I drove to Phoenix, 400 miles, to visit some old friends of Ron's. There are two couples that live there that he went to University of Chicago Lab School for high school with, that were friends of his for 65 years, and friends of mine for about 30 years. For years we have visited them in Phoenix, and they come here at least once a year. Ron and I missed our visit last year, usually in February, as Ron was beginning to decline. I was happy to visit them this year, unfortunately without him, but he was there in spirit.
One highlight was an afternoon at the MIM with Ellen. The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix is one of my favorite museums in the world, and I've been in a lot of museums. During this visit, they had a special exhibit of masks from Congo. It was so informative. We concentrated on Latin America this time. The place is so big you can only see part of it on each visit.
We were there on the day the Derek Chauvin jury was deliberating. At about 1:05pm I got a text from my son that the jury had a verdict. I was on pins and needles until I got the result. That came about 45 minutes later. We were in the hall of the museum, as were dozens of other patrons. All of a sudden, everyone had their cell phones out and were glued to reading it. We all got the news at the same time, and everyone was smiling and breathing a sigh of relief. It was an interesting moment, showing the power of social media to inform.
We headed over to a beautiful Italian restaurant called Scilian Butcher, for an afternoon snack. We ordered fried squash blossoms, delicious, and a tray of appetizers, including goat bread spread with goat cheese topped with mushrooms, and bread topped with burrata cheese and tomatoes. It was a perfect snack, and I would love to try it for dinner. Next door is Sicilian Baker, selling gelato and Italian baked goods. This restaurant was a great find.
Oh, I played pickleball with my friend Ian and several of his cronies one morning. They are good players, but I kept up with them. He told me the Marriott Hotel in Scottsdale had just built a 400 seat stadium and 18 pickleball courts. They are ready to host a tournament.
All in all, a great time with Ellen and Phil, Ian and Carol. It's so much fun to visit with old friends. Of course there was some sadness, as these were originally Ron's friends. Since he's not here anymore, I intend to keep up the friendships.
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