A few weeks ago superstar Valley poet Bill Campana, knowing that I was leaving Phoenix at the end of June, gave me three sizable U-Haul boxes that he had used during his own recent move. And on Memorial Day he and I had breakfast at the Ranch House Grille. I had this strawberry crepe there.

Then some days later my friends the Plaskos and I had a delicious meal at Dos Los Molinos. I wrote about that at some length in my post “Phoenix Memories.” Here’s a member of the delightful trio of ectoplasmic scamps known as The Deeminz–a Plasko creation.

On the first Friday in June, at the open-mic poetry event at Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, I began my performance by announcing my imminent move to Toledo, Ohio and made a light-hearted reference to my appearance at CHB as being part of my “Farewell Tour.”

My friend of many years, former Arizona State Poetry Society president Christy White, saw the reference to my Farewell Tour and, to my delight, let me know that she wanted to get in on the Farewell Tour too. At her suggestion we went to the Phoenix Art Museum, mainly to see an exhibition of ceramic works by avant-garde female clay artists, and afterwards we had an exotic meal (Thai Shrimp Curry for me, a brie&apple “handheld” for her) at the museum’s café. We also goofed around with pics at a quasi-installational Florentine Baroque gilded frame/stand.

Moving Day is June 30, a mere 17 days from this writing. There is at least one more Farewell Tour event scheduled, the last Esso Coffeehouse Open Mic on June 21st. I hope there will be one or two more.