BETTE DAVIS FREQUENTED THIS PLACE.

My teaching colleagues and I lunched at the historic Arizona Inn. Bette Davis and other celebrities of her time stayed here to escape the glare of Hollywood...

ANOTHER SHOW LAID TO REST

We performed our last show for Romeo & Juliet last weekend. I'm so glad it's over. It was such a vocally challenging role to play Lord Capulet. I learned a lot and have a renewed vigour for Shakespeare. Made really good friends along the way too. Above is the funeral scene for Juliet. More photos can be found on bengonio.com

MT. LEMMON [chapt. 4]

This was at Windy Pass. (7,000 feet up) The roads looked like little toy roads for hot wheel cars..



As I continued my drive up the narrow roads, the temperature began to go down. I pulled over see what kind of food they had at the Mt. Lemmon Cafe. (Yes, Tucson has fir trees!)



When I walked into the restaurant, I smelled coffee and pies! People were walking out with raspberry, blueberry and apple pie ala mode the size of large pizzas!



Yes, I ordered the raspberry ala mode! I was in heaven! As I savored the freshness of the pie and air, I could see hawks and eagles circling above me....




Just when I thought, I had reached the top of the mountain, Ski Valley came upon me!



When I saw this, my jaw dropped, because 45 minutes before, I was down the hill dealing with a temperature of 92 degrees! It was 59 degrees when I reached this point. The air was thin and I didn't care..I felt like I was back home in Seattle.



I asked a pair of tourists to take this picture of me. As I asked, the gentlemen said, "Que?" (the rest was history.) Behind me is the border of New Mexico and its surrounding mountains....



By this point, I was the only one walking the peak. Maple trees and Aspen trees spoke their mystery to me.....






The miracle of nature: light, snow, air, terrain and man...





So my story ends here for now, but the story of nature will go on after I'm long gone from this existence. Just when I thought I'd seen all that Spirit wanted me to see, I come upon this sight on my way back to Tucson: A majestic dance between nature's form and man's curiousity....

MT. LEMMON [chapt. 3]

I started my ascent. It was a beautiful day! The temperature was 92 degrees.

MT. LEMMON: Chapter 2

It was a Sunday afternoon and the Spring Season was two days away. I went to my favorite espresso bar, The Coffee Sage for a treat: a non-fat mocha. I sat down and skimmed through my New York Times Sunday paper. Twenty minutes later I sauntered over to my Toyota Matrix and revved up the engine. I was going to Mt. Lemmon:

"MT. LEMMON" [a short story]

THE PHOENIX PART DEAUX!!! BRINGING SEXY BACK!

This is an image of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Yes, it is a tattoo and not a very good image. Guess what: THE IMAGE ON MY LOWER BACK IS BETTER....THAT'S RIGHT, I JUST GOT A FREAKIN' TATTOO AT THE BLACK ROSE IN DOWNTOWN TUCSON, BABY!!!!!!!! (yes that's my lower back.)

PATHETIC OR HEAVENLY GET-AWAY?

I watched a 10:30pm showing of Ghost Rider in the theatres today. I WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THERE. It felt creepy, lonely, yet strangely peaceful. I have to admit that I relished the idea that in some small way, I OWNED THE PLACE!

SPRING BREAK IN TUCSON!!!!

That's right folks! I'm out of here! (for a week.)