It smells like change. I’m not sure what it is, exactly, perhaps it’s just that with the warmer weather there’s a hint of humidity in the air, a bit of mugginess that seems to bring with it the smell of home right before a monsoon rushes through and wipes the world clean. A desert changes in with the rains and their coming, and the change they bring, is the pinnacle of the summer season back in Tucson.
Or maybe it’s just that I’m in the midst of moving, piling things into boxes and schlepping them down the hill, and there’s a particular smell of change to that as well. It’s the smell of dusty cardboard, of papers brought to light, of empty walls and bright corners and sawdust as furniture and lives are rearranged and reassembled into- hopefully- better configurations.
Whatever it is, it’s welcome. I’ve enjoyed the last year here on 29th with Andy and Kendall, but I’m happy to be moving. My new place is a little closer to downtown and a little farther away from the colorful district I’m living in right now. I’ve never had to call the cops as many times in a 12 month period as I have here (buses sliding down snowy hills, drunks screaming through the streets, a man chasing another, shirtless, man with a belt that he’s desperately trying whip across the shirtless man’s back), but I’ve also never been approached by so many of my neighbors (offering to help me, shouting encouragement as I fall while skating, letting me play with and pet their dogs). And despite the phone calls to the cops I haven’t had any problems. I feel safe here.
But the new place has parks surrounding it, and a rolling hill of a yard (with trees! And a garden!), as well as hardwood floors and some granite counter-tops. (Although I’ll admit that I honestly wouldn’t care about the counter-tops if it wasn’t for the élan they seem to convey… why does it matter if they’re granite? It’s not like a gas stove which actually has an effect on cooking.) I’ll need to invest in a pantry and maybe a wardrobe, but I’m excited to move-in.
If only because as long I as I keep moving it feels as if I’m going somewhere.