Downtown, Dillinger Days

Were you standing on the corner in Tucson, Arizona ducking that Congress Street shootout this weekend?

I'm sick of thinking of this economy, so my thoughts instead are turning to one of the reasons I moved to Tucson -- a love of our Western heritage. There's so much coming over the next few months to fuel my respect for Western ranch history and a passion for the festivals celebrating regional culture. The start of this "season" is always the funky Dillinger Days – and it's on, right now, downtown at the restored Hotel Congress.

I like Dillinger Days because it's an experience of rough-and tumble tradition from our region's colorful past. John Dillinger ran one of America’s most notorious gangs. He was in Tucson in January 1934, hiding out at the Hotel Congress after a midwest robbery. There's a long story about fire, a suitcase of money, a melee and cops-and-robber shenanigans, but in the end Dillinger and his gang were captured in Tucson. This weekend there's fabulous food, tours, lectures and of course the re-enactment of our town's most famous gangster escapade.

Tucson’s Hotel Congress is a national historic treasure and boutique hotel rolled into one, and I love what they do to commemorate the Dillinger capture.There are crafts, music, vintage car show and other activities throughout the weekend. I’m also happy Maynard’s Market & Kitchen is now open in the train depot, because now you can enjoy local farmer produce, minestrone soup and coffee while watching all the fun.

Thanks, Hotel Congress, for making this a fun weekend to be downtown.

I remember. I hope, again.

That cold January 48 years ago I ran home from school to read my family's Life magazine and gaze at its cover. A new day, I thought to myself happily. I read that magazine over and over, and saved it along with other treasures in my drawer throughout the rest of grammar school, high school and, yes, even into college. I packed it with my special things when I got married and moved to my own apartment. Even when I moved to my house, even when my son was born, even when I moved again to the deserts of Tucson, I kept that magazine among my special books.

Thought you'd want to see the cover of the Life magazine I saved. I have a few (like commemorating the moon landing) from those years of early dreaming. Those who know me are familiar with my love of collecting certain books and papers and, yes, they're right, I save way too many. But I'm glad I saved my Life magazine. It may not publish anymore, but it certainly represents precious journalism to me.

All of us have our dreams. So many years ago the young Kennedy family helped give me hope, helped fuel my own dreams. I owe so much to them for their leadership, the energy they transmitted that cold January in 1961.

And so it shall be on Tuesday. Another young family, fueling more dreams across America. I send my blessings to the Obama family to be energizing, good, inspiring leaders - spreaders of hope, peace, renewed balance, ethics, and earned prosperity. May they hold on to the values that helped them achieve such heights. May we all pass on those same values and a better world to our children, so the future will fulfill new dreams. May it be so.

What will you save from Tuesday, to help you rekindle your dreams?

Food, glorious (local) food

Nothing like sitting down at a bountiful table with family or friends to get a comforting sense of community. Something about food that encourages a happiness, a well-being. Wall Street can take its tumbles but if Leigh and I toast the sunset with a glass of (wine, tea, margarita, beer, whatever) and share a pasta, well, everything will be OK.

I'm Italian. I guess that's a good excuse to make food a focal point in my life. But lately sustainability issues and threats to regional, native traditions have given my food focus new urgency. And a spin toward local.

So I blogged about "locavore" on the Baby Boomer Knowledge Center site. There are dimensions to this story that go beyond just good eats. I'll be writing a follow up, so if you are involved with the local food movement and want your link mentioned in the upcoming story, please let me know. Click here to read about Locavore. Thanks. Pix of me taken by bro Steve via his iPhone during Christmas. I'm smiling because I just had two slices of cheesecake.

Onward in a stormy present, by Abe

Lincoln said it best:

"...The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew..."

Happy 2009. Look ahead positively. Apply fresh thinking.

(Hey, great Tucson/Westward Look fireworks last night. Woo-hoo!)