Dear Family and Friends,
After two weeks of record-breaking temperatures here in Tucson, Arizona, temperatures have moderated somewhat in the last few days. We posted records in the mid-ninties. Today we went the see the Chicago White Sox play the Seattle Mariners and after one inning the rains came and the people scattered looking for shelter. Most didn’t find any. When we saw the grounds crew roll out the tarp to cover the infield, we decided to head for the car. The sky looked like an all day steady rain was in store for us and so it was reasonable to bale out. The forecast is for rain tonight and tomorrow and possibly even Saturday. Rain in Tucson in March is madness, not common.
We have enjoyed many spring training games here and we even went to Phoenix to see the Brewers play last week.
We met some friends of Bonnie’s from her UWM days, Chris and Jerry Hasenbein and there was constant conversation throughout the game. The Hasenbeins live in Antham, just north of Phoenix. Bonnie is the godmother of their daughter Julie. In addition to seeing the 2007 Brewers in action we also saw the Racing Sausages with their new Mexican caballero. Cool.
Last week we took a day trip to Globe, Arizona with Gayle and Ken
Shepherd, abou 100 miles northeast of Tucson in a mountainous, copper mining area. Globe has an park with elaborate native American ruins from 800 A.D. The ruins consist of over 200 rooms up to three stories high and all the entrances are through the roof on ladders. The Shepherds are friends from the Resurrection choir and live in Woodbury, Minnesota when they aren’t snowbirding.
On Friday the Carthage College choir from Kenosha visited Resurrection as part of
their tour of the Southwest. They were excellent and then we hosted two of the girls, Crystale and Anne. They enjoyed the pool and pizza after the concert and then a breakfast featuring Egg Strata. Carthage is the third college choir we have heard this winter.
We have enjoyed many spring training games here and we even went to Phoenix to see the Brewers play last week.
We met some friends of Bonnie’s from her UWM days, Chris and Jerry Hasenbein and there was constant conversation throughout the game. The Hasenbeins live in Antham, just north of Phoenix. Bonnie is the godmother of their daughter Julie. In addition to seeing the 2007 Brewers in action we also saw the Racing Sausages with their new Mexican caballero. Cool.Last week we took a day trip to Globe, Arizona with Gayle and Ken
Shepherd, abou 100 miles northeast of Tucson in a mountainous, copper mining area. Globe has an park with elaborate native American ruins from 800 A.D. The ruins consist of over 200 rooms up to three stories high and all the entrances are through the roof on ladders. The Shepherds are friends from the Resurrection choir and live in Woodbury, Minnesota when they aren’t snowbirding.On Friday the Carthage College choir from Kenosha visited Resurrection as part of
their tour of the Southwest. They were excellent and then we hosted two of the girls, Crystale and Anne. They enjoyed the pool and pizza after the concert and then a breakfast featuring Egg Strata. Carthage is the third college choir we have heard this winter. 
We joined three other couples (tennis friends) for dinner at the Mountain Oyster Club, guests of Harvey and Judy Thelan who live in Mequon. This private club boasts a huge collection of western art beautifully housed in an old Tucson mansion. It was a wonderful evening.We are continuing to prepare for the Good Friday presentation of Requiem by John Rutter. The Latin is a real challenge. We have been working on this since early February and we (I) am making progress.
We have been following the Wisconsin basketball team throughout the season as a number of their games have been telecast here. That is, until the tournaments started. Then there was just the one network that had the games, and none with Wisconsin. So we went to the nearby sports bar, Fox and Hound, on Sunday and watched the Badgers climb back from a big deficit only to fall behind again and lose. What a shame, too bad we lost Brian Butch to a season ending injury. But the Badger season was a fine run this year anyway. Thanks Bucky !!
We also attended a first anniversary choir concert for the Catalinas Community Choir last Sunday. This choir is led by Cyndee Chaffee. Cyndee was the music director at Resurrection until this year and she is the person who was so welcoming to me when I inquired about joining her Spirit Singer choir at church. From that day forward Cyndee made me feel personally welcome every time I returned to Tucson – a truly warm accepting feeling. She was just as warm when Bonnie arrived with me two years ago. In fact, Bonnie ended up singing with the altos the first time she attended Resurrrection. We enjoyed seeing her again.
We have been following the Wisconsin basketball team throughout the season as a number of their games have been telecast here. That is, until the tournaments started. Then there was just the one network that had the games, and none with Wisconsin. So we went to the nearby sports bar, Fox and Hound, on Sunday and watched the Badgers climb back from a big deficit only to fall behind again and lose. What a shame, too bad we lost Brian Butch to a season ending injury. But the Badger season was a fine run this year anyway. Thanks Bucky !!
We also attended a first anniversary choir concert for the Catalinas Community Choir last Sunday. This choir is led by Cyndee Chaffee. Cyndee was the music director at Resurrection until this year and she is the person who was so welcoming to me when I inquired about joining her Spirit Singer choir at church. From that day forward Cyndee made me feel personally welcome every time I returned to Tucson – a truly warm accepting feeling. She was just as warm when Bonnie arrived with me two years ago. In fact, Bonnie ended up singing with the altos the first time she attended Resurrrection. We enjoyed seeing her again.
We plan to leave Tucson on Friday, April 13 and head for Zion NP and Bryce NP, then east through the Rockies to visit Carol and Dick Stratmeyer north of Denver, then home by April 20. (Of course weather permitting).
Warm greetings to all of you from Bonnie and Daryl
