recession.
Even after the brochure-slash-magazine was released, we got eye-rolls when
we said there would be another. Marc and I went around trying to ask some
business owners if they could put it out for their customers. Some were cool about
it—some looked at us like we were walking in with a contagious virus that would
obliterate humanity. I fully confess we were looking to obliterate a cycle of negativity and
the news that preyed upon the fears of a shell-shocked community that had been blasted by the
“Maricopa is blossoming into one of Arizona’s most diverse cities. It grew over a zillion percent over the last decade.
It was representative of the American Dream, and when the economy plunged, it was the epitome of that dream
collapsing. Growing pains and political hiccups have stalled economic progress, but like much of America, the
community has continued to push forward, determined to make it the community that was envisioned. The families
that have taken the ride, that have invested their heart and soul into this, we plan to be a part of their journey forward.”
Kismet keepin’ it real
Some might say I lost everything when the Recession hit. I suppose all that I had gained in a material sense
disappeared faster than a kid running after the ice-cream truck that just passed the house. I was in the construction
business and the only thing that kept me sane was writing. Others will probably say, I had to lose it all in order to
be here, typing out these words to you. The Others would probably be right. At least that is how I see it too.
The experience of having bologna without a first name is nothing new to me. I grew up in an environment where
we got our food from a donated box with canned milk, a big block of cheese, and that bologna without a name. My
kids on the other hand, haven’t had to experience that, but there were many nights when I was gripped with terror
as to what would happen next for us.
And since it all went down, I haven’t gained any of my so-called material wealth back. As some kind of writer
though, I realize this is what gives me a connection to people that maybe doesn’t happen for the professional
writers out there. I realize it more when people talk to me about making big money. The money is easy to make—if
that is what your goal is.
There is something more to all of this—and what that is, is still in the making. We have to get up everyday knowing
there is a competitive world out there, one that doesn’t always play fair. We enter the ring knowing this, but if you
make it to the last round after your competition has thrown every combination and low blow at you, you gotta feel
pretty good about your chances of winning whatever it is you are fighting for.
I knew once the Recession hit me, I would be fighting for the future of my kids. That fight landed me in Maricopa,
as I wanted to give them a chance to grow up somewhere they could call home. My educated guess tells me I wasn’t
alone in this, and that on every looping street in every HOA, there is a family that landed here because of the same
reasons. Real people, real stories. Everywhere.