Tucson Day 4 - War and Peace at St. Mark’s Church

Sunday’s main event was a concert at the nearby St. Mark’s Church.  We had noticed in passing that the Univ. of Arizona Choir was going to be performing there and the program looked interesting so we decided to check it out.  

Described as “a compelling program on themes of war and peace,” it included pop music, a selection from Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, American Civil War Songs, Spirituals, and some music written by the doctoral students at UA.  Intertwined with the music was personal testimony of war refugees from Afghanistan and Syria living in the Tucson area.   

I’m not sure what I expected, but I have rarely been so moved by a performance.  I cried through the whole performance (and I saw many wiping their eyes too).  

They began with this 1969 video by Edwin Starr 

  

As it played, the choir marched in while dancers did a sort of Kendo dance with sticks. The lyrics begin with “War, Huh, Good God y’all.  What is it good for? Absolutely nothing”

Next came an old Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam song - Peace Train 

This was followed by selections from Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms.  I couldn’t find a recording of the UA choir doing it, but if you have a moment, click on the link below and go to minute 4:30 for the movement they sang.  You wont be sorry. I’ve rarely heard a more eloquent expression of the longing for Peace when war is mounting around us.  [The text is taken from the 23rd Psalm - “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures….” And Psalm 2 “Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing?…. The last bit is from Psalm 133 “ Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together in unity!”  The soprano who sang the solo had a pure, true voice that was heartbreaking.  

 (minute 4:30)

I’m going to end with the text of the Afghani song they performed after an Afgahani woman told her story of facing war and escaping to the US.  According to the program, this is a song that all Afghanis know and that brings them to tears. 

Sarzamine Man (Dari lyrics by Dawood Sarkhosh)


And one last footnote - a link to a video I found while looking for something else.  It’s another recent rendition of Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ Peace Train 

Tucson Day 3 - Chilly, Chiles, and Cooooool!

Saturday we were planning an evening outing so we spent the early part of the day relaxing and enjoying the house and its views of the mountains and sky. 

The house has a pool that’s heated, though early on the heater wasn’t working.  The air temps have ranged from 29 to 74 degrees with most days being in the upper 50’s to mid 60’s.  That day it was about 68 degrees and intermittently cloudy and the pool was still pretty chilly.  But we decided to channel the brave Russian women of Brighton Beach and go in anyway.  Bracing, definitely invigorating.  We didn’t stay in long, but we did get in. 
That evening we went out for dinner to La Hacienda Family Restaurant over by Catalina State Park.  Popular spot - at 5:15pm we had to wait 25 minutes for a table.  While we waited, we were treated to an ever-changing sky scape and light patterns on the desert and mountains.

After the line outside, we anticipated a crush inside, but the dining room was spacious, especially to our NYC sensibilities, and our waiter Jason was lovely.  The walls are decorated with portraits of early Mexican film stars - and John Wayne (Jason could tell us a lot about the other actors, but couldn’t explain why John Wayne was included).  .  

I decided to try the cochinita pibil -  a Yucatec Mayan slow-roasted pork dish.  Turned out to be a really good choice. 

Marg and Linda enjoyed the generously sized margaritas

After dinner came the main attraction of the evening - a Star Party at the nearby Catalina State Park, hosted by the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association.  I’d never been to an event like this.  As you might imagine, most of it was in the dark so we didn’t really get any pictures.  But I’ve cribbed a couple from a website to give you the feeling of the evening.  Since the park is pretty far from downtown Tucson, it’s easy to see a lot more stars than these city dwellers usually can appreciate.  Even just gazing upwards was pretty great - Orion, Jupiter, and Venus were easy to see.  But the Association had set up viewing stations, designated with red lights.  You basically get on a line and then see what’s on view from each scope. 

We got to see Jupiter with its bands and moons, the Orion Nebula, and the Green Comet.  Again, this is a cribbed shot, but it’s pretty close to the view of the comet that what we saw.

I had hoped to realize a goal for 2023 of seeing the Milky Way, but they said it was still too bright - you could see the glow of Tucson in the distance.  We may yet be able to go to a more distant, darker site at Oracle Mountain, but the weather hasn’t been so cooperative so far - a lot of clouds.  Still the night was pretty magical.  

Tucson Day 2 - Tram and Tacos

After our visit to the Visitor Center and the Etherton, we hopped on the downtown Sunlink tram.  Tucson, like some other cities has made the tram free - keeping the number of cars down and allowing UA students free transport to and from the school.  We were happy to hop on and take it to Fourth Avenue, a district known for quirky shops, galleries and restaurants.  It reminded me of the East Village in the old days , but with a Western twist.  

Our goal was Boca Tacos, where Top Chef contestant Maria Mazon says she’s blending Sonoran and Arizonan cuisine.  The outside dining area was pleasant (helped by overhead heaters on a chilly day). 

The bathroom offers a crash course on essential Spanish vocabulary and cuisine:

Tucson Day 2 -Getting our bearings.

