Then I watched FAME. RIP Irene Cara.
The weather has turned tolerable here. Got disappointed by a special of the week burrito that didn’t last a whole week. Meh.
America looks like a shit show. Bless.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Please give Steve scritcheeez from us.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@satby:
There were some idiots in the NASCAR scene, namely Brett Griffin, a former spotter famous for being on the DBC podcast made disparaging comments about Chicago being “dangerous” because the Street Race being held there when it was first announced. Unsurprisingly, he was later let go from the show by Dirty Mo Media, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr, for such bullshit. I think him tweeting about the Haitians eating pets BS last year was the last straw for him
NotMax
Got enough ketchup for that steak? There’s bound to be an Executive Order about that.
:)
Juju
Maxwell and I have something in common. He also hides half his body however he can when someone takes a picture of him.
Trivia Man
On advice of this hive mind, i watched the surreal 1965 movie Playtime. Not sure what to make of it but definitely trippy.
Trivia Man
@lowtechcyclist: impatient me, i started some seeds inside today. Jalapeño, black eyed susan, basil, and snap dragons.
Plus a few phlox went in the ground outside.
Soprano2
@Ohio Mom: When I went to NYC in 2023 to sing at Carnegie Hall I had more than one person tell me to take a gun! I told them that’s illegal there, plus I didn’t think I needed it. I never felt unsafe in NYC, although I only saw a small part of it. These people think I live in a crime hellhole because I live in the city, though
ETA I’m at the bar getting ready to sing karaoke, so I guess that counts as having fun. We went to Crumbl Cookies today. Holy cow, $5 for a big cookie. We probably won’t go back there.
Martin
@Ohio Mom: Yeah, I grew up in NYC in the 70s when the city was legit dangerous, but I was never shot at until I lived in rural PA, and when I leave this world it’s probably going to be because some motorist runs me down, and that won’t be considered a crime, because cars only cause accidents, not manslaughters.
Interesting Name Goes Here
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Oh, so that’s what happened? Huh. I was wondering why his name kept coming up in unflattering ways over on the NASCAR subreddit this week.
LeftCoastYankee
The two most dangerous spots in any city are where young men go to do stupid shit they think will impress young women and wherever the cops are.
That leaves an awful lot of time and space on any given day to be quite safe.
Soprano2
@Suzanne: They don’t think of that as crime, though. When they think of crime they think of getting robbed at gunpoint by a big black man.
Gvg
It was a beautiful day. The local spring garden festival was today. People have what I call spring fever. Where they mob the trucks as they pull into the garden centers. Today they brought wagons and took home loads of bright flowers. Lots of orchids, bromeliads and just bright colored flowers. The yellow milkweed was very popular. Also lots of tropical houseplants and fruit and vegetables of course. I took pictures I will send in for a garden chat if Anne Laurie chooses soon. People are so happy in spring. The food trucks were good too.
Afterwards I went and helped my aunt renovate her back garden. She has various medical conditions these days, and things got away from her. I gardened and she brought me cold drinks. It felt good to get it done. Sorry I hadn’t realized she needed more help sooner. People don’t like to ask. But there is satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment when you finish a good task you chose.
Melancholy Jaques
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
If that’s so, then he’s the only person I’ve heard of who suffered any consequences for telling that lie.
Martin
@Soprano2: The per capita violent crime rate in NYC is half that of Wichita, KS. Lower than Tulsa. Lower than Orlando.
San Francisco’s is lower than all of those cities as well.
eclare
I am so jealous that you have an outdoor public pool. There are none near me in Memphis. I looked into joining the pool at the college ten minutes away, but the hours aren’t great, and it’s $500 for the summer, last time I checked.
A few gyms near me have indoor pools, but I can’t take the chlorine in an enclosed space.
They Call Me Noni
Oldest daughter and her friend, the three grown grandsons, two granddaughters-in-law and the 3 year old great granddaughter came for dinner tonight. House was full of music, basketball on the tv and playing pool in the basement. The one single grandson brought his laundry. Good to have all the young folks come hang out for a night with their Noni and Pop. Played some hide-n-seek with the youngest. She is a sassy little thing in her pink era and we are all at her beck and call. Felt like a big, warm hug.
Jay
@eclare:
https://www.marketplace.org/2021/02/15/public-pools-used-to-be-everywhere-in-america-then-racism-shut-them-down
We have a few, here in Coquitlam, outdoor pools, still,
Here it’s weather, not racism that shuts them down. May to September, after that, not so much.
Marc
Do you mean the last episode of the fourth season? A fifth season is in the process of being made.
