Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Plaza Dedication

On May 3, 2021, a memorial six years in the making came to the day of its dedication.  The collaboration involved the Greater Southern Arizona Area Chapter (GSAAC) of the national Buffalo Soldiers organization, the Tucson City council, mayor, and city planner and the Tucson Department of Parks & Recreation, with the assistance of the voters in Tucson who approved Proposition 407 (funding improvements to parks and recreation facilities, including the Buffalo Soldier Memorial Plaza), and many others who helped along the way.  At the very tail end of the process, the planners opened a poetry contest, seeking a poem that epitomized the Buffalo Soldiers, to be read at the Memorial Plaza dedication. 

Our seventh grader, Audrey, was given the poem as an assignment, with the option of entering it into the contest.  She learned about the Buffalo Soldiers, wrote a poem, and submitted it to the poetry contest. A little less than a month later, we got an excited call from one of the organizers of the dedication ceremony. Audrey had won! Could she come read her poem the next week? 

Soon we found ourselves at the dedication. The poet was cool and collected.

 

  The event started with a welcome and the posting of the colors.

 

 

In addition to the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, the ceremony was opened with a recording of the song "Buffalo Soldier" by Bob Marley, and a performance of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," often called the Black National Anthem (written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson). 

 

 

 

After a blessing, Council member Richard Fimbres stepped in as master of ceremonies and introduced Mayor Regina Romero, who welcomed those attending, read a proclamation and spoke to the crowd about the importance of equity in representation in Tucson.

 

 Then it was Audrey's turn.

After she spoke, the keynote speaker stepped up, but we were caught up in a flurry of photos. On the left is Audrey with her middle school principal, Ms. McGlory, and the historian of the Buffalo Troopers of Sierra Vista.  At right, Audrey with two members of the Buffalo Troopers of Sierra Vista. The troopers even gave Audrey a Buffalo Soldiers challenge coin, which she is holding in the photo. 

Finally, before the close of the ceremony, the informational plaques and granite monument were unveiled.

  

The dedication closed with a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps, with a benediction, followed by the official ribbon cutting. 

 

Audrey delivered her poem with poise and grace, and received many compliments on her poem from both the organizers and people who attended the dedication. She also received a great compliment when the Chancellor of Pima Community College, speaking briefly as a community leader, quoted the closing lines of her poem, "...now, I honor you, Buffalo Soldiers."

 

 The full text of Audrey's poem, which will become a part of the memorial in the future:

Buffalo Soldiers
By: Audrey Orzech
 
Name taken from the sacred Buffalo,
Named by the very people  
to whom they drove away.
Black soldiers trying to make a life for themselves.
Working twice as hard to get half the credit,
compared to those  
drunk white men.  
Only the worst for these brave men.  
Only the mushiest of mush.
Posted to help people move west.
Sometimes killed  
by those whom they were only trying to keep safe.  
Never hearing too many gun shots,
instead hearing the banging of hammers.  
On the roads they worked hard to build.
Spending their days surrounded by the  
Beauty  
Of the first National Parks.
Preparing them for the  
white visitors.
When guns were heard,
black soldiers fought bravely.
Though the white got most of the credit.  
Honored in France when not even their own country,
Their own country!  
Recognized them.    
Then in 1964,  
things started to change.
They finally got recognized for their work.  
In the past you weren't honored.
But now.
I honor you.
Buffalo Soldiers. 

Rodeo Rainout

This year, I decided I wanted to take the girls to the Rodeo.  It's one of the big events in Tucson, after all.  La Fiesta de los Vaqueros. We have been to the Gem and Mineral show in January for the last two years, and I thought the Rodeo would be a good adventure, too. The last time I went to the Rodeo was many years ago, when Andrea and Steve came to visit.  I remember it as being fun...and sunny. Which is the great thing about Tucson in February - it's usually sunny, and warm by the afternoon.  But not this past Saturday.

Audrey was super-excited to go - she even found the Western American girl clothes we inherited and dressed both herself and her doll Nora for the Rodeo. My mother-in-law Pat loaned me her Western shirt, and although Claire didn't have any Western garb, she was willing to come along too.

