Home on Arizona

 

I live in a city called, "Wake Village." Its population is 5,392 as of 2019 and is a little less than 3 square miles. It is on the outskirts of Texarkana and you'd have to cross under Interstate 369 (that is only 2 miles and really goes nowhere) to get into Texarkana. 

Wake Village was founded in 1942 and used for housing for the Red River Army Depot, which is a few miles from here. The city was named after Wake Island. There are streets called, "Burma," "Manilla," and "Singapore." At first I couldn't figure out why in this tiny little place there would be a street called, Arizona. Then I read the city's history. Bingo. The USS Arizona had just sunk and those in charge paid tribute.

I live on Arizona Avenue. My house is one of the newer ones, built in 2002. It is in a quiet area, near the woods and about a mile from Marty's job. At first I thought we'd make lots of jokes about the coincidence between being from Arizona and living on Arizona, but it hasn't panned out that way. Instead this is just home. 

The Nextdoor App

I became familiar with the Nextdoor App while living in Mesa. And sometimes, when I was totally bored, I'd spend a few minutes, cuddled up on the sofa, a big bowl of popcorn and entertain myself by reading the comments. This was a usual snippet: 

Post: I see that nobody respects the mask optional policy and all you Trump supporters need to die!!! 

Replies: I soo agree. I hope they all find Covid and keel off leaving the rest of us alone. 

Other Reply: Mind your business you people stole the election. 

or

Post: I'm rehoming my cat. 

Reply: How could you be so cruel! You must be a Biden voter. 

Other Reply: I need bait in the dog fights. I will take your cat. 

Next Reply: How dare you! I bet you aren't vaxxed!

or

Post: Did anyone hear the gunshots in front of the Bank of America at 2 p.m. today? There were a lot of police cars in that parking lot right afterwards. Any idea what was happening? 

Reply: Too bad (insert politician/celebrity/person in the news) wasn't shot. That'd make the world better. 

Here is what I'm finding on the Nextdoor App in Small Town America. 

Poster: I lost my dog. Here's a picture. 

Reply: I have an hour, I can help you search. Where did you last see your puppy? 

Next Reply: My neighbor just found a dog who looks like yours. I will put you in touch. 

or 

Poster: Escaped convict from the Federal Pen. 

Reply: Here's more information on the guy. 

Other reply: I googled his name. He was in for drugs. On Facebook it says he has a friend about five miles from the prison.

Reply: They caught him! The police went to the friend who ratted him out. All your doors can unlock now. 

More replies: Thank you Jesus/Great news/Hope they throw the book at him.   

or--and this was my absolute favorite!  

Poster: Free cast iron frying pan. Nothing wrong with it. 

Me: I need a frying pan, when can I pick it up?  

I'm Not Making This Up

Fish rain from sky in Texarkana

by: Carolyn Roy

Posted: Dec 29, 2021 / 06:43 PM CST / Updated: Dec 29, 2021 / 11:33 PM CST

TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – It “rained fish” for a few minutes in Texarkana Wednesday afternoon as storms moved through the area.

It happened around 4:30 p.m., according to James Audirsch, who works at the Orr Maxx used car dealership on Summerhill Road. He says he and his co-worker Brad Pratt heard loud noises and looked outside only to see fish falling from the sky.

“There was a loud crack of thunder and when we opened up the bay door, I looked outside and it was raining real hard and a fish hit the ground, and then I said, ‘It’s raining fish!’ Brad was like, ‘No it’s not,’ and I’m like, “No, it really is!'” and fish were droppin’ here and everywhere.”

Small fish could be seen sprinkled throughout the parking lot of the dealership, as well as the one across the street and the tire shop next door. Some were 4-5 inches long and appeared to be young white bass.

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS staff))

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo: KTAL/KMSS Staff)

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  It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

It briefly rained fish in Texarkana, Texas on Thursday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. (Photo courtesy: Brad Pratt)

“Raining fish” is believed to be the result of a rare meteorological phenomenon in which a water spout moving over water sucks up small creatures such as fish and frogs, carrying them along until they lose steam before dropping their stunned passengers.

Strong winds created by tornadoes or hurricanes can also send small species raining from the sky, according to the Library of Congress.

Similar incidents have been reported in which frogs and toads have also been seen falling from the sky. In 2017, fish fell from the sky over an elementary school in California.

The Tornado Siren

It is no secret Polly is a bit of a weather nerd. In the 14 days we've been here, she's had plenty of opportunities to embrace her passion for high and low pressure systems. On Christmas it was warmer here than where my brother lives in Boca Raton (80 degrees). It is supposed to be a high of 40 on Sunday, which is fine by me, because I'm kinda sorta tired of warm temps. Plus the rain comes out of nowhere. NOWHERE! 

I'm realizing now how spoiled Arizonans are when it comes to such things. We don't need to check the weather on an hourly basis to see if an umbrella is needed. Which reminds me, I really should pick one of those things up. 

Anyway, back to Polly. Yesterday after mild temps, the clouds started to darken, a little bit of water was spitting from the sky and Polly began checking for tornado alerts. She announced to all of us, if there is an issue we were to immediately drop what we were doing and go huddle in the hall bathroom. "Please make sure you've unpacked it by then," was my answer. To be fair, while walking around Home Depot the other day, she alerted us to where their storm shelter was too, so this type of announcement wasn't new to us. 

As the clouds grew darker, she started asking my opinion. "Do those look like tornado clouds?" I wasn't sure what answer she was looking for. The only tornado I'd ever lived through happened at night. And besides, I am not sure what a "tornado cloud" looks like. 

