INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (11253,1,'2012-09-28 12:50:15','2012-09-28 19:50:15','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11221\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nGroovy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a sudden urge to break out into \"Peaceful Easy Feeling\" right now, but you can\'t hear me, so what\'s the point?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnywho, FOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11222\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11223\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote <strong>that song</strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11230\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11233\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11243\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11239\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n* awkward silence *\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11244\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11245\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-19','','','2012-09-28 12:50:15','2012-09-28 19:50:15','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(11254,1,'2012-09-28 12:50:55','2012-09-28 19:50:55','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11221\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into \"Peaceful Easy Feeling\" right now, but you can\'t hear me, so what\'s the point?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnywho, FOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11222\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11223\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote <strong>that song</strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11230\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11233\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11243\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11239\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11244\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11245\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-20','','','2012-09-28 12:50:55','2012-09-28 19:50:55','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(11255,1,'2012-09-28 13:42:07','2012-09-28 20:42:07','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nGroovy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would have been your question?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n* awkward silence *\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong> </strong><strong>Me: </strong> <em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here I come!  And I promise to be quicker this time around.  I am currently building my secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-autosave','','','2012-09-28 13:42:07','2012-09-28 20:42:07','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(11256,1,'2012-09-28 12:50:55','2012-09-28 19:50:55','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into \"Peaceful Easy Feeling\" right now, but you can\'t hear me, so what\'s the point?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnywho, FOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote <strong>that song</strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-21','','','2012-09-28 12:50:55','2012-09-28 19:50:55','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(11261,1,'2012-09-28 13:33:18','2012-09-28 20:33:18','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-26','','','2012-09-28 13:33:18','2012-09-28 20:33:18','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-26/',0,'revision','',0),(11257,1,'2012-09-28 13:11:59','2012-09-28 20:11:59','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right now, but you can\'t hear me, so what\'s the point?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnywho, FOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote <strong>that song</strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-22','','','2012-09-28 13:11:59','2012-09-28 20:11:59','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-22/',0,'revision','',0),(11258,1,'2012-09-28 13:12:06','2012-09-28 20:12:06','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right now, but you can\'t hear me, so what\'s the point?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnywho, FOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote <strong>that song</strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-23','','','2012-09-28 13:12:06','2012-09-28 20:12:06','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(11259,1,'2012-09-28 13:13:00','2012-09-28 20:13:00','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right now, but you can\'t hear me, so what\'s the point?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnywho, FOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-24','','','2012-09-28 13:13:00','2012-09-28 20:13:00','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(11260,1,'2012-09-28 13:32:19','2012-09-28 20:32:19','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right now, but you can\'t hear me, so what\'s the point?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnywho, FOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-25','','','2012-09-28 13:32:19','2012-09-28 20:32:19','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-25/',0,'revision','',0),(11267,1,'2012-09-28 13:38:37','2012-09-28 20:38:37','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here I come!  And I promise to be quicker this time around.  I am currently building my secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-32','','','2012-09-28 13:38:37','2012-09-28 20:38:37','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-32/',0,'revision','',0),(11262,1,'2012-09-28 13:33:27','2012-09-28 20:33:27','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-27','','','2012-09-28 13:33:27','2012-09-28 20:33:27','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-27/',0,'revision','',0),(11263,1,'2012-09-28 13:35:25','2012-09-28 20:35:25','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-28','','','2012-09-28 13:35:25','2012-09-28 20:35:25','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-28/',0,'revision','',0),(11264,1,'2012-09-28 13:36:35','2012-09-28 20:36:35','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am building a secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-29','','','2012-09-28 13:36:35','2012-09-28 20:36:35','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-29/',0,'revision','',0),(11265,1,'2012-09-28 13:38:10','2012-09-28 20:38:10','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And i promise to be quicker this time around.  I am currently building my secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-30','','','2012-09-28 13:38:10','2012-09-28 20:38:10','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-30/',0,'revision','',0),(11266,1,'2012-09-28 13:38:23','2012-09-28 20:38:23','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would your question have been?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here i come!  