On August 18, 1963 we arrived in Tucson.
I remember it clearly.
I was in the backseat of our 1963 Chevy Impala convertible.
The map we used coming across country showed no airport in Tucson.
Off I-10 at Grant Road heading east.
It looked, after Cincinnati, that we had arrived at the end of the earth.
It turned out to be a great place for a young man.
The skies were clear, the sunsets awesome.
Plenty of space and critters everywhere.
Fifty years later the town I love has been fouled.
The air and water are bad.
The hot weather lasts two months longer.
Traffic stinks and crime is rampant.
And the yard went on forever.
The Yard Went on Forever was the title song of Richard Harris’ second album. It was on the flip side of the MacArthur Park 45. Both were written by Jimmy Webb. If you have never heard this song and/or this album, you are in store for a moving, wonderful surprise.
