Back Home...

So I'm not sure of how many people are interested in hearing about the US portion of the trip but I've decided to go ahead and tell the whole tale since the US portion is as integral as any of the the more "exotic" destinations I'll be visiting. Why? Because it had been a very long time since I had seen and hung out with my brothers/best friends in Arizona. Because I MUST see my parents and my sisters before I do something as crazy as this! I think that I would be banned from the U.S. Association of Good Family Members (made up : )) if I didn't! And Philly and NYC have always been dreams of mine to visit.
With that said, I have successfully completed the first piece of this puzzle: AZ. I love Arizona, I don't think that I would live there again but the place is special to me. probably because I spent the "formative years" there, but on the other hand I truly believe that there is something special about the Sonoran desert. Phoenix...eeehhhh...sprawling cityscape with no true centralization and a desire to be slightly like LA?...enough said. Tucson however is not quite the same...A truly beautiful place that still holds the character of the South West. Sure there are issues with both but to me it is hard to top sipping Horchata while munching on a carne asada burro from Nico's (aka the best gut bomb in the world!) at sunset while a monsoon rolls in over the mountain tops displaying nature's fireworks in the form of a lightening storm which illuminates the respectful stance of the Saguaro cacti. OK...I'm a bit partial...and romantic...hopefully it lands me a wife one day!
Besides a true connection to the land itself, i have dear friends here who are more like brothers and who showed me the up most hospitality on my trip. I had long talks and borderline debates with my ace coom boom (sorry for the hip hop reference) Melake in his unusually hot...I mean hot like 94 degrees hot...apartment. My man lives bare bones so it was good practice for me but my lanky self missed a bed for sure! He reminded me to continually press forward in all that we do because laziness and its other friends lie just around the corner. Valuable advice for a trip like this. I enjoyed air conditioning, a couch, bed, TV, and Internet access and Jolan's house. He is fully domesticated now and gone are the days of smoking pot and freestyling for hours on end speaking with New York accents...this was a spec-e-al-a-tay of ours in our twenties. Now he is the best father in the world as well as a model husband. You know things are changing when your friend says they are going to have a party and all the guests come in pairs! He reassured me that the balance of a stable (aka married)life is something I have to look forward to...not to mention it's my goal to have a cuter kid than him...but I don't think that is possible.
In Tucson My friends nick and Steve allowed me to enjoy in the fruits of reminiscing yet at the same time compare where I've been to where I'm at. I never felt like I was a stranger to Tucson...but this time I did. My parents left and so there is no "home" there anymore. But they showed me that my heart is welcome there anytime. You can't be around Nick without learning some behind the scenes political info that will blow your mind away and Steve...Steve showed me that you will never be able to assume anything about your friends even if they are predictable people...God bless you man.
So I pulled away from Tucson and Phoenix today with a full belly and a renewed since of friendship. Sure people change, interests change, as well as other things but good people are good people and having a few of them left where you grew up is priceless.