The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
I learn a lot reading the obituaries and not only that I am not among those listed. There is a richness in learning things about people I both knew and never knew. In many cases, I would have likely enjoyed getting to know them.
However, one of the things I have noticed in many of those I read about, not surprisingly, is that the deceased are from somewhere else. Not only that, but many have been interred in the places from which they came. This is, of course, easy to understand.
However, this information has invited me to ponder how much they felt connected to Tucson, besides viewing it as a good place to retire.
Being from somewhere else is an indelible connection to our places of origin. Think family and athletic teams they followed in their youth. Or friendships they have maintained with those with whom they attended high school. (Those folks are still some of my better friends 60+ years later.)
The beautiful thing about meeting up with them years later is that there is no βdowntimeβ in resuming those friendships from so many years ago.
But what is it about our seeming inability to allow ourselves to become integrated into our adopted community? This is a gross generalization because I have known many from elsewhere who have become significant contributors to the Tucson community.
However, when it comes to agreeing to share in the cost to live here, some object. Is it because they do not have children in local schools, and do not feel compelled to support education and other community resources that we all need?
I received an excellent public education in small-town Minnesota. Donβt public school students in Arizona deserve the same? I read that people have moved to Arizona because of the low tax base here. Does this imply that some people who move here do not wish to adequately contribute to what it takes to live in Arizona?
My first wife and I moved to Tucson in 1970 and raised our family here. I note that our children, now living elsewhere, still fondly choose to remain connected to their place of origin.
Over those 50 years, I have chosen to cast my lot with my adopted home and remain connected to the community in a number of ways. I am aware of the positive and negative aspects of living in Tucson, yet it is my home and I will continue to explore ways to contribute to the well-being of the community.
Further, when you read my obit, hopefully not any time soon, I will be interred within my Tucson community. After all, I have lived here longer than anywhere else. This is my chosen home.
