Double Nickels

by Darin Lowery

I just had a birthday- um, YAY- and I’ve now hit fifty-five. Double Nickels. That’s me: mid-life, middle-aged, teetering towards my twilight years. Because I came into this world in 1955, they tell me it’s my ‘Golden Birthday’. It’s just a number. Go figure.

It is not just a number. It is a culmination of all of the numbers which have brought me to this point, which is, like, kinda old. I don’t feel old, and a few of my nicer friends and co-workers have said I still look okay and don’t smell like an old guy.

That’s a relief, I guess. … Continue Reading

A Short Cut…literally

by Darin Lowery

If you’re in your mid-fifties as I am, you may remember the old drug store calendars with the cute pictures: chimpanzees in pedal cars, little girls on the telephone, and my favorite- the shot of a little boy in a barber’s chair, tears streaming down his cheeks as he gets his first trim.

One last grasp- or gasp- at youth was all I asked. To let my hair grow long, the way it was in the late 60’s- wind waving it, spring rains wetting it- would somehow melt the years which separated me from the Summer of Love.

The LONG shot

The end result was worth it. After two years, a pelt of thick hair cascaded over my shoulders and down my back. This caused considerable comment, usually from short white middle-aged women wearing outdated turbans.

‘Ohmygawd, you have perfect hair. What a waste it’s on a man!’

Skater dudes gave me thumbs up, and at least twice a week someone wanted to either buy/sell/trade/share marijuana. Or worse. … Continue Reading

The Joy of Eating

by Darin Lowery

While cruising in my station wagon a few weeks ago, I listened to a ‘teaser’ spot on National Public Radio for an upcoming show about food. The sound bites of dispassionate interviewees caught my attention. One claimed, ‘I never eat anything unless I know exactly who prepared it and how they did it’. The second gal mumbled something about not eating much of anything, especially meat, dairy, sugar, coffee or wheat, and the lone guy sounded upset at the thought of the green beans on his plate touching the potatoes touching his pork chops. … Continue Reading

A Night at the Picture Show

By Darin Lowery

Globe suffered a major setback in July 2005 when the Pioneer Hotel and the adjacent Globe Theater burned to the ground. Businesses were destroyed, valuable property was lost, and shock, despair and anger were expressed by everyone.

What remained was a heap of twisted metal which sat on the corner of Broad and Cedar Streets for four and a half years.

I moved to Globe the day after the fire.

After waiting all week, I finally have a night free to go to the pictures, and 2010 is showing. In my book, the best movies in the world are when the world ends. … Continue Reading

The Glory that is Dog

By: Darin Lowery

As my Grandma used to say, there’s just too much fussin’ in the world today. Fussin’ about money and fightin’ about politics. The biggest uproar- and it’s gone on forever- is the argument about A Supreme Being. The Catholics and Muslims, the Jews and the Buddhists all have the answers- so do the Episcopalians and Baptists. Even the Agnostics and Atheists weigh in from time to time.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I do not have a religious background. My Mother was rabidly anti-Catholic, having been taught by the good nuns. She walked away with an abhorrence of basic black, though she did develop beautiful handwriting. My Dad considered himself an intellectual who was above the fray. My first visit to church was to attend a wedding in 1977; all I remember was how cold the church felt. After a couple of drinks at the reception, I warmed up and quickly forgot about it.

The arguments and hysteria over religious issues have largely passed over me. This pleases me, as pamphlet-toting Christians and suicide bombers aren’t folks I necessarily want to hang with. If you have to convince me how perfect your beliefs are, why hit me over the head? … Continue Reading

Globe-Hopping

By: Darin Lowery

Re-printed from Globe Miami Times: Fall ’09

Let me explain something: I am not a traveler, and as a tourist I’m a washout. Other folks want to board a tour bus and toast the Pacific or the Pyramids with regional varietals at midnight. Give me a few pots of coffee and a chance to ditch my companions and I’ll go junking, digging my way through boxes of old marbles, postcards and 1960’s publicity stills.

Keep the sunsets and give me the Salvation Army thrift store.

But hey- that’s just me.

Don’t get me wrong- I love a good vacation. But after the cabs and airports and security precautions- after being jammed into a jet with people who cough a lot- and then, having to endure the security precautions, airports and cabs again in a foreign locale… well, it’s just too much for a simple guy like me.

