Thanksgiving in Phoenix

by Peter Twitchell

A five and half hour jet ride south will get you to Pheonix, Arizona – a desert country where only the local Native people like Navaho, Apache, and Pima Indians really understand the desert.

We were three blocks away from the “Talking Stick Arena” where the Pheonix Suns were playing and in the last few seconds the Suns lost by three points.

Phoenix businesses have their workers sweeping their store fronts clearing any debris like cigarette butts and the streets are clean. Even reservation lands are free from litter and garbage and abandoned cars. I didn’t see one container of soda pop or empty liquor bottles.

We spent Thanksgiving meal at “Table Rock” Resort overlooking the City.

I met some wonderful people while in Pheonix. Ishmael Duran, a waiter at the place we were staying in Pheonix, was working at the “Compass Restaurant” and it revolves in a full circle every 45 minutes.

He went to serve the people food on a full platter on his shoulder to serve them. He said, “They were no longer at the table they were at.” He caught himself and found the hungry group on the other side of the room.

The Walking Stick Casino has a good buffet and a jackpot on the casino floor worth $340,000 to some lucky person awaiting the good fortune. It sure wasn’t me and the machine ate my twenty dollar bill in a second.

I know the Pima Indians get a $3,000 check or more every quarter or 3 months as they have interest in that casino, which can’t be a bad thing. I talked to one guy and some people are careless and lose that money very quickly.

It is good to be home but a break in the sun is worth every penny and I didn’t see a scorpion.

More next week on my Discoveries for the Delta.