And I promise to be quicker this time around.  I am currently building my secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-31','','','2012-09-28 13:38:23','2012-09-28 20:38:23','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-31/',0,'revision','',0),(11268,1,'2012-09-28 13:42:21','2012-09-28 20:42:21','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would have been your question?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong> </strong><strong>Me: </strong> <em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here I come!  And I promise to be quicker this time around.  I am currently building my secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-33','','','2012-09-28 13:42:21','2012-09-28 20:42:21','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-33/',0,'revision','',0),(11269,1,'2012-09-28 13:42:37','2012-09-28 20:42:37','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would have been your question?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong> </strong><strong>Me: </strong> <em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here I come!  And I promise to be quicker this time around.  I am currently building my secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-34','','','2012-09-28 13:42:37','2012-09-28 20:42:37','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-34/',0,'revision','',0),(11270,1,'2012-09-28 13:46:48','2012-09-28 20:46:48','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-764/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11221\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-11221\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030001-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Or have you ever had a place on your fairly local \"To Visit\" list for . . . . oh . . . . 17 years and then finally got around to visiting?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI\'m embarrassed to say that I heard about Arcosanti in 1995 when I moved to Arizona.  I think it was in the \"Welcome to Arizona\" brochure or something similar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was intrigued by Arcosanti\'s claim to fame:  the famous wind bells designed by Italian artist Paolo Soleri.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYes, I said wind <em>bells</em>, not wind <em>chimes.  </em>There\'s a difference.  Which you will hear for yourselves in just a sec.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is Arcosanti, you ask?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s an urban laboratory experiment in the middle of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr as <a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/community\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>their website</strong></a> states:  \"Arcosanti is an urban laboratory focused on innovative design, community, and environmental accountability. Our goal is to actively pursue lean alternatives to urban sprawl based on Paolo Soleri\'s theory of compact city design, <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.arcosanti.org/arcology\" target=\"_blank\">Arcology</a> </em></strong>(<em>arc</em>hitecture + ec<em>ology</em>).\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere are approximately 60 adults and children that call Arcosanti home, and this number increases during workshop season.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGroovy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYep.  You guessed it.  Arcosanti was born in the 70s.  It\'s got hippy written all over it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a sudden urge to break out into <a href=\"http://www.veoh.com/watch/v6366488pdF6JYTp?h1=EAGLES+-+PEACEFUL+EASY+FEELING\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>\"Peaceful Easy Feeling\"</strong></a> right about now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFOR 17 YEARS I\'ve wanted to visit Arcosanti.  And then one day a few weeks ago A New Friend invited me.  In fact, New Friend suggested it as a \"Playdate Idea\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee?  I really do listen to your suggestions, dear readers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNew Friend and I schlepped 1.5 hours out into the desert to enter the Urban Laboratory.  (Technically, it took 2 hours because we were yakking away and passed the exit by a long shot.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-765/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11222\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11222\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030003-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-766/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11223\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11223\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030005-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe desert really is beautiful, no?  Don\'t you get a peaceful easy feeling just looking at it?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you thought the Eagles were high when they wrote that song.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-770/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11230\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11230\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300071-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11229\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P90300201-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, so the Eagles were undoubtedly high for most (if not all) of the 70s, but my point is that you don\'t need to get high to enjoy the beauty of the desert.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis has been a PSA by Late Bloomer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-767/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11233\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11233\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-771/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11243\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11243\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030019-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am one of those people on a tour that doesn\'t hesitate to ask questions.  Lots and lots of questions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI try to filter my questions, as I want my fellow tour members to have the opportunity to pose their own questions.  However, I\'ve observed throughout the years that most people suddenly become shy and clam up in tour situations.  I therefore feel a responsibility and a duty to pipe up so that the tour guide doesn\'t develop a complex.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Arcosanti tour was no exception.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour questions tend to be relevant and (if I may say so myself) interesting.  Upon seeing this site on the Arcosanti tour, what would have been your question?