the spirit of things

Hello from Tucson, where I’m currently working and apparently not boycotting Arizona. I thought about it. But by the time I thought about, I’d already scheduled some meetings. So I would have had to follow up and say, “Hey, so it turns out we can’t meet to talk about your amazing free writing workshops for Native American kids in juvenile hall because I’m boycotting your state.” Which didn’t really seem in the spirit of things.

So here I am between pastel mesas that look like someone unfurled a painted backdrop just behind the blocks of pink and tan stucco civilization. All sorts of clichés about the inspiring beauty and openness of the Southwest are threatening to come true. I even brought my sketchbook, so who knows what will happen?

For the record, I haven’t purchased anything here yet (well, except my hotel room). For lunch I ate the bag of chipotle almonds I bought at LAX. I still have some peanuts donated by the good people of Southwest Airlines, but I’m guessing they won’t last me three days. Woman cannot live on nuts alone. Eventually I suspect I will break down and buy a burrito. A really, really good burrito, hopefully made by defiant, undocumented Tucsonites.