Westward ho. . .

I just returned from a week in Sedona, Arizona, visiting my friend Alice and her husband, David. Relaxing? Not exactly. Great fun? Absolutely.

If you think I keep busy, you haven't met Alice. I arrived on Wednesday evening after a five hour flight and a 2 hour drive from Phoenix Airport to Cottonwood, the scenic little town outside of Sedona where they now live. After settling into the guest room and meeting the newest member of the family,an adorable Malti-Poo named Shayna (as in Punim or Maidlich, if you understand Yiddish),I was informed that we were leaving at 9 in the morning for a "training session" at the site of the weekend's big annual art fair. Alice was scheduled to work in the tent for "smart shoppers", the polite designation for big spenders, and had volunteered my services as well.

Apparently I passed muster in training because I was entrusted with serving stuffed French toast out of a pair of commercial size food warmers,fashionably attired in a red Festival tee-shirt, red baseball cap, and an identifying sticker. (See photo. . .that's Alice on the left). Five of us worked the tent like our lives depended on it, serving brunch from 10 to 12, with Alice out front taking tickets, me hawking the french toast, Patty pushing the egg burritos, Joanie on the coffee and juice, and someone named Debbie taking care of the dirty dishes. The art show, by the way, was spectacular, lots of wonderful Southwestern and Indian art. I fell in love with a hand carved hat rack topped by a bug-eyed moose head, but was persueded not to buy on the grounds it wouldn't fit into my luggage.

A few nights later I was back in waitress mode. Alice had volunteered us both for the Film Festival's showing of the original 1929 black & white silent film of "Phantom Of The Opera" starring Lon Chaney. Everyone was urged to come dressed as if they were going to the opera in 1929 and the outfits were wonderful. We looked pretty spectacular ourselves, dressed respectively (in Alice's description of us) as a flapper and a high class Madam. Since I'm not big on short skirts, you can assume I was the Madam. Teetering on 3 1/2" spike heels, the kind I'm not used to wearing these days, I roamed the theater lobby serving platters of plump strawberries to arriving attendees while David poured wine and Alice took tickets. The film was a gas, with a live orchestra playing appropriate music to accompany the over-the-top acting of the silent screen stars.

In between volunteering we visited art galleries and enjoyed the incredible scenery. Sedona is red rock country and the views are unbelievable in every direction. Oh yes, we even attended a meeting of her book club one morning. . fortunately I had read the book, "Sarah's Key". . .I recommend it.

My visit ended with a 3am pick-up by the shuttle to the airport to make a 7:50am plane back to Miami. The plane ride was great. I slept the entire way home. Can't imagine why.

By the way, Tuesday is my birthday. . can you believe it's a year already since my big celebration into the world of the octogenarian??? Don't feel a bit older, thank you.
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