What do the Lemmings know?

What do the Lemmings know?

We went to the Phoenix Valley to Mesa to attend the temple and get our picture taken ready for the plaque to be put on the wall at church where they have plaques of other missionaries and a world map showing their fields of labor.  The photographer was a riot to work with.  He had a superfast camera that I am sure was quick enough to catch not only the nuances in our faces, but also the nuances of the words that kept us laughing.  Good picture taking there.

About 4pm we picked up David and took him to the nearby Chinese Restaurant.  For $6.95 it was all you could eat and he did.  The saving grace is that they did not have Macaroni and cheese – which I am sure he would have loaded onto his plate because it is one of his favorite foods.  This particular restaurant had a marquee in front that boasted Barbecue Spare Ribs Louisiana style along with boiled Crawfish from Louisiana.  Many patrons were headed like Lemmings to the Crawfish.  What do Lemmings know?  All I saw were bowls of exoskeletons being hauled back to the dishwasher area and it looked pretty ugly for the crawfish.  I might add that eating at a place like this is like walking through a gastronomical mine field for me.  At Weight Watchers we are given specific instructions what and how much we can eat to lose weight or maintain weight – and it all looked so good.  How many other WW members were joining me in the Lemming run?

After we had eaten we drove to our motel for the night.  Bill wanted to go to JCPenny to look for a suit to take on our mission.  His favorite grey suit has seen better days and needs to be retired or bronzed or put in the Smithsonian.  I went to look at the women’s clothing but was summoned by a very anxious David to return to the men’s department where both David and Bill were stressing over which tie looked good with the suit.  Total agony; both ties were shades of black, white and grey and I could see no reason to stress over such items……….but then I am not one to wear ties with a white shirt and suit.

We returned to the motel and got ready to go into the pool.  Each motel we book seems to offer a pool and hot tub but usually we arrive there too late to use either on the night we arrive and we leave too early the next day to use the pool, but we are prepared nonetheless by packing our swimming suits, just in case!  However, in the 109degree evening, we got into the pool, that the hotel boasted was a heated outdoor pool and hot tub.  Well, it was not exactly ice cold to get into and David and I occupied ourselves by splashing the crickets that were hopping all over the pool deck.  They did not like being splashed and some fell into the pool and others just scurried away.  I did not know that crickets can swim – these little creatures swam over to the edge of the pool and hauled their little bodies out and over the decking to safety.

David decided that he was hungry again – 9.30pm – so I gave him $12.00 to go to the Diner next door and get a snack.  Turns out that the large Hamburger, fries and the drink he got were too much for him to finish and there was no change at all.  He brought the food back to the motel room but he did not want to eat it in the morning so we left it there.  He did go down to breakfast and filled up for the day’s activities.

We took him to church at his Ward and we met the Ward leaders.  His home teacher is a man who works for a company that co-ordinates group home activities etc. and so he is very familiar with the group home scenario and was delighted to finally meet David.  We hope that David takes him up on the offer to drive him to Church each week.

We left Mesa after church and headed up the highway towards Prescott.  On our way down to Phoenix Valley on Saturday I noticed the stream of cars leaving the Valley and heading up towards the high country.  They reminded me of Lemmings – what were they leaving?  Well the temperatures in the Phoenix Valley have been around 110 degrees for about two weeks or more now and so at each chance, the Lemmings leave Phoenix Valley for the High Country – whether their destination is Prescott, or Sedona or Flagstaff, they are only too glad to get away from the heat.  So I guess that is what Lemmings know. 

On our trip back up to Prescott, we were also part of the Lemming migration and the speeds were fast and furious – some hot little Lemmings here.

I sat in the back seat and watched the scenery go by.  It crossed my mind that I was probably looking at my last Ocotillo, Saguaro, Teddy Bear and Jumping Jack Cholla cactus plants for a year.  How sad to be leaving and to not see the Saguaro standing tall like sentinels guarding the hillsides by interstate 17 for a whole year.  The rugged arid beauty of the desert hills and mountains that are populated by plants that cling tenaciously to life with little moisture speaks peace to my soul and reminds me a lot of Australia.  When I leave, my heart will ache for my beloved Arizona with its sturdy mountains and rolling foothills.  I will not miss Prescott so much as I will the Saguaro Sentinels that seem to be marching up the hillsides and guarding the secret of the eternal desert.  For one year I will be trading the soft silvery green of the parched desert plants for the bright green well watered grasses and flora of the Eastern Seaboard.

As we passed the 3,000 ft. above sea level marker on I-17, the Saguaro arms waved goodbye to us and the Cholla and Ocotillo gave way to stubby little sage like plants with a smattering of cedars.  At Sunset point on top of the Mesa, there is a lone tree that is usually decorated with Yellow Ribbons for the return of our troops.  At Christmas it is loaded with Christmas Decorations.  It is a tradition that these decorations magically appear and no one will divulge who deserves credit for this remarkable tree.  During one wild fire season, special care was taken that the fire did not jump the highway and devour the special tree.  As we pass today, I notice that the tree is without ribbons.  The last rogue wildfire that passed through this area has taken the grasses away and left piles of volcanic rock lying bare on the surface.  I notice that the wildflowers are gone too – either eaten up by the rogue fire or just withered in the severe summer sunshine.  The Landscape is patrolled by Raptors and they float lazily on the updrafts by Sunset point.

The forecast was for scattered showers, but all I see are fluffy little clouds that are white on top as they face the heavens and light grey as they face the earth.   Later on we did run through a 2 minute squall as we approached Dewey.  As we approach the sign that announces “PRESCOTT 2 miles”, I have to remind myself that the town of Prescott is not two miles away but rather the turnoff to Rte. 69 is 2 miles away at Cordes Junction.  As we round the corner, I can see Arcosanti clinging to the edge of the bluff like a grand dame holding audience with the valley just below.

Further up Rte. 69, there are houses scattered here and there.    Some people have built Victorian houses on the Desert Landscape.  They smack of floor length rustling silk Day Dresses, that have been decorated with yards of fancy expensive lace, and ladies holding fans to keep cool in the heat as they bob their heads and make the ringlets at their ears jiggle in time with the fans.  Victorian homes are definitely out of place in the Desert landscape.  Now compare them with the single story hip roof homes of desert colors where folks sit on the porch on lazy hot afternoons watching the lizards play among the rocks.  This is the image I will take with me to the Eastern Seaboard.  The Lemmings can run up and down I-17 between the high country and the Valley or they can scurry across I-95 in New York to New Hampshire, and I will still not be able to answer the question, “what do the Lemmings know?”