By the way, we watched the last episode of the current Severance season last night. Beautifully written, a dark episode where no one died that we cared about. They tied up enough loose threads and left enough new ones that we’ll be waiting for the next season.
eclare
@Jay:
I can guarantee racism shut them down here.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Martin: this. I remember my last visit to Trumpian rural PA relatives (back in 2017) when they were sure that no-one in NYC ever ventured out of doors after dark due to all the violent crime & I had to explain to them that certain parts of downtown NYC only come alive after dark. Then I dared to suggest to stepmom that the best thing for type 2 diabetes was for her to lose weight, and let’s just say I haven’t been invited back since.
cats love hot weather. Steve & Maxwell should stay in Tempe if they so choose.
Salty Sam
My eldest boy lives in Chicago. We visited him a few years ago, had a great time (I love Chicago!). From there we went on to Spouse’s family in rural northern Minnesota. MAGA nephew came out to greet us- first words out of his mouth: “Chicago eh? Bet you’re glad to have gotten out alive!”
And no, he wasn’t kidding.
Chetan Murthy
It’s a funny thing: I’ve lived in Paris, NYC, BOS, and SF. Never felt unsafe in these cities. But when I visit TX? Yeah, I feel unsafe. Wish I were packin’ sometimes.
Sure Lurkalot
@Gvg: @They Call Me Noni:
I think you two win for most excellent days.
The wind wasn’t as cold today so my DH and I took a long walk after lunch. Later on, we went out to dinner, had interesting small plates and yummy cocktails. I was recently freed from dietary restrictions after a procedure so it was nice to eat liberally again.
ArchTeryx
@Salty Sam: Grew up in the far South Side. Now it’s a yuppie bedroom community. Yeah, I was raised in the finest tradition of Chicago racism, sadly. But that didn’t stop me from getting massively into the birth of house music from the ashes of disco. Started in Chi-Town and it was… guess what, black folks, that started it all. Eventually the house music scene looked like a multicultural melting pot, but it all started with pioneers like Frankie Knuckles and Detroit-born master DJ Kevin Saunderson.
People keep thinking Chicago’s only contribution to the country is excessive violence, but it contributed so much more. Fuck ’em.
Steve in the ATL
@eclare: you live in midtown, right? Do you want our University Club number?
@satby: hard to believe I survived the mean streets of Evanston as a little kid!
prostratedragon
Break up the Bulls!!
Also, Maxwell is looking very suave.
MagdaInBlack
@ArchTeryx: Folks who think Chicago’s only contribution is violence know nothing about music or theatre.
I grew up in a small farming community near Ottawa IL. Blessedly my mother grew up in Chicago, so I had no fear. Respect and common sense yes, but fear of the big bad city, no
Eta: when I moved to Naperville in ’97 I chose a spot 3 blocks from Metra, so I could get into the city easily. Guess where I was every weekend. And I survived !
NotMax
@prostratedragon
Did someone say bulls?
;)
prostratedragon
@NotMax:
Well, … only sort of …
For some reason they have suddenly started looking like a basketball team lately, even despite some injury absences they’d rather not have. For most of the year they’d been wearing all the picks.
prostratedragon
Inspired by yesterday’s posts, I:
Someone mentioned the Tate brothers. That put me in mind of the balls-strangling garments those freaks like to strut around in (see Derek Guy), and in iurn of the song “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over”, rousingly sung here by Leslie Uggams.
Well, though I did notice something seemed a bit off there, to my shame now I have to admit I didn’t realize quite what. Ms. Uggams herself explains.
Matt McIrvin
@Kelly: The Oregonian terror of Portland is the most jarring one to me. It’s really over the top– most of the state really seems to think Portland is a death zone you will never leave if you enter, somehow the murder capital of the world.
SmallAxe
Right on Cole, I love living here too. Moved in the mid 90s and never looked back. Mesa cops are notoriously bad and you missed the whole Gilbert cops not doing squat about the Gilbert goons thing for almost 2 years, which makes your statement about local white HSchoolers being dangerous spot on. Long live the Valley of the Sun!
Liminal Owl
@Jay: We have an outdoor pool in a nearby town, likewise May to September. $10/person for the season… so it was annoying rather than infuriating when the cold rainy weather stopped, and then we got Covid, and then I had strep throat… We never used the pool last year (moved here the previous September), hoping this year will be better.
Liminal Owl
@Martin: I grew up upin NYC in the ‘70s too. Only place I was ever unsafe (mugged and beaten up and depantsed, on separate occasions) was in my middle (junior high) school.
KateP
@Ohio Mom: I was at the Cleveland Clinic a while ago waiting for a test when some old guy started ranting to everyone in the waiting room about the crime ridden NYC, a place he’d never been but knew all about. I finally piped up to say that I’d been a number of times and that my niece went to college there and still lives and works in the city. Neither of us have ever experienced any crime, much less violent crime. Of course our experiences were dismissed. we were just lucky, it’s a hell hole.