Friday we headed into downtown Tucson and stopped at the Visitor Center there to get some info and meet the super helpful guide, Ann, that Chris and Marg had met earlier in the week.  She gave us some good tips, especially to check out the Etherton Photography Gallery which Linda really enjoyed .  For those of you who know Linda’s work, you’ll see why she was taken with Ellen McMahonn’s photos especially:

The Visitor Center is located in the Pima County Courthouse, built in 1868 

It’s famous as a the place where John Dillinger, “Public Enemy No. 1” was held after being arrested in Tucson.  You can also tour the courtroom where he and his gang were arraigned in 1834

Outside is a reminder of more recent history - a monument to the 6 people killed on January 8, 2011 during an attempt to assassinate Congresswoman Gabby Giffords at a local shopping mall. The monument with its sweeping lines and reflecting pools is a peaceful place, but reminds us of our persistent unwillingness to end gun violence. The video had some trouble loading to this site, but if you click on the link you should be able to see it.  

There’s also a smaller monument outside the Safeway where the shootings occurred:

   

Tucson 2023

We’ve been in Tucson, AZ since last week, but somehow I haven’t found the time to blog about it yet.  We flew into Phoenix and rented a car to drive down to visit our friends Marg and Chris who have taken a house just outside Tucson proper for a month and invited us to stay with them for part of that time.  

Our overnight motel in Phoenix was very forgettable, but it was right next door to a Denny’s, which brought back memories from college days of late night breakfast runs - cheap and reliable with big booths that a bunch of us could crowd into.  Changed a bit over the decades, but still recognizable (not sure I’ve had that kind of hash browns in decades).  In a nod to the times, there’s an option for a gluten free english muffin now.  

Arrived in Tucson later that day and checked out the pretty grand house C&M rented.  

Scamp has selected his spot on top of the sectional sofa - perfect size and he can survey and monitor everyone’s coming and goings.

He’s also been endorsing one of the goals of this trip:

Elizabeth NJ

Today we were in Elizabeth, NJ famous for Ikea and the Sopranos intro. We were there for a different purpose, perhaps best not discussed online, but let’s just say it had to do with being seniors with joint pain and sleep issues. 

For lunch though we headed to the Columbian District 

Where we ate at Sabor y Arte since it had appealing looking sidewalk tables. 

It ended up being a bit noisy - a lot of passing trucks. But the food was good. Linda had Arroz con Pollo and I had a Cazuela de Mariscos. Both accompanied by salad and tostones. The service was excellent and I was grateful our server didn’t immediately switch to English when faced with my patchy Spanish  

Took this shot on the way back to the car. 

Brighton Beach Visit

Wednesday we headed out to Brighton Beach - off the tourist track and again a perfect day for an outing by the shore. 

First we wandered along Brighton Beach Ave. - the shopping street under the elevated train line. This area is sometimes called Little Odessa. Fabulous produce markets and specialty shops with Ukrainian and Russian goods. It can feel like you’re in a different part of the world. Caleb was able to find some piroshki's which he remembered from San Francisco's Russian bakeries. 

Next we strolled a bit along the boardwalk 

Then it was time for lunch at one of the boardwalk restaurants-Tatiana Grill where we had a stick-to-your-ribs meal of borscht and fried potatoes 

Home again on the elevated which becomes a subway at our end 

The High Line and dinner by the NY Harbor

Our friends Denise and Caleb visited last week on their way home to Oakland. Billy was an instant fan - especially of Caleb 

Tuesday we headed off to explore the upper part of the High Line park. Perfect weather for the stroll

Next we made a stop on the Upper West Side for a bit of lunch at Jacob's Pickles where I ordered some seriously tarted up deviled eggs. 

I headed home after while the other three crossed over to the East Side to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. No photos, but I'll remedy that next month when Linda and I go to the Homer Winslow exhibit. 

We pondered going out for dinner back in Brooklyn, but decided we couldn’t beat the Harbor view at sunset so instead we ordered in and ate on the roof deck

Determined Brunchers, Part 2

Today it was 31 degrees outside.  We love our Saturday brunch out, but Gov. Hochul's lift of the mask mandate notwithstanding, we're not ready for indoor dining.  What are 2 Brooklyn gals to do? Answer: the new Italian restaurant on Montague St. that has individual heated pods outside (click on the video for the 360:

It was a little chilly at first, but by the time our food arrived, we had opened our jackets. The food was fabulous.  Linda had a breakfast sandwich with thin strips of grilled zucchini, parmesano, and eggs (truffles held at her request). I had a tarted up avocado toast on gluten free bread with poached eggs and a remoulade on the side. Both were accompanied by delicious roasted yellow potatoes. 

We'll definitely be back for dinner - it’s quite lovely at night. Friends said it was even more so one night as the snow fell  

Brunch and Opera!

Today we had temps almost to 60 so we went out for brunch at Friend of the Farmer on Irving Place

The food was simple, but well prepared  Linda said it might be the best French toast she'd  ever had  

Next we strolled around the Union Square Farmers Market

Smaller and lacked the variety of spring and summer, but we managed to score 6 pounds of bread , both regular and gluten free. Not a lot of produce beyond potatoes and squash, but a lot of prepared foods, meat, and fish. This one was new to me:

Next we went to a movie theater for the first time since 2019 !!!  We actually went to see the Met Opera HD showing of Fire Shut Up In My Bones by Terrence Blanchard. Really moving and the singing was fabulous. Angel Blue in particular really blew my socks off. I was sorry we missed it when the Met reopened so glad to catch it this way