February 15, 2004
Just got back from a post-Valentine’s breakfast for two of the women I love: Kathy and her mama, Betty Radina. We met Grandma Betty at I-17 and the Carefree Highway at 10:30, then drove up in our car to the Rock Springs Cafe in Black Canyon City. The old stage stop is famous for its mountain oysters and Penny’s homemade pies. Jana B. got me a pie gift certificate for Christmas and I took it along (in fact, it was the catalyst to go for a Sunday drive with my honeys).

The place was slammed and we had a fifteen minute wait, along with 14 bikers in back of us. They got kind of testy about us being in front of them, so Betty called one of them out and they did that deal where you take a bandana and put one end in your teeth and the opponent, Betty, took the other end and then they fought with knives until one of them gives up. Betty got their leader, Satan, pretty good, slicing him along the ribs (really ruined his jacket).

Not really.

Had a great cholesterol-packed green chile omelette with sour dough biscuits. Over breakfast Betty admitted she is turning 80 this year and we decided to have a big blow-out birthday party for her and invite all her old friends from Michigan, Sun City, etc. By the time we pulled out of the parking lot, Kathy had all her siblings contacted by cell phone, had the place rented and the party favors ordered. Going to be fun. We may even invite the biker she almost killed.

I-17 and all the by-ways were really crowded both up and back. Drove by Anthem, an instant sub division that didn’t even exist five years ago and today is on the way to 60,000 residents. When I was returning from my speech out in Surprise last week, I saw another instant city, Vistana, which is supposed to be a 40,000 mini-community, and this morning’s paper touts another big development going in down at Eloy (about half-way to Tucson on I-10). Hard to believe there weren’t even 5,000 people in all of Mohave County when we moved to Arizona in 1955.

Here’s some of the early fallout and feedback from the recently declared Mexican Food War:

“In a food fight between Sonoran and New Mexican cooking, nobody loses. Yum-eee.”
—Emma Bull

“You can tell Mr. Hutton and his man-friend Johnny Boggs, that I'll meet them any
time anywhere for a Mexican food cook off. I can beat either one or both
of them with one stove tied behind my back. And I don't adhere to the
Spanish version!!!”
—Mad Coyote Joe

“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.”
—Josh Billings