We were ready.  The weather was iffy - it had been windy in the morning, which is a sure sign of a weather apocolypse in Tucson - oh my gosh, it's WINDY! It had rained a bit on us as we drove home from dance class, but it was clearing...or so it seemed.  I figured, "It's Tucson, how bad can it be?" We put on our raincoats and went.

We caught about 15 minutes of the Junior Rodeo - we missed mutton bustin' (where instead of bulls, the kids ride sheep...by the way, if you're ever feeling sad I recommend googling "mutton busting"...) We just saw a bunch of little boys getting trophies.  We caught team roping, where father-child teams tried to rope a calf - only a few succeeded.   An 11-year-old boy and his dad were the winners. 

Here are Audrey and Claire with the calves, pre-roping:

Then we had an hour to spend wandering around the rodeo grounds before the Pro Rodeo started.  I thought this might be boring for the girls, but I was wrong - all it took to keep them (pretty much) amused was $4 worth of cotton candy. Claire later said this was the best part of her Rodeo day.

We also saw some animals - no pictures of the mutton bustin' sheep, but we did see a lot of bulls, and some horses, being riled up for photos by a cowboy on horseback in their pen.

Finally it was time to take our seats for the Pro Rodeo.  We walked all around the arena and picked some good seats.  It was sprinkling rain, but the Rodeo started with the ceremonial moving of the tractor and the Ram truck out of the arena, while we watched commercials (I didn't remember this from before...I think the Rodeo TV screen was new...).  Then the announcer called in the riders representing the four millitary branches and the prisoners of war/missing in action (POW/MIA) soldiers.

It was very patriotic - all the millitary branches got a cheer, then a rider circled the ring with the American flag while a singer sang the national anthem.  Then the announcer said a prayer, declared the Rodeo had begun...and the skies opened up and it poured down rain.  We tried to tough it out, but from being outside for appoximately 2 minutes in the rain, we were completely soaked.  We saw two bull riders, and two steer wrestlers, and we were done.  It had stopped raining but it was still cold, and windy and we were soaked.

Adios, Fiesta de los Vaqueros, and we'll see you next year - in better weather. 

Four Signs You Are in Tucson

Reid Park Zoo Humor

 I realized as I logged into the blog today that it had been more than a month since my last post. I have put some thought into why it is that I post less here in Arizona - the truth is, in Scotland, things were more "exotic."  Even a trip to a local town (like St. Andrews) was picturesque and foreign to readers back in the States.  I suppose I could say the same thing about Arizona. It sure is foreign here sometimes.  But it is still the United States and so...less exotic.

That said, I've been collecting pictures of (often literal) signs that you are in Tucson, Arizona. These signs and images epitomize Tucson for me. Every day on the way to work I drive by a strip mall [note to British readers: not what it sounds like] that I always want to stop and take a picture of because it contains the following:

• a tamale shop [one of the high points of Tucson food]
• a medical marajuana dispensary [which have mushroomed in the five years we've been gone, thanks to state legalization of medical marajuana]
• a store called "Metaphysics World" [which, although I've never been in, sums up Tucson's hippie leanings for me]

All have brightly colored storefronts with big signs - as you do in Tucson.  But on to some things I do actually have pictures of, because they aren't located on a busy thoroughfare between home and work.

Tucson Food

There are many great things about Tucson food - you take your pick of everything from multiple styles of Mexican food to sushi to Ethiopian dishes and everything in between.  Frybread, while certainly not exclusive to Tucson (it can be found throughout the Southwest) is something that you can find in Tucson, but definitely not Scotland, or the East Coast.

Frybread stand at a University of Arizona event

Another food (if you can call it that) native to Tucson is the Eegees slush.  For the non-Tucsonan Americans, imagine Subway decided to serve pretzels and french fries in addition to their subs, and instead of proper drinks, they served 7-11 slushes, in flavors that changed monthly. Imagine that you grew up with "Eegees" (the name of the restaurant as well as the slush) as a staple of children's parties, and as an adult you transitioned to "Iced Teagees" which are ice tea mixed with lemon slush.  Now imagine it's 100 degrees. Every day. For four months. Okay, you've got the picture.

