Postcard from Tucson

I wish I could tell you I took this picture yesterday and that it is always spring here in Tucson. But, that would be a fib. I took the photograph in April…and our winter has actually begun.

It is around 50 outside with intermittent rain showers. My shorts are temporarily put away and am now wearing jeans. I still wear a t-shirt, but usually there is a hoodie on top of it. It will be like this for a few more days, then we will get back into the 60’s.

Now, I know some of you are already mired in winter with temps often below or at freezing for the entire day…and that you don’t feel the least bit sorry for me or my fellow residents in southern Arizona. That is fine. But don’t be angry at me for my suffering this cold weather.

The people you should be angry with are your friends and neighbors who desert your towns and cities to enjoy the mild autumn, winter, and spring that we enjoy here…the ones we call Snowbirds.

They leave you behind to endure your harsh winters alone, while coming here in their RV’s to make our cities even more crowded…to fill up our parking spaces, make our grocery store lines longer and fill up our baseball and concert hall seats. I have never seen all the handicap parking spaces completely filled at Wal-Mart and Costco until I moved here.

Guess what? We don’t like them very much either. They fly south for the winter when it gets to cold…and head back north when it gets too warm. They are fraidy-cats for all seasons.

But, they do spent their dollars here which helps our economy. But what they don’t know and is Arizona’s deep dark secret is our state only charges sales tax when they are here. As soon as they leave, the tax is lifted. We only let them temporarily occupy our land for as much money as we can squeeze out of them…kind of like Las Vegas.

So the above photo is for all of you who endure harsh winters and dream of the return of Spring…and for us local Arizona residents who long for the carefree days of Spring when the snowbirds are gone and we again find close-in parking spaces and shop tax-free in our stores.

PS. The above soliloquy was written while sober, but with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Just me and my keyboard having some fun.

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com

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