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-768/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11239\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11239\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030025-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFor me, it was obvious.  We were touring a peaceful easy kinda place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:  </strong>\"How often are there pool parties down yonder?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Pretty often.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Are they . . . . you know . . . . <em>free</em>?\"  * wink, wink *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"Huh?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"You know . . . . au natural?  In the buff?  Bathing suit optional?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"No.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>   \"Oh.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* awkward silence *\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Me:</strong>  \"Well . . . . I bet there were plenty of naked pool parties here in the 70s!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Tour Guide:</strong>  \"I don\'t think so.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong></strong><strong>Me: </strong> <em>Riiiiight.</em>  And there\'s some beachfront property in that neighboring Arizona town that the guys from The Eagles will sell you after this tour is over.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOk, ok!  Enough of my irreverence!  Arcosanti is a unique and special place.  I highly recommend a visit. Plan to come at lunch for a delish and nutrish smorgasbord of homemade delights.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, yes.  And then there\'s the famous wind bells.  They are made by artisans at Arcosanti, and you can locate them all over the property.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-772/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11244\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11244\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030013-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/playdate-35-have-you-ever-urban-experimented/olympus-digital-camera-773/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11245\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11245\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9030015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTake a look and listen for yourselves.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/zu_YqU1aKZI\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOddball that I am, I waited 17 years to descend on Arcosanti and didn\'t buy a bell.  Can you believe this???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.cosanti.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Cosanti</strong>,</a> here I come!  And I promise to be quicker this time around.  I am currently building my secret garden patio, and I will need to add finishing touches in approximately 17 days.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #35:  Have You Ever Urban Experimented? ','','inherit','open','open','','11219-revision-35','','','2012-09-28 13:46:48','2012-09-28 20:46:48','',11219,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/28/11219-revision-35/',0,'revision','',0),(11271,1,'2012-10-02 01:11:47','2012-10-02 08:11:47','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-774/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, I am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and jiving to marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo???  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter due to the violence.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6-04-20-pm/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these stupid Americans playing fútbol/soccer or football/football?  And what the heck is an Ahwatukee?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  The thunderous claps didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe thick, vinegary atmosphere instantaneously attracted a plague of bugs.  Obviously, these bugs were in no way, shape or form related to flies because as your mother always told you, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-775/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  For most of the evening, the ones from our team stood with their flashy pom poms on their hips and looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-776/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat incessantly, stuff my face, and attempt to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhen was the last time you attended a Friday night high school football game?  Do tell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','publish','open','open','','playdate-36-friday-night-lights','','','2012-11-26 19:38:59','2012-11-27 02:38:59','',0,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?p=11271',0,'post','',2),(11272,1,'2012-09-30 17:46:41','2012-10-01 00:46:41','I am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Why not?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  We live in Suburbia!!!!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI thought she was kidding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision','','','2012-09-30 17:46:41','2012-10-01 00:46:41','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(11273,1,'2012-09-30 17:48:41','2012-10-01 00:48:41','I am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Why not?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI thought she was kidding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I grew up in H-town.','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-2','','','2012-09-30 17:48:41','2012-10-01 00:48:41','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(11274,1,'2012-09-30 17:50:41','2012-10-01 00:50:41','I am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Why not?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI thought she was kidding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should take','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-3','','','2012-09-30 17:50:41','2012-10-01 00:50:41','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(11275,1,'2012-09-30 18:02:14','2012-10-01 01:02:14','I am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI thought she was kidding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNow, let me remind you that I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd I used to go to all of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut I NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-4','','','2012-09-30 18:02:14','2012-10-01 01:02:14','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(11280,1,'2012-09-30 18:14:12','2012-10-01 01:14:12','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','Just a couple of girls reliving their glory days! ','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-774','','','2012-09-30 18:14:12','2012-10-01 01:14:12','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(11277,1,'2012-09-30 18:02:58','2012-10-01 01:02:58','I am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, let me remind you that I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to all of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">13,369 announced attendance at the Ahwatukee Bowl. Each school\'s enrollment around 3,500.