Divided We Fall! United We Stand!

Neil's post today reminded me of an experience I had as a little girl in the vast desert of southern Arizona. He wants to do a "Blogs Across America" reminiscent of "Hands Across America." He points out that Hands Across America was really a sham, since there were large stretches of emptiness in the line. Like in the Arizona desert.

Well, SOME of us in Arizona were doing our parts to fill those gaps. For example, me, my mom, my dad, and my aunt. We were living in Tucson at the time and were assigned to some random milepost in Buckeye, Arizona. I don't know if you know this, but the middle of the desert in Arizona at the end of May is really, really hot. Really, really.

There were gaps in the line, but my dad found some rope in our trunk and some others who I will describe as hippie cowboys with pickup trucks, had some rope in their truck beds that we used to span some of the breaks in the line. So thanks to us and some rope, those gaps in the Arizona desert weren't as large as they could have been.

We all held hands and sang "Hands Across America" and "We Are the World," as instructed by the radios blaring from the pickup trucks. As cheeseariffic as it sounds, it was a great experience. I felt like I was unified in a common cause with all of the other people who had sent in their forms, donated their money, and donned their T-shirts. Like Pat Benatar (see the photo above). Plus, there's just something bonding about hanging out in the middle of the desert on a really, really hot day. Ask anyone from Arizona or Nevada or any other God-forsaken brown pit of desert.

We capped off the experience with some fry bread at the Navajo reservation on the way home and a leap, fully clothed, into my grandparents' swimming pool. I remind you: really, really hot.

And now I wish I had a scanner so I could post some pictures from that day. I still have my T-shirt. Good times.

PS Thanks to all of you for your input on the should I or shouldn't I move to Boston right this very second quandary. I'm going to figure it out after my visit up there this weekend. I'll keep you posted.