Eegees truck at a University of Arizona event

Reminders that you are in the West

These reminders may take many forms - for example, homage to the horse culture of the West, like this sign spotted outside a park restroom:

Or, warnings you might not see anywhere else, like this reminder in the parking lot of the Desert Museum:

Or, this sign from a rest area parking lot (technically not in Tucson, but in Central/Northern Arizona):

Note: "Unloading of Livestock" is prohibited

Also not typically seen outside the West - reminders at highway rest stops that the local fauna could kill you:

 

Reminders that This Area Used to be Part of Mexico 

An additional, though distinct feature of the West is that for a long time, it was part of Mexico, and this influence is still strong.  Witness the selection of pinatas for sale at Target:

 

  

Truths About Tucson

I'll close with a few images, that like the juxtoposition of tamales, medical marajuana and metaphysics, express truths about Tucson. 

For example, the schools are aspirational...this actual sign from Audrey's elementary school heartens and distresses me at the same time:

Although it rains heavily during the summer months (and occasionally outside the summer months), very few roads in Tucson are built to withstand water.  In the best-case scenario (shown here, outisde our house), the middle of the road becomes a river, with some space to drive on either side.  

 In a worst case scenario, the road floods and you can only drive when it's raining if you have a high-clearance vehicle.  Which brings me to my last two photos - the truth about how big your car is if you drive in Tucson (that's my car on the right, next to a typical Tucson truck):

And finally, a sign that recognizes the complicated and ever-changing relationships between pedestrians, horses, and cyclists in Tucson:

 

My Dear Old Arizona Home

Sabino Canyon, November 27, 2015

Audrey helping make rolls for Thanksgiving

Well, we're officially back in Tucson.  Things are different here, but at the same time familiar. Even though the University of Arizona has 40,000+ students and who knows how many faculty and staff (well, someone must know, but they're sure not advertising it online), I find that I run into people I know a quite lot.  The same is true outside the University - I've returned to the church I attended here in the past, and still know many people, even if their kids are lots older than I remember. I'm sure they're thinking the same thing about my kids. We even run into people we know around town - hiking in Sabino Canyon, even shopping at Target.  And of course we have family here now too, so we've been able to spend a lot of quality time with them (although I'm sure Paul's parents are happy we've now moved into our own place, so they can have some of their space back).

Claire drawing in our work-in-progress living room

We're doing the usual stuff you do when you arrive to a new (old) place - trying to get the house in order, keeping up with school stuff for the girls, thinking about (and rejecting, for now) getting involved in activities - Audrey would love to take gymnastics, but without a stay-at-home parent it becomes an additional burden for grandparents to drive her to and fro - same for dance class for Claire. Or, do it on a Saturday and cut into family  - or free - time for everyone. Running around 5 days a week seems like enough.  In Scotland, we jumped in with both feet, because we knew we'd only be there 2 years - and the adults had as many activities as the kids, trying to get plugged into the community fast.  Here in Tucson, we're more laid back.  We have family.  We have old friends. New friends and networks would be nice, but are not immediately required.

Swimming in Grammie and Grampie's pool (briefly) in October

I am still amazed at how nice the weather is here.  You can pretty much guarantee that most days will be sunny.  I remember moving here in 2001 for graduate school and waking up every morning for the first three months thinking, "Wow, it's sunny and clear!"  And eventually realizing it's ALWAYS sunny and clear. A cloud is weather. Seriously. And in October it was a little chilly to be in the pool, but once the sun warmed it up you could jump in for a quick swim. Try THAT in Scotland in October (or, in fact, anytime...) By the time we acclimated to the hot weather (meaning that when it dropped below 60 degrees, it felt cool) it was hard to even remember how warm the same temperature in Scotland felt in mid-summer. The light is welcome, too - it gets light, even in the winter, at 7 am. This makes a huge difference!

