6:41pm, mountain standard time, mom’s house, Evanston, Wyoming, USA, Thursday evening, October 27, 2022. Finished up in Dublin this morning then caught a plane to Salt Lake City. My mom picked me up at the airport and we drove the hour to my hometown of Evanston. It has been two years since I last visited. A lot of memories are coming back; some good, some not so good. All it all, it is nice to be here. Tomorrow we will drive to West Wendover, Nevada, gamble a little and enjoy some time together.
Tag: salt lake city
Reconnecting
6:17pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Dublin, California, USA, Tuesday night, October 25, 2022. Spent the day training the new executive director and finishing up last minute issues with payroll. Tomorrow is my final full day in Dublin. On Thursday, I fly to Salt Lake City to visit my mom and attend my previous supervisors wedding reception/Halloween party. I look forward connecting with friends and seeing my mom again. It has been over five years since I saw my old coworkers and almost six months since my mom visited me in Arizona.
Utah update: May 15
7:13am, pacific standard time, airport in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, Sunday morning, May 15, 2022. We left Henderson early yesterday morning and drove straight to Mesquite, Nevada. After gambling a little our trip continued north. We arrived in Salt Lake City at 4pm. For dinner we selected burgers and beers downturn. When we finished mom was tired and wanted to turn in for the evening. I dropped her off at the hotel and continued on alone, driving around for a couple of hours, visiting various places, taking stock of what was new. So much has changed since I lived here, yet it all looks so familiar. A lot of memories are rushing through my mind right now. It is an emotional morning.
Road trip update
6:32am, pacific standard time, hotel room, Henderson, Nevada, USA, Sunday morning, May 1, 2022. Landed safely in Salt Lake City, Utah yesterday morning around 9am. My mom picked me up and we headed south. We stopped for lunch in Beaver, Utah before getting to our hotel around 4pm. After resting for a bit we ate dinner at a local brewery and did some gambling before returning to the hotel at 8pm.
Departure
4:29am, pacific standard time, Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, Saturday morning, April 30, 2022. Made it to Phoenix airport early for my 6:05am flight to Salt Lake City, Utah. My mom will meet me there so we can drive back to Arizona together (with an overnight stop in Nevada) I look forward to seeing my mom, going on a road trip together, and seeing Utah again.
Upcoming visit
5:37am, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, USA, Thursday morning, April 28, 2022. Living alone has benefits; you go to bed when you want, you control the television remote and you have final say on all home decor decisions. But there are drawbacks to living alone; without other people around it is easy to cycle on negative thoughts, feel lonely and get depressed. My mom is coming out this weekend. I am flying to Salt Lake City, Utah early Saturday morning to meet her so we can drive back to Arizona together. It will be nice to see her again (She hasn’t been out since Christmas) and it will be beneficial to have another person in the apartment for a couple weeks.
Holiday Plans Update
1:57pm, in my office, Phoenix, Arizona, Tuesday afternoon, December 21, 2021, listening to Christmas music. This morning my mom flew into Phoenix from Salt Lake City. I picked her up at the airport and took her grocery shopping before coming to the office. She will be here until next Tuesday. We will go to Orange County on Friday and come back on Sunday. My wife and daughter are coming to Phoenix on Sunday as well so I am excited. We have a lot of activities planned and my daughter has a new video game she wants help with. It will be a good end to 2021.
The WIL and December 1st
5:43am, Wednesday morning, apartment in Chandler, Arizona, December 1. Seven years ago I was traveling for work to the Chicago area. Thanksgiving was late that year so December 1st was the Monday after the holiday. My itinerary was to fly from Orange County to Salt Lake City and connect to Chicago, however the flight was delayed. Then it was delayed again. Before long I missed my connection to Chicago all together. The airline counter agent recommended I fly to Salt Lake City. They would pay for a hotel and book me on another flight the next morning. Doing that would minimize the odds of not making it to my destination the next day as well. While some of my fellow travelers were probably annoyed, I was ecstatic. I had been texting with the WIL the entire morning, lamenting I would be in Utah but wouldn’t get to see her. Now I was staying in a hotel the airline was paying for. She came and saw me after work that day and we got to spend a couple hours together. The memory is so strong and so meaningful for many reasons, some I will keep to myself. But it is easy to say that day stands as one of the most beautiful moments we shared in a lifetime full of them.
November 17
11:03am, in my office, Phoenix, Wednesday morning. My mom arrives today. She is flying in from Salt Lake City. Her flight is boarding at this very moment. She gets in shortly after 1pm. I will pick her up at the airport, drop her off at the apartment then return to work. Today is also my brothers birthday. He would have been 52. The next two weeks will be nice to have company and to see my mom again.
France Davis
6:16am, Arizona, apartment. A prominent Utah minister had a street named after him the other day. Pastor France Davis is, according to the Salt Lake Tribune, “A civil rights legend in Utah.” He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, taught at the University, and built Salt Lake City’s Cavalry Baptist into a large and influential congregation. I met Reverend Davis a couple times when I lived in Utah. I recall he was somewhat slight in stature but had what is best described as “fierce calm.” He is a man that works hard and is greatly respected. Long ago I had a copy of his biography, ‘France Davis: An American Story Told’ written by him and Nayra A. Arita. I will have to see if I can find it and read it again.
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