While a trip around the world can be Hell, a trip to Globe is more than manageable.

However, I’ve tried hiking at South Mountain. It doesn’t work. I cannot keep the ice cubes in a rock glass, and after years of smoking (and finally quitting), I can’t walk and wheeze at the same time. Rafting the Salt River, or swimming at Roosevelt? Fun, of course, until the skin grafts.

‘So what do you do for fun’, people ask, ‘here in Globe, Arizona?’

Recently, I had to drop off my vintage auto for repairs – it’s a white 2000 Ford DUV (Darin Utility Vehicle- actually a sleek n’ sporty station wagon). I last changed the oil around Christmas five years ago. My pals at McSpadden Ford try not to roll their eyes when I haul it in, and I love them for it.

I had a satisfying and lip-smacking repast at the downtown Mexican bistro El Ranchito. The enchiladas are muy bueno. Globe is known for serving the finest Mexican food north of our southern neighbor, and all of the Mexican restaurants here are terrific.

It took me awhile, but I’ve just now discovered the Globe Dog Park (this is in plain view out of my kitchen window, but I am often distracted). The Dog Park is an old baseball diamond near the Noftsger Hill Bed & Breakfast, a former grade school. My Border Collie Velma has lost ten pounds since we began meeting our new friends there. That’s because I pick up someone’s Chihuahua and chase her relentlessly.

One of the best spots in town is the blue iron Nob Hill footbridge which spans the canyon between Apache and Bailey. Linda Gross took a group of us during a Thanksgiving ‘let’s-walk-off-that-30-pound-turkey-dinner’ tour of Globe. The height is just right- no vertigo- though it has a sort of ‘Mission: Impossible’ feel to it.

The shopping in Globe is diverse and unexpected. Each shop has a distinct personality. Forget the ‘big box’ stores: I’ll take Molly’s White Porch, Shirley’s Gifts, Simply Sarah and Sam’s Good Junk every time. I’m partial to the Pickle Barrel Trading Post (not just because I work there) and Past-Times feels like Grandma’s house. You’ve really gotta visit the Blue Mule Gallery, too- the floor is like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

For an evening out, the Drift Inn Saloon is wild- the original tin ceilings look twenty feet high, and it’s the oldest tavern in Arizona. For dinner, we all go to DeMarco’s for fresh Italian and Hog Haven for mouthwatering BBQ.

Come the first week of November, our Copper Spike Railroad returns to the rails with a new 30’s coach in tow, behind the 1954 Domeliner and a ’47 Calumet Club Car. The train runs from the (recently and gorgeously renovated) Globe Depot, to the Apache Gold Casino and a bit beyond. It’s a lot of fun. The passengers talk and laugh like they’re long lost cousins. Nothing beats a good train ride.

Around the same time, the Globe Theatre reopens. The original was destroyed in a fire four years ago: this is the first building to be constructed in the Historic Downtown section in twenty years, and I expect a public weary of TV Land will flock to the flickers in droves.

When I’ve got some down time, I pick up my galpal Esther and we hit vida e caffe for coffee and, like, 17 pastries, which we split. The combo sugar/caffeine high is awesome, and sometimes I go home afterwards and vacuum the roof.

Want fun and cheap? Drive around and check out the little bungalows; the sprawling acreage; the funny little homes that cling to the sides of the hills. Some folks think the Valley is Heaven, and maybe that’s true if you’re into Neo-Tuscan Revival with plastic landscaping. Such élan, no charm. If you’re visiting Globe in February, leave the driving to us and take the Historic Globe Home Tour- always a treat, as is homemade cobbler at Joe’s Broad Street Grill afterwards.

There’s so much more- Apache Jii (a celebration of Apache culture and crafts), Pumpkin Carving and Pictures on the Porch at the Center for the Arts, and the Electric Light Parade at Christmastime. A major streetscape and signage improvement program for Broad Street and beyond commences shortly; by this time next year, the Belle of Broad Street will be…. Broad Street.

What is there to do in Globe? Start at the beginning, silly- there’s a map in the middle of this newspaper. (See Fall Edition’o9)