Driving to school

While light and warmth are welcome changes (at least until April, when the balance tips from "nice and warm" to "hellishly hot") some things are not so welcome, like tons of driving.  I didn't drive for two years in the U.K. I did not miss it.  And then suddenly I was the school transportation master in the morning, and this meant 60 minutes in the car every morning.  The commute has shortened somewhat now that we're in our new place, but I used to walk for 30 minutes every morning, taking Audrey up to school and then walking down to work, and now I just drive. And sit. And drive.  I do take advantage of the fact that U of A has a beautiful campus for walking when I can - I try to do circuits around buildings and stairs too, especially now when you can take a lunchtime walk and not melt into a puddle on the sidewalk.

Saguaro on campus

The desert has a different kind of beauty than Scotland, and it can surprise you.  The view includes a lot more blue sky and while there is still green, it's not the rolling green of Scotland. It's the grey-green "Don't get too close, I'm armed!" of cactus and their friends.

We went to visit Sabino Canyon on the day after Thanksgiving.  Sabino is the most "touristy" canyon in Tucson - locals as well as out of town visitors flock there, and you can take a tram up the 3.8 mile paved road to nearly the top of the canyon.  You can connect to more rugged hiking trails, but the basic idea of Sabino Canyon is that it's easy to access.  As such a touristy place, it's a bit hard to feel like you're getting the real Sonoran Desert experience...but at the same time, it's a lot easier to go there with kids. We took the tram (over Paul's protest). The kids loved it. The canyon was beautiful because it's one of the few places in town where there are trees that actually change color for fall.  In most of the city, it's pine trees, palm trees, and cactus (although a friend back in grad school did try to convince a friend of ours from New Jersey that the cactus lost their needles in the winter...she believed him for about a minute).  But Sabino was dotted with yellow and orange trees mixed among the saguaros, and the stream was running high due to recent rain.  It hardly seemed like the desert at all. 

Sabino Canyon, November 27, 2015

And for those of you who are still wondering about the title of this post: it's a Rex Allen song. We included it on our wedding CD years ago, and here's a link to the YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nne_tetupyM.   

Happy Anniversary, Pat and Phil!

Eleven years ago today, my husband Paul and I went on our fourth date.  I'm usually pretty bad at remembering details, but I can tell you with certainty what we did on our first four dates, eleven years ago.

Our first date was two Tucson's Fourth Avenue Street Fair.  During that date, Paul started ranting about the idiocy of people who insisted on having grassy lawns in drought-stricken Tucson, and I was hooked.

Our second date, we went to see a horrible movie, which somehow managed to garner critical acclaim - Gangs of New York.  On this date, Paul's loathing of Leonardo di Caprio was solidified, and we bonded not only over the horribleness of Gangs of New York, but also our mutual dislike for The English Patient, another critically acclaimed movie that perhaps two people in the whole US were willing to admit they disliked...and they were now on a date together.

Our third date, I invited Paul to go on the Medical Anthropology overnight camping trip to Patagonia, AZ. He gained major points not only by knowing how to put up our tent (I had borrowed it from my roommate and had no idea what to do with it) but also by making s'mores for my friends and making charming small talk with total strangers.

Which brought us to April 20, 2003, our fourth date.  Which happened to be both Easter Sunday, and my future in-laws 35th wedding anniversary. And the first time I had met anyone in Paul's family. Talk about your nerve-wracking scenarios. 

But it turned out to be lovely. Paul's parents are wonderful folks, and his brother and sister-in-law made me feel welcome, too. His nieces and nephew were just kids, 10 and 11 - now they're in in their early 20's. The food was great, and conversation flowed easily. There was an awkward moment around pictures - his parents took one of Paul and I (which I think is now packed away in a storage space in Virginia - at least I hope it is, since it didn't make it to Scotland with us) but of course I wasn't in any of the other photos, but who knew if I was going to be around another week, a month, a year? It was only our fourth date.

But, eleven years later, I have not only married Pat and Phil's youngest son, but have also taken himto Rhode Island for three years, and now Scotland for two. Part of his heart will always be in Tucson, though, with Pat, Phil, and the rest of the Orzechs. So Happy Anniversary, Pat and Phil, and we'll see you in Tucson as soon as we can!