\r\n\r\n— Pedro Gomez (@pedrogomezESPN) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pedrogomezESPN/status/244289198411116544\" data-datetime=\"2012-09-08T04:20:58+00:00\">September 8, 2012</a></blockquote>\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-6','','','2012-09-30 18:02:58','2012-10-01 01:02:58','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(11276,1,'2012-09-30 18:02:49','2012-10-01 01:02:49','I am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, let me remind you that I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to all of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p>13,369 announced attendance at the Ahwatukee Bowl. Each school\'s enrollment around 3,500.</p>&mdash; Pedro Gomez (@pedrogomezESPN) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/pedrogomezESPN/status/244289198411116544\" data-datetime=\"2012-09-08T04:20:58+00:00\">September 8, 2012</a></blockquote>\r\n<script src=\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"></script>','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-5','','','2012-09-30 18:02:49','2012-10-01 01:02:49','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(11279,1,'2012-09-30 18:07:12','2012-10-01 01:07:12','I am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI thought she was kidding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNow, let me remind you that I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd I used to go to all of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\n\n&nbsp;\n\ntweet screenshot\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-7','','','2012-09-30 18:07:12','2012-10-01 01:07:12','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(11281,1,'2012-09-30 18:15:46','2012-10-01 01:15:46','','Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM','','inherit','open','open','','screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6-04-20-pm','','','2012-09-30 18:15:46','2012-10-01 01:15:46','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(11286,1,'2012-09-30 19:35:31','2012-10-01 02:35:31','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-775','','','2012-09-30 19:35:31','2012-10-01 02:35:31','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(11283,1,'2012-09-30 19:15:34','2012-10-01 02:15:34','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280 \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of girls reliving their glory days![/caption]\n\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI thought she was kidding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nbug photo\n\n&nbsp;\n\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnsley photo\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPuppy bowl embed\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-8','','','2012-09-30 19:15:34','2012-10-01 02:15:34','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(11287,1,'2012-09-30 19:38:08','2012-10-01 02:38:08','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','Lucky kid.  ','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-776','','','2012-09-30 19:38:08','2012-10-01 02:38:08','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(11288,1,'2012-09-30 19:42:50','2012-10-01 02:42:50','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\n\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI thought she was kidding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\n\n&nbsp;\n\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-9','','','2012-09-30 19:42:50','2012-10-01 02:42:50','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(11289,1,'2012-09-30 19:42:54','2012-10-01 02:42:54','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-10','','','2012-09-30 19:42:54','2012-10-01 02:42:54','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(11290,1,'2012-09-30 19:43:25','2012-10-01 02:43:25','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-11','','','2012-09-30 19:43:25','2012-10-01 02:43:25','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(11292,1,'2012-09-30 19:44:12','2012-10-01 02:44:12','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-12','','','2012-09-30 19:44:12','2012-10-01 02:44:12','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(11293,1,'2012-10-01 20:31:41','2012-10-02 03:31:41','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, I am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and jiving to marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo???  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter due to the violence.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these stupid Americans playing fútbol/soccer or football/football?  And what the heck is an Ahwatukee?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  The thunderous claps didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe thick, vinegary atmosphere instantaneously attracted a plague of bugs.  Obviously, these bugs were in no way, shape or form related to flies because as your mother always told you, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  For most of the evening, the ones from our team stood with their flashy pom poms on their hips and looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat incessantly, stuff my face, and attempt to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhen was the last time you attended a Friday night high school football game?  Do tell.  (In the comments section below.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-autosave','','','2012-10-01 20:31:41','2012-10-02 03:31:41','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(11294,1,'2012-09-30 20:04:03','2012-10-01 03:04:03','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-777','','','2012-09-30 20:04:03','2012-10-01 03:04:03','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(11295,1,'2012-09-30 19:50:48','2012-10-01 02:50:48','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-13','','','2012-09-30 19:50:48','2012-10-01 02:50:48','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(11296,1,'2012-09-30 20:11:56','2012-10-01 03:11:56','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-14','','','2012-09-30 20:11:56','2012-10-01 03:11:56','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(11297,1,'2012-09-30 20:21:38','2012-10-01 03:21:38','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-15','','','2012-09-30 20:21:38','2012-10-01 03:21:38','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(11298,1,'2012-09-30 20:21:48','2012-10-01 03:21:48','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-16','','','2012-09-30 20:21:48','2012-10-01 03:21:48','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(11299,1,'2012-09-30 20:23:34','2012-10-01 03:23:34','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-17','','','2012-09-30 20:23:34','2012-10-01 03:23:34','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(11300,1,'2012-09-30 