"Possibly," I offered. Polly was delighted. She ran around closing windows, re-instructing us on how to take shelter if the moment should arise. "Don't forget to unpack your bathroom," I replied as I worked on unloading boxes in the kitchen. 

An hour later, the drama subsided. Polly, disappointed, called me to the window ("We don't open the doors during tornado warnings, Mom." "Dear, I'm pretty sure there wasn't a warning." "Don't mess with this level of danger, Mom.") to show me where the clouds are parting and the sun was shining. Marty hadn't left the garage, where he was putting up shelving. Buckaroo was still assembling the kitchen chairs. We now have silverware in a drawer but the coffee maker is MIA. The hall bath still hadn't been unpacked, I guess allowing us to sit on boxes if we were going to hunker down in there at a later date. 

Queen Regina

 On Monday morning, my back aching from sleeping on the floor and tired of having to run to the dollar store for the basics (in this case band-aids because we had to buy a kitchen knife and it was a bit sharp), I called U-Haul to ask if I could get my stuff early. After all, what does "some time in January" truly mean? 

I will spare you the drama, but needless to say, U-Haul made a few mistakes along the way and our stuff was being held for ransom--unfortunately, nobody managed to tell me this until I called. Otherwise we could have had our worldly belongings before Christmas. 

Anyway, after an hour, I talked to Regina. She was the first person I spoke to who didn't brush me off, transfer me or explain that she simply couldn't help me. In fact, she did help. She took care of the basic issue (they wanted payment--but neglected to tell me this. In my defense, I thought I paid when it was delivered). When we were done, I asked to speak to her manager. I wanted to praise Regina for being so awesome. Anyone who can put up with my cranky-sore-back-I've-been-on-hold-and-transferred-to-who-knows-where voice and not flinch deserves high praise.  

When Regina's manager came on, I made sure to focus on Regina and how I'd been shuffled around and had not even realized there was an issue at all until Regina took charge. Perhaps Ms. Manager sensed my frustration or perhaps it was because I asked to speak with her and all I did was speak kindly about my experience with her employee. Whatever the case, Ms. Manager started tapping on her computer, made some magic happen and our stuff was delivered the very next day. 

My back is grateful. 

Random Texarkana

I've been in Texas for a week. For the most part, I'm trying to stay off of the Internet and be present to this new life. At least while everyone is home. Marty starts his new job next week. The kids start school soon after. They can't look for jobs because their birth certificates and other identification were mistakenly put in Pods that are somewhere between Arizona and Texarkana; promised to us, "sometime in January." 

We are currently living out of suitcases and are missing some basics that were supposed to come with us in the Uhaul--thanks to our enthusiastic movers who took boxes they shouldn't have and loaded them into the Pods. We have clothing. We don't have flatware, but are making due with the Dollar Tree's plastic forks and knives. We have glasses now that I went to Goodwill and bought a matching set of seven. We have a cast iron pan because someone on the Nextdoor App was giving one away. Otherwise, we would have just had a Corningware baking dish and two cookie sheets. We have blankets (it was 80 degrees yesterday) and Luna's toys. But we don't have sheets and lamps, neither of which I'm willing to buy for short-term use. So, the adventure continues. 

There's a lot to process of this new life. Most of it is figuring out this, "new" way of doing/going/finding whatever. I thought I'd do a lot of comparing to the way of life I left and what I knew for the past 53 years. I haven't. Instead I feel like I'm just immersing myself in the different. 

Mesa seems like a murky dream at this point, and I find that slightly disturbing how easily I am leaving my life in Arizona behind. I miss my family and friends--all of you. You three readers (even you in DC) I think of often. But I don't miss that life, if it makes any sense. 

Texarkana is an interesting place, in the sense it is nothing I'm used to. We live in a suburb--more on that in a future blog--but are right on the edge of town. Dairy is pricy, but veggies and meat are not. And don't even get me started on under $3.00 a gallon gasoline! Services, like lawncare and yoga studios, seem to be more expensive. Everyone values their time more. 

I think I can live here, at least for five years, which is how long I will commit to at this time, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Maybe longer. There are some smaller-city concerns, like zoning, that make me cringe. But I like the fact Texarkana is quiet and everyone seems kind and friendly. I like my neighborhood. I like the fact I don't have heavy traffic, litter, pollution and "big city" kinds of issues. 

A Weekend in Texas

There's a squirrel on the
other side of that window. 

We got here around 5 p.m. Friday. Marty Sunshine  described our trip best when he said, "Anyone who travels across country with a cat is crazy." 

Friday night everyone got to see their new house for the first time. I'm pleased they like it. That night, we unloaded the Uhaul, ran over to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought dishes and towels and celebrated Marty's birthday with a late dinner. Then Buckroo and I put up the Christmas tree. 

Now it's Sunday morning, and I'm sitting in my new Texas home, nursing a sore throat. Marty is puttering around somewhere and the young adults are making a donut run. Finn is sulking and Luna is circling us, vacillating between wanting to run around the back yard in the cold--where a pesky squirrel is tormenting her--and hoping if she hints enough we will let her on the couch.

Most of our belongings are on pods somewhere and we've been promised them by mid-January.  Apparently those in the freight industry don't work the last two weeks of the year. Yesterday I met a guy who I can hire to help us unload our furniture whenever it arrives. He's also been hired to take care of the drainage in our yard and install a ramp to our storage shed. I like having A Guy. 

Right now most of our boxes we brought with us have been unpacked and this year's Christmas tree has been put up. Trash comes tomorrow so we will finish unpacking.