Well of course they read books in California. I bet they dominate in the audio book category, with all that freeway spare time!

What they do not have in California is something I will dearly miss about Tucson, which is a tight network of friends and families and community-minded individuals who can organize and gather so many Tucsonans for events like this last weekend’s Festival of Books.

Californians surely have a ton of events, but not one like the Festival of Books that embodies that heart and soul of our city.  It is like one big breakfast club and high school reunion wrapped into one weekend.  There are very few places in America where a population of a million people can come together and have so many that know each other.  That aspect of Tucson is one of our most unique characteristics.

With 51 years in the valley, I have been  privileged to know folks from every walk and strain of life; doctors, bakers, and candlestick makers, and best of  all at this event, storytellers, nationally acclaimed ones to-boot!

Yesterday, as my wife and I roamed the campus, I decided to keep track of all the people I encountered whom I knew by first name. Twenty-eight exactly–28 people in four hours!  That is just darn right buffed! Where else can that occur, save the small town Tucson?

My son Ryan once said, “Now that we have gone over the million mark in population in the valley, will you still know the same 1000 people, Dad?’  “Yup, it seems that way son,” I said. “But then that is just the nature of Tucson.”

Events like the Festival of Books and the upcoming 4th Avenue Street Fair are the kind of cultural experiences that already have me dripping with nostalgia, especially for the fine folk of Tucson, Arizona.