Democratic Convention

I write this post under the category of ‘better late than never’. The Democratic Presidential convention was a couple of weeks ago, but was such an historic event I wanted to share the experience I had the night of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech.

In Tucson, the big event was to be held at the Congress Hotel downtown. Tucson is a very progressive city, and the Congress Hotel was sure to be jam packed with Democratic and Independent voters ready to celebrate the first black nominee for president of the United States.

Although the party at the Congress Hotel was guaranteed to be a great time, I decided one of the most emotionally uplifting places to watch Barack Obama’s acceptance speech would be at the Tucson-Southern Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce, which was also hosting an event that was open to the public.

The TBCC is located in a small single story building on Broadway street. Although not as large or as ostentatious as the Congress Hotel, the TCCC offered a warm welcome to visitors that would rival any other venue.

The room was set up with a projector pointed to a sheet on a blank wall, and the place was filled to capacity with like minded Tucsonians anxiously awaiting the arrival of Barack onstage.

When the big moment arrived, the room burst into applause as Barack took the stage. Just as suddenly, the room fell silent as Barack began to speak.

For many people, especially those that have been soured on politics during the past two administrations, comparing Barack Obama’s speeches to other political speakers is like the experience of thirsting in a sea of salt water, and then being handed a bottle of pure spring water. Filtered of political talking points, fear mongering, and obvious pandering. He is an intelligent speaker, reaching out to intelligent listeners.

As Barack made his goals and policies clear, the room would respond with applause and or appreciative remarks such as “Tell it, Barack!” There was a feeling of community in that small room. Of camaraderie. Of family.

The night of Barack Obama’s nomination was not only a historic night for our country, it was one of the best nights I’ve spent in Tucson.

Google Map of My Posts

Since I've discovered so many cool places to see in and around Tucson, I thought I'd create a Google map to help you find them.

I'll be updating this map for each new place I discover. Future enhancements I have in mind are some less generic icons to mark the map locations.

You'll find the link to the map on the right side bar of this page, but here it is as well: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
117062054840879874833.000451856c60422cca6d0

Welcome to Tucson Living

In this blog I will share with you the various sights, activities and events Tucson, Arizona has to offer to anyone that decides to live or visit this beautiful city.


Not that I am an expert, by any means. I am a Midwestern transplant, and very new to the area. The one thing I realized immediately however, is the variety of activities Tucson has to offer. In the span of two weeks I’ve gone hiking, visited historic downtown buildings, listened to some excellent live music, and walked the path of a beautiful city park. This week I am attending a Freethinker Discussion Group, attending a triple-A ball game and visiting the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

If you have a favorite social activities you’d like to recommend to me please let me know, and I’ll report on them here. As my work involves various freelance projects, I will have opportunities to venture out at random hours of the day.

So I invite you to discover along with my new home town, “The Old Pueblo.”

First, a brief description of the city of Tucson.

The English name Tucson derives from the Spanish name of the city, Tucsón, which was borrowed from the O'odham name Cuk Ṣon, (pronounced roughly "chook shown"), meaning "at the base of the black [hill]", a reference to an adjacent volcanic mountain. Tucson is sometimes referred to as "The Old Pueblo." [1]

Tucson is surrounded by five minor ranges of mountains: the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Tortolita Mountains to the north, the Santa Rita Mountains to the south, the Rincon Mountains to the east, and the Tucson Mountains to the west. The high point of the Santa Catalina Mountains is 9,157-foot Mount Lemmon, the southernmost ski destination in the continental U.S., while the Tucson Mountains include 4,687-foot Wasson Peak. [2]

In other words, no matter where you look, you’ll always have a spectacular mountain backdrop.

You’ll almost always have a clear view too. The annual average percentage of sunshine is one of the highest in the United States, at 85%. [3] Compare that to the 46% [3] of my old home town. I am SO looking forward to living here!

That doesn’t mean it never rains in Tucson. As I write this it is monsoon season in Tucson. Storm clouds come up very quickly and I’ve already seen some fantastic lightning displays. The cloud formations are spectacular too, as you may have blue sky off to the west, bright white cumulus clouds overhead and dark gray storm clouds moving in from the east.

But just as quickly as they appear, the rain clouds dissipate leaving fresh air and cooler temperatures in their wake.


Since you’ll be seeing plenty of sunshine in future posts, I’ll end this one on a slightly different note. See you on the sunny side of the street!

Sources:
1, 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson,_Arizona
3 http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgsun.html