I’m sitting outside on the gazebo. The air is very still for this time of year. Off to one side the lights of Tucson are twinkling in the distance, off to my right I can see the flashes of an approaching airliner in the sky and the flashing red light atop a tower on Mt. Lemmon. The air is pleasant and I’m finding this experience calming,
This past weekend we attended the 2023 Tucson Pride Parade. This was our first time going to the Pride parade her in the Old Pueblo, and it was an impressive affair. The parade was held Friday night and lasted for about 20 minutes. There were several groups of individuals of all persuasions, interspersed with commercial groups celebrating the diversity of their team members. The crowds along the parade route were small but well established. It was a fun time.
Sitting in the dark and seeing the twinkling lights of the city in the distance, it makes me realize how many folks out there amongst the glow of the streetlamps actually live in the area. At last count, there’s just under 543,000 people living in the city limits; we rank 33rd in city since in the United States.
Tucson is the biggest small town I’ve ever seen.
As the second largest city in Arizona, Tucson’s claim to fame is that we’re not Phoenix. While I grew up in a very small town, lived in cities a varying sizes along the way, and having lived in Chicago before moving to Tucson, there has been a bit of an adjustment for me when it comes to recreational opportunities, the size of the gay community, and the resources available here. Ranking 33rd in the country isn’t shabby, however, what was available 24/7 in Chicago is closed up by 10:00 p.m. here in the desert. I sometimes wonder if the pandemic had something to do with that. When we visit Phoenix (about two hours away) and drive around to find all night diners and the like, things are not as plentiful as Chicago, even though the Phoenix metro area is in the top 10 in the United States.
I like the quiet and stillness of this Wednesday night here in the Old Pueblo. I can’t believe we’ve been here for two and a half years. It seems like just yesterday we had Truman loaded up in the car as we made our way across the country to relocate down here.
I would have never found this quiet and contemplative atmosphere in Chicago.
Perhaps being in a mid-sized city in the United States has everything I need after all.
