How I Spent (am spending) My Summer

Just about a year after I left Kansas City to live in Chico, California, I am now back in Kansas City, Missouri. It was like an adventure--a very disorganized adventure, one fraught with errors and lapses in good judgement, but here I am. I suppose without errors and lapses in judgement, adventures, by one definition, would never happen.

Once in Chico and getting settled in nicely, the neighboring town of Paradise experienced what turned out to be one of the most devastating wild fires in recent California history. Nearly a hundred people died, and an entire town was wiped out, displacing something like 50,000 people. On the second day of the fire, the smoke, at first high above Chico, began to settle toward the ground and of course proved irritating and smelly to everyone. I had friends in Tucson, Arizona, with whom I was going to spend Thanksgiving, and though it was still three weeks out, they invited me to come down early to avoid the risk and the smoke. I did so.

While there I made the decision to move from Chico to Tucson. California was once my home, way back in the Sixties and early Seventies, but it had changed and was, is, not the pleasant place it was then. Too expensive, too crowded, bad tax laws, congestion, and so on. The weather was nice, though Chico might give Tucson a run for its money regarding heat, at least during the peak of summer. And I met a nice lady in Tucson with whom I got along very well. It seemed like a good decision.

Tucson and the Sonoran Desert were interesting places--great places to visit, but I have to say, not to live in. At least in my opinion--and one's own opinion, when deciding where to settle,  is arguably the most important gauge.

At the same time, as relationships move along their sometimes seemingly predestined courses, as this one did, we all know they either smooth along fairly and mostly nicely for long periods of time, or veer off a cliff. And you can't dial them back, as we also all know. When it was over, and I found I had no compelling reason to live in Tucson, I left. With nowhere else to go, I came home. I guess I have to say it.

The first interesting thing was Guthrie, Oklahoma. I stopped there for the night while traveling back to Kansas City. I never knew Guthrie existed. It is a very pleasant small town north of Oklahoma City (far enough north to  . . . uhm . . . allow it to be pleasant) once the state capitol, now a well preserved little town with great architecture and a kind of Americana feel to it. Huh.  Funny I lived in Oklahoma City for two years, in the Eighties, mostly disliked it, and never knew about this place.

Second thing: dreading the return of humidity after leaving Arizona and returning to the Midwest, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it felt OK.  Arizona is dry, when not in the "monsoon season," but in the summer, temperatures routinely pass the 100 degree mark, the 110 degree mark, and even higher, and the dryness, while purportedly making the heat more bearable, comes with its own unpleasantries, like making your skin turn to leather, or parchment, let's say. UV indices are scary as well. When told I was moving to Arizona, people would say,"Oh, great!  Do you have a dermatologist yet?"  Huhng? No, do I need one?  Yes. Anyway . . . Midwest humidity, while not ideal, is OK since maybe the temperature is 90.  Big deal.

So here I am. I found an apartment downtown, but I haven't moved in yet.  I'm still at an extended-stay motel in Independence, which is the town east of Kansas City. But my apartment, once I move in, will be convenient--close to the heart of downtown, but not directly in it, and close to the River Market area, where I once lived and have friends, and, once again, close to a streetcar stop--a plus, here, because it is still free and its route pretty much makes everything downtown within walking distance.

So here I am. As lost and aimless as ever. Stay tuned.