Wednesday’s more personal post got me thinking about 2004, a banner year for me and my wife, Connie. Twenty years ago. Big changes.
Connie moved to Tucson at the turn of the century and we lived in two rentals, both in the barrio south of Cushing Street. We didn’t really have much of a plan as I was winding down my work with The Mollys, which was a touring machine. Music-wise, I played a few gigs with some bar bands which, after playing some of the finest music rooms and festivals in four different countries, seemed a bit of a let-down. I felt a bit disoriented. I was fortunate to have part-time work as a student employee at the University of Arizona, soaking up all I could about Apple computers and graphics-based software, which was keeping the brain waves active and brought in a few bucks. This was thanks to my good friend lowercase limell’. During this time, Connie also found work in the University system.
Four years passed, we slipped into 2004, and I decided between semesters in January that I needed to find something with better pay than my part-time work as a student. Lo and behold (a phrase I’ve been wanting to use for some time), my employers on campus turned my position into an adult job—my first! I started on Monday, March 29, my 50th birthday.
In the meantime, we had been looking around for a rental with more space for music and art projects. After realizing how pricey rents were (and are), we thought we’d see about buying a house. Neither of us had done so in the past, and it seemed somewhat out of our reach. But the new employment changed the dynamics of our situation. We looked at only two houses. The first one we toured didn’t speak to us so we drove around the neighborhood after, and nearby was a musician friend’s house where I had rehearsed a time or two. The owners happened to be standing outside so we stopped to say hey…and little did we know they were ready to sell their house. We took one pass through, they gave us a price, and we said yes. We moved in on April 16.
Then the next month, I had to take time off work as my brother called and said I better get on a plane. Dad was in the last throes of fighting cancer and I needed to be there. So in early May, I got permission from work to just take off. Dad was actually very coherent and moving around just fine when I arrived but in a rapid two weeks, he declined quickly. At 3am May 21st, I woke up and thought I should check in on him. He was breathing in a way that I knew he was leaving. I laid down beside him, held his hand, and talked him through the journey. It was extremely peaceful. Greg and I spent the next several days doing what you do—funeral arrangements (mostly made ahead of time), phone calls, closing down the house, packing some stuff, etc. I would make several trips over the next year or two to finalize moving stuff to keep and selling the house.
Backing up a bit, after quite a raucous 50th birthday party in our Samaniego house in March, where we lived for two years before the big move, I decided to quit drinking. I had ramped up my game a bit around 2000 or so and it was time to make that change. Later on I would have an occasional glass of wine, or maybe a beer (the dark beer at McMenamins in Oregon was hard to resist) but for the most part, I no longer NEEDED to drink. In 2022, while in Portugal, I started drinking wine daily, which I continue to this day.
Then to finalize the year 2004, Connie and I got married, in the backyard of our NEW home! We had a handful of friends from Tucson and a few who flew in from Lawrence, Kansas for the ceremony and party. We had cake with blue icing which caused blue tongue for everyone there. Just vote blue!
One other thing that triggered this post is that today, June 23rd, would’ve been my mother’s 98th birthday. She only lived to see her 66th birthday. At that time, 1992, I had only been in Tucson a couple of years so I flew back when she was hospitalized. She had come through a few serious illnesses previously and I had no doubt she would that time around. I spent a few nights with her in the hospital but my memory is a bit hazy. What I do remember is that she was in a sleep state when I said my goodbye to fly back to Tucson. As I was walking down the hall, she started thrashing about as my leaving triggered something deep inside her, and she knew we would not see each other again. Unfortunately, my ignorance kept me from thinking the same thing.
Hold those you love close and enjoy every damn day.
And now…
A great look back and recap of your & Connie's first quarter of this century. Great to see that pic of Dad and the boys (one of my favs!). May the next quarter century bring as many blessings!
Thanks for this post, interesting to know more of your story.