September 3, 2005
Kathy and I had a great time down in the Beast last night. Met Jeff and Michele Miller and Ed and Rose Marie Mell at Comedor de Guadalajara (Guadalajara, Mexico style food) down in south Phoenix at Central and I-17. Great place, very large, three big rooms with roving mariachis.

I had the tacquitos de barbacoa (goat head meat tacos), and Kathy had the mole enchiladas (1) and said it was quite good. I paid the trio of strolling mariachis $6 to play “La Bamba.” I know it’s an anglo cliche, but Man I love that tune! I actually bought the Richie Valens’ 45 in the summer of 1958 when we came down to Phoenix for the little league state championship. I remember I paid a buck for it in a drugstore at 35th Ave. and Bethany Home Road. I memorized the entire song phonetically (I knew no Spanish at the time), and last night I amazed and no doubt horrified, the mariachis with my bellowing, “Yo no soy maninero!” (I am not a captain?). Of course I also had to drum on the table to boot and spike in from time to time with chirping Mexican style yee-ha-on-de-lays.

Yes, we had two pitchers of margaritas.

Total bill was $128, which we split three ways, although Jeff put in an extra five, even though the gratuity was included ($18).

Afterwards we all drove up to Central and Roosevelt for First Friday, which is this artwalk event that has been going on for about two years now and has grown to epic size proportions. Earlier this summer they had 10,000 show up. Really amazing considering it is in a part of town that used to be the worst, derelict section of the entire Valley. In fact, remember when Danny Bonnaduce, formerly of the Partridge Family, picked up the Native American transvestite and got arrested? Well, the park where he “hired” her, is now part of the artwalk (the actual park is gone and now an empty lot) and had all sorts of booths and vendors. Amazing.

We walked the whole street, stopping at small, galleries like 515, where I saw Kenny Richardson, Ed’s assistant. Most of the art was too hip for the room, for my taste, sort of conceptualized beyond the talent to produce it. Example: a series of images with statements like, “I am a Christian” and then underneath in faint type is the punchline, “But I access porn at work.” Heavy.

Still, it was inspiring to me and I realized two things: young girls sure have a bunch of tattoos they are going to regret, and I need to push my art a little bit more, at least color wise.

“When you’re safe at home, you wish you were having an adventure; when you’re having an adventure, you wish you were safe at home.”
—Thorton Wilderr