Tucson COVID Tales No. 1: I Miss, by Peg Bowden
I MISS
grocery shopping without fear
sipping a perfect martini at a classy bar
Tucson Symphony concerts
piano improvisation duets with John and his clarinet
hugs
my kids
learning Dungeons and Dragons with my grandson
Art receptions and art walks
potlucks
my brother Chuck
talking politics in someone’s living room
flute and piano sessions with Jerry
a campfire on a lake with family
riding in Panchito’s ambulance
playing the timpani with the Green Valley Band
the morning prayer at el comedor
teaching English in 100 degree heat in Nogales, Sonora
fish tacos with Pancho
Ronin (g-daughter) playing her ukulele
shrugging off a minor sore throat or cough
cheek kisses in Mexico
dressing up to go somewhere
a president who talks in complete sentences
dinner parties
breakfast at The Goods with the Wild Women of Tubac
driving to Puerto Peñasco right now
bookstores
patio dinners with friends
Ashland Shakespeare Festival
hopping on a plane to anywhere
sharing a condo with girlfriends on a beach
airports and people-watching
a family reunion in Iowa
hello hugs, goodbye hugs
being dirty and not worrying about it
—Peg Bowden
Peg Bowden grew up in Tucson, left for 30 years, and came back, like most authentic desert rats. In pre-COVID days, she spent time in Nogales, Sonora, trying her best to upend the draconian and inhumane immigration policies of the US government. She has written two books: A Land of Hard Edges and A Stranger At My Door. Peg lives on a ranch in the San Cayetano mountains with her husband, two dogs, a feral cat named Tamale, and a lot of open-range cattle.
Send us your written work, poems, video clips, photographs, or some other expression of what you’ve been creating or doing during the pandemic. Offer advice, confess to slothfulness, celebrate having down time, lament the extra burdens that the plague has imposed, share beauty—whatever your response, we’d like to hear from you and consider your work for publication on social media, on our web page, and/or in some future edition of Zócalo. Email editor@zocalotucson.com
Category: TUCSON COVID TALES