20:23:43','2012-10-01 03:23:43','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the bugs liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-18','','','2012-09-30 20:23:43','2012-10-01 03:23:43','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(11301,1,'2012-10-04 01:11:05','2012-10-04 08:11:05',' \r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/04/playdate-37-arizona-wine-country-yes-wine-country-in-az/olympus-digital-camera-778/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11305\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11305\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9160030-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/04/playdate-37-arizona-wine-country-yes-wine-country-in-az/img00265-20120916-1643/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11304\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11304\" title=\"IMG00265-20120916-1643\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/IMG00265-20120916-1643-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\nA little over a year ago, I was sipping wine in Tuscany.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nA week and a half ago, I wine tasted my way through central Arizona.  I bet you didn\'t know Arizona was a budding wine mecca, did you?  (Unless you live here, of course.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nStudy the photos above, per favore.  Now tell me which was taken in Arizona and which was taken in Tuscany.  Share your guess in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you for playing Name That Wine Country!  ☺\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #37: Arizona Wine Country. Believe It or Not.','','publish','open','open','','playdate-37-arizona-wine-country-yes-wine-country-in-az','','','2012-10-04 09:08:11','2012-10-04 16:08:11','',0,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?p=11301',0,'post','',10),(11302,1,'2012-09-30 20:33:41','2012-10-01 03:33:41','','Playdate #37:  Arizona Wine Country.  (Yes.  I said, \"Arizona\".)','','inherit','open','open','','11301-revision','','','2012-09-30 20:33:41','2012-10-01 03:33:41','',11301,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11301-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(11303,1,'2012-09-30 20:34:37','2012-10-01 03:34:37','','Unnamed','','inherit','open','open','','unnamed-6','','','2012-09-30 20:34:37','2012-10-01 03:34:37','',11301,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Unnamed.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(11304,1,'2012-09-30 20:35:02','2012-10-01 03:35:02','','IMG00265-20120916-1643','','inherit','open','open','','img00265-20120916-1643','','','2012-09-30 20:35:02','2012-10-01 03:35:02','',11301,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/IMG00265-20120916-1643.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(11305,1,'2012-09-30 20:42:11','2012-10-01 03:42:11','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-778','','','2012-09-30 20:42:11','2012-10-01 03:42:11','',11301,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9160030.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(11306,1,'2012-09-30 20:43:53','2012-10-01 03:43:53','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11305\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11305\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11305\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9160030-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>','Playdate #37:  Arizona Wine Country.  (Yes.  I said, \"Arizona\".)','','inherit','open','open','','11301-revision-2','','','2012-09-30 20:43:53','2012-10-01 03:43:53','',11301,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11301-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(11307,1,'2012-09-30 20:27:18','2012-10-01 03:27:18','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-19','','','2012-09-30 20:27:18','2012-10-01 03:27:18','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/09/30/11271-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(11308,1,'2012-10-01 15:52:48','2012-10-01 22:52:48','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-20','','','2012-10-01 15:52:48','2012-10-01 22:52:48','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(11309,1,'2012-10-01 15:52:54','2012-10-01 22:52:54','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-21','','','2012-10-01 15:52:54','2012-10-01 22:52:54','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(11310,1,'2012-10-01 15:53:09','2012-10-01 22:53:09','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong>Streaker!  </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-22','','','2012-10-01 15:53:09','2012-10-01 22:53:09','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-22/',0,'revision','',0),(11311,1,'2012-10-01 15:55:16','2012-10-01 22:55:16','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Michelle\'s Ahwatukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: small;\">Streaker! </span> </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-23','','','2012-10-01 15:55:16','2012-10-01 22:55:16','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(11312,1,'2012-10-01 15:56:40','2012-10-01 22:56:40','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n10.  Throngs of people.  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n9.  Stadium junk food of the night:  Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n7.  Boom Boom Crash!  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n5.  How about those cheerleaders?  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n4.  Halftime!  Yay!  I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1.  <strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: small;\">Streaker! </span> </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-24','','','2012-10-01 15:56:40','2012-10-01 22:56:40','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(11313,1,'2012-10-01 16:00:39','2012-10-01 23:00:39','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>1.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: small;\"><strong>Streaker!</strong> </span> </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-25','','','2012-10-01 16:00:39','2012-10-01 23:00:39','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-25/',0,'revision','',0),(11314,1,'2012-10-01 16:00:46','2012-10-01 23:00:46','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>1.  <span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: small;\"><strong>Streaker!</strong> </span> </strong>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-26','','','2012-10-01 16:00:46','2012-10-01 23:00:46','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-26/',0,'revision','',0),(11315,1,'2012-10-01 16:01:20','2012-10-01 23:01:20','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-27','','','2012-10-01 16:01:20','2012-10-01 23:01:20','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-27/',0,'revision','',0),(11316,1,'2012-10-01 16:02:17','2012-10-01 23:02:17','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-28','','','2012-10-01 16:02:17','2012-10-01 23:02:17','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-28/',0,'revision','',0),(11317,1,'2012-10-01 16:03:21','2012-10-01 23:03:21','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Jr. Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-29','','','2012-10-01 16:03:21','2012-10-01 23:03:21','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-29/',0,'revision','',0),(11318,1,'2012-10-01 16:08:51','2012-10-01 23:08:51','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-30','','','2012-10-01 16:08:51','2012-10-01 23:08:51','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-30/',0,'revision','',0),(11319,1,'2012-10-01 16:08:58','2012-10-01 23:08:58','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend.  She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-31','','','2012-10-01 16:08:58','2012-10-01 23:08:58','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-31/',0,'revision','',0),(11320,1,'2012-10-01 16:10:25','2012-10-01 23:10:25','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split to go watch <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-32','','','2012-10-01 16:10:25','2012-10-01 23:10:25','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-32/',0,'revision','',0),(11321,1,'2012-10-01 16:18:58','2012-10-01 23:18:58','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, no?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-33','','','2012-10-01 16:18:58','2012-10-01 23:18:58','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-33/',0,'revision','',0),(11322,1,'2012-10-01 16:20:26','2012-10-01 23:20:26','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu for an upcoming playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-34','','','2012-10-01 16:20:26','2012-10-01 23:20:26','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-34/',0,'revision','',0),(11323,1,'2012-10-01 16:21:33','2012-10-01 23:21:33','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-35','','','2012-10-01 16:21:33','2012-10-01 23:21:33','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-35/',0,'revision','',0),(11324,1,'2012-10-01 16:23:06','2012-10-01 23:23:06','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us liked it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-36','','','2012-10-01 16:23:06','2012-10-01 23:23:06','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-36/',0,'revision','',0),(11325,1,'2012-10-01 16:24:55','2012-10-01 23:24:55','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it. \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, eat, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-37','','','2012-10-01 16:24:55','2012-10-01 23:24:55','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-37/',0,'revision','',0),(11326,1,'2012-10-01 16:26:15','2012-10-01 23:26:15','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it. \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;feature=share&amp;list=EC9BA9575EC8DC6D1C\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong> </a>to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-38','','','2012-10-01 16:26:15','2012-10-01 23:26:15','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-38/',0,'revision','',0),(11327,1,'2012-10-01 16:28:09','2012-10-01 23:28:09','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  Were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it. \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-39','','','2012-10-01 16:28:09','2012-10-01 23:28:09','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-39/',0,'revision','',0),(11328,1,'2012-10-01 16:32:42','2012-10-01 23:32:42','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I kept thinking that we were going to be the next stadium stampede to make news around the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it. \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-40','','','2012-10-01 16:32:42','2012-10-01 23:32:42','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-40/',0,'revision','',0),(11329,1,'2012-10-01 16:36:50','2012-10-01 23:36:50','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these silly Tukee kids playing futbol or football? \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it. \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-41','','','2012-10-01 16:36:50','2012-10-01 23:36:50','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-41/',0,'revision','',0),(11330,1,'2012-10-01 19:39:13','2012-10-02 02:39:13','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, I am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these silly Tukee kids playing futbol or football?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-42','','','2012-10-01 19:39:13','2012-10-02 02:39:13','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-42/',0,'revision','',0),(11331,1,'2012-10-01 19:40:00','2012-10-02 02:40:00','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, I am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these silly Tukee kids playing futbol or football?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-43','','','2012-10-01 19:40:00','2012-10-02 02:40:00','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-43/',0,'revision','',0),(11332,1,'2012-10-01 19:40:59','2012-10-02 02:40:59','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, I am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo???  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these silly Tukee kids playing futbol or football?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-44','','','2012-10-01 19:40:59','2012-10-02 02:40:59','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-44/',0,'revision','',0),(11334,1,'2012-10-01 19:43:45','2012-10-02 02:43:45','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo????  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these silly Tukee kids playing futbol/soccer or football/football?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-46','','','2012-10-01 19:43:45','2012-10-02 02:43:45','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-46/',0,'revision','',0),(11333,1,'2012-10-01 19:41:10','2012-10-02 02:41:10','[caption id=\"attachment_11280\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11280\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11280\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11280  \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Just a couple of chicks reliving their glory days![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not a fan of football.  Yawn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, I am a fan of mingling with friends, eating occasional stadium junk food, and marching bands.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo when Christy Jo invited me to the big local rivalry high school football game, I accepted.  It had been 25 years since I had been to a Friday night football game.  Sounded like old-fashioned fun!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChristy Jo picked me up at 6:30 on Friday night with her freshly injured Junior Varsity teenager and 8 year-old in tow.  We all wore white in support of Desert Vista High School.  Go team!