What else would a desert be but brown, dusty and barren? It's precisely
because people don't appreciate it's natural, rugged beauty that we find
ourselves in a water crunch. People should let the desert be a desert and
stop trying to convert it into some lush paradise which it isn't meant to
be.

Agreed. I find the desert to be starkly beautiful, and love the mountains.
I've always assumed that I would retire to the desert Southwest.

But an interesting thing always happens on our return flights from the
region. My spirits begin to soar as we start to hit "the green belt" -- and
are positively tingling by the time we're winging our way over the
incredibly intense greens of Iowa. There's just something about seeing
colors that is wonderful, and that I really miss when I'm out West.

Now, of course, at this time of year Iowa looks pretty much like the
desert -- brown as far as the eye can see, except for evergreen trees -- and
snow, when it finally gets here.

As for the dirty part...Phoenix is no worse (and certainly a lot better)
than many major cities around the country.

What makes Phoenix (and other desert cities -- it's certainly not a
Phoenix-only problem) so dirty is the lack of rain. During droughts, Iowa
gets the same way. Luckily, we are usually blessed with a nice, cleansing
rain about once a week, all spring/summer/fall long -- which really does
wonders on the streetscapes.

The homeless situation is directly tied to the weather. Makes sense
doesn't it? If you're gonna be sleeping outside, why not go where it's
warm?

Absolutely. I've heard that the entire west coast of southern California is
the same way.

What a shame that the "do-gooders", in an attempt to fix some real problems,
forced the government to disband most of the mental health system, in favor
of "personal choice" and "freedom". How free do we think all those
schizophrenics who are now forced to live on the street really feel?

Been to Seattle lately? I seems to me that there are just as many
homeless (if not more...) in Seattle and they are a lot more aggressive
when it comes to panhandling. I've never felt threatened by anyone on the
streets of downtown Phoenix...but I've had the bejezus scared out of me a
couple of time in Seattle by people rushing up and getting right in my
face for spare change.

Shame on Seattle for not putting an end to that problem.

Dunno why you think we have an over abundance of sirens. We certainly
don't hear them much down here in the SE part of the valley. Maybe you
just have overly sensitive ears? :O)

When you live in an area of the country that has no serious crime, you get
used to sirens being a rarity. Hearing them 24/7 when we last visited
Phoenix was a real downer.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"