 Ever since I was in sixth grade, delivering papers on a bicycle in -10 degree winters in Iowa, I've been on a mission to get out of the dark, white, freezing Midwest winters. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to move away; all my friends and family live here and I love Chicago in the summer. I just want to be far away when the slush, short gray days and bleakness take over. I've had enough of the months of chilly closets, icy water from the tap and cold car interiors that fog up. I still remember finishing my paper route with fingers that were completely numb.
So for January and February 2004, I'm temporarily relocating my business, family and pets to Tucson, an Arizona city of 500,000 where my wife Dorian and I got married five years ago. As of January 1, you can reach me at:
It's a little house with high-speed Internet and two phone lines, near some coffee houses and a YMCA. The city is surrounded by mountains and national parks of saguaro catuses. My landlord says it doesn't go below freezing, hardly ever rains and is sunny a lot.
Heck, even architect Frank Llloyd Wright worked around Chicago, but set up Taliesen West in Arizona during the winters. My office, computer and fax machine will be shipped to the southwest. We'll put the Macaw, African gray parrot and cat in their carriers and pack two big suitcases full of clothes. We'll load everything into our Subaru WRX hatchback and make the 2,000-mile trip by car. I estimate it'll take four to five days, guided by the Streets and Trips program I've loaded onto my laptop.
Because pretty much all my work is online, over the phone or email and via fax and FedEx, I'll be able to keep working as usual. Tucson placed 5th in both America's Best Places to Live 2003 and in Best Places for Outdoor Activities. So if you find yourself in the Sonoran desert near the border with Mexico, give me a call and drop in.
1:52:15 PM 
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