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the way to the game, Christy Jo informed me that over 10,000 people were expected to attend. She hoped that gang fights didn\'t break out like at last year\'s game.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Whatchyoutalkinbout, Christy Jo???  Gang fights?!?!?!  At the high school football game???  We live in Suburbia!!!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI thought she was kidding.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShe wasn\'t kidding.  You can read all about it <a href=\"http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20120905ahwatukee-bowl-security-plan.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here.</strong> </a>  Last year\'s game had to be called off in the 3rd quarter.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI wondered if Christy Jo would let me and the 8 year-old split.  We still had time to catch the next showing of <em>Brave</em> at the mall.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Christy Jo is one of those suck-it-up-buttercup types.  As we entered the stadium, I kept my mouth shut and my wits about me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>I made a mental note that I should consider taking Kung Fu as a playdate/preparation for next year\'s game.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow, I went to high school in Texas.  I think we would all agree that Texas and high school football are synonymous, correct?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I used to go to <em>all</em> of the Friday night football games!  I even dated a star football player my senior year!  We were so different from one another.  It was very Romeo and Juliet.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut I have NEVER witnessed anything like the insanity of The Ahwatukee Bowl.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11281\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11281\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11281\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-09-30 at 6.04.20 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-shot-2012-09-30-at-6.04.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong>Late Bloomer\'s Tukee Bowl Recap</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>10.  Throngs of people.</strong>  Forget the gang warfare!  I couldn\'t stop thinking that we were about to be the next stadium stampede to make global news.  The rest of the world would be thoroughly confused.  Were these silly Tukee kids playing futbol or football?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>9.  Stadium junk food of the night:</strong>  <strong>Giant pretzel dipped in nasty nacho cheese.</strong>  I ate half, regretted it, and gave the other half to an ecstatic 8 year-old already pumped up on Jamba Juice and hot dogs.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>8.  From my vantage point, the majority of the crowd was over the age of 40.</strong>  I was either in a sea of mid-life crises or an ocean of hyper-supportive parents.  Teens steered clear in their own section.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>7.  Boom Boom Crash!</strong>  And it didn\'t come from the marching band.  We had been experiencing a rare wet-stuff-falling-out-of-the-sky week in the desert, and a light drizzle sprinkled the crowd.  A crowd clad in white t-shirts, I remind you.  Thankfully, we were spared a downpour and subsequently Ahwatukee\'s Largest White T-Shirt Contest.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>6.  The rain was short-lived, and there we sat shoulder to shoulder in a swamp of humidity.</strong>  People started to sweat, and someone smelled like vinegar.  Had my sister been there, she would have dry heaved fo sho.  It was disgusting.  But the plague of bugs that descended on us seemed to revel in it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11286\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11286\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11286\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11286\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070037-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Those black dots are bugs, people!!![/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>5.  How about those cheerleaders?</strong>  Well, the ones from our team looked bored.  But across the field, the Mountain Point cheerleaders performed like the U.S. Women\'s Gymnastics Team!  Look for them in Rio in 2016.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>4.  Halftime!  Yay!  </strong>I always love a good show.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>3.  When halftime was over, I was talked out, stuffed, and tired.</strong>  So was the 8 year-old who started to get cranky and begged for a back scratch until she finally zonked.  I, too, pleaded for a back scratch and a lap to sleep in, but all I got was a suck-it-up-buttercup look.  I desperately hoped for a fight and a 3rd quarter release, but no such luck this year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11287\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=11287\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11287\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11287\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/P9070040-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Lucky kid.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>2.  I apologize, but I can\'t tell you a thing about the game because I don\'t watch football.  </strong>I chat, stuff my face, and try to stay awake by dancing to the marching band.  I tried to explain this to you earlier.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_11294\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/02/playdate-36-friday-night-lights/olympus-digital-camera-777/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11294\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-11294\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/P9070042-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a> Mountain Point wins! Their fans in black rushed the field. Don\'t ask me what the score was.[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>1.  <strong>Streaker!</strong>  </strong></span>I blinked, and I missed it.  Except for the very tail end.  Ba dump bump.  I am beside that myself that I failed to capture this streaking fool on video to show you today.  A YouTube search turned up fruitless.  Except for this happy memory from the only football game that I have ever enjoyed watching.  (Click <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmguLIpU6C0&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL9BA9575EC8DC6D1C&amp;feature=results_main\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>here</strong></a> to watch for yourselves!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #36:  Friday Night Lights','','inherit','open','open','','11271-revision-45','','','2012-10-01 19:41:10','2012-10-02 02:41:10','',11271,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/10/01/11271-revision-45/',0,'revision','',0),