Hunter-Gatherer: Vintage Spice Tins

by Darin Lowery

We all have a secret thrill, something which causes that tingle down the spine, don’t we?  A perfect bottle of white wine- say, a 1978 Montrachet from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, an adorable Gap Kids jumper which would be perfect for Addison, or a stolen glance on a subway platform with a beautiful stranger. In my case, it’s any action movie with lots of ripped tee shirts and exploding helicopters. But vintage spice tins are a close second! … Continue Reading

Hunter-Gatherer: The Perfect Holiday Gift

by Darin Lowery

Here we are at Holiday time again! Actually, it began in August, for God’s sake, with a bloody racket of overproduced commercials and goofy ‘brand’ jingles. Christmas trees before Labor Day, what a concept- and I was still wearing my tennis whites. … Continue Reading

DarinLand: Squaresville

by Darin Lowery

Last year around this time I had to get a new cell phone- I was receiving voice mails from a rogue nation- Alaska, I think, and it was somewhat unnerving- all this chatter about ‘repeat/reload’ and ‘hundred thousand dollar wardrobes’. Crank calls are so annoying. So are cranks, for that matter.

… Continue Reading

DarinLand: Interview with a Double

by Darin Lowery

Recently I met with a guy who looks surprisingly like me- so much so, we could be twins- and we had a lil’ chin wag. His name is Darin Lowery and he lives here in Arizona, that “Bastion of the Six C’s” – Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus, Climate and Claypool, though he actually lives in Globe. He took some time out to answer a few questions. … Continue Reading

DarinLand: I Walk Alone

by Darin Lowery

A friend was visiting a few weeks ago; we stood in my little kitchen as I made coffee. Since there’s a lot to catch one’s eye in that particular room- in fact, it’s more of a den than anything else because I don’t cook- he looked around and his eyes settled on the refrigerator door. … Continue Reading

Hunter-Gatherer: Hitting the Jackpot

by Darin Lowery

We’ve all seen the shows on television- Antiques Roadshow or American Pickers, for example- where an item anyone with half a brain would toss on the curb for trash pickup ends up commanding thousands of dollars. We laugh, we sigh, and sometimes we scratch our heads- until Aunt Margie wants help cleaning out her shed and we trip over each other to assist her. … Continue Reading

Does the Lord, by any other name, smell as sweet?

Strangest thing, did you know that in different countries they use different words to describe the same thing? No, I’m serious. It’s called a FOREIGN language. I kid you not.

Let’s play a game. A shoe, in Italy, is called a scarpa. It is still a shoe; in fact, it is probably a better shoe than you could ever get in America, because the Italians are masters of shoe creations.

Now, let’s say you go to France and you want to buy a book, you’ll often see it written as livre. Does that mean it’s not a book? Any chance you will go to a library in France and ask for a livre and you will be handed a jacket, a spatula or a plate full of liver?

Probably not. … Continue Reading

DarinLand: A ‘Global’ Economy

by Darin Lowery

My hat is off to the Arizona Silver Belt for initiating a ‘Shop Local’ campaign. With the high cost of gas, maintenance and time involved in a run to the Valley, shopping locally isn’t only a loyalty pledge- it makes sense. There are independent shops in our area that sell everything from cars to cosmetics, from soap to knickknacks. With the exception of the little Nob Hill Grocery in Globe, the days of the small neighborhood market is over. Picking up beer and coldcuts at Fry’s or Safeway is a necessity (a man’s gotta eat) but shopping at a Wal-Mart, for example, isn’t shopping locally- it’s feeding the coffers in Arkansas. … Continue Reading

Don’t Cry For Me Orange-n-Tan Guy

Here is where the Democrats screwed up.

First of all, in the election of 2008, the grassroot efforts by the Democrats motivated 23 million young people to vote. The largest number of youth votes in the history of elections. In these 2010 elections, only 9 million of those same youth showed up. Once Obama took office, this grassroot movement was left to wonder, what now? … Continue Reading

DarinLand: Graffiti en Globo

by Darin Lowery

So there I was, tooling northbound on Broad Street in my white station wagon. My Border Collie Velma sat in the passenger seat, very Jackie-O with the wind from the open window tickling her fur. All she lacked were oversized sunglasses and a silk scarf. We whizzed past Holy Angels church and from the corner of my eye I noticed a vinyl poster attached to the fence. Slowing down, I peered at it, thinking it was an announcement for a Catholic Carnival (step right up and see water turned to wine!) but instead I saw this:

“A person is a person, no matter how small”. I thought this was a sweet sentiment until I looked to the left of the copy and saw a photograph of a floating fetus. … Continue Reading