I found my soul mate in 1985. We both were attending Boston University. I graduated and was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Yikes! How was this going to work? About 1500 miles and 2 to 3 time zones (depending on DST which AZ doesn't follow). This was before the internet, before email became common (there was intra-school email, but only top researchers had across the arpanet email), and there was no real alternative way to communicate except ol' Ma Bell. Needless to say I subsidized AT&T for almost 2 years with about $100 a month long distance bills.

The telephone was the only interactive way to communicate at that time. Post cards and letters were used, but not that often. Every second to third evening was spent having a quick talk on the phone. Once a week we had a 'date' on the phone, usually ranging from 30 minutes to an hour. With that kind of contact and a great amount of trust and love we made it work. That and the summer of 1988 was spent together in Tuscon as I continued my graduate work and she had a work study job transcribing language samples for the linguistics department. I coped in other ways as well, by reuniting with my birth religion, volunteering, school, work and sometimes, just driving around Tucson. The most difficult time in the long distance relationship came later that winter into the spring of 1989 as wedding planning progressed. But that is for another time....

P.S. We are celebrating our 20th anniversary this June!

The American classic The Blues Brothers contains many many famous quotes from "We're on a mission from God." to "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." But there is one line that always gets me going and ready for a good time.

"Use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers HAS been approved." - Police Dispatcher (Ralph Foody)

A throwaway line in my favorite musical comedy movie. However, it's not a throwaway line at all. The line initiates one of the largest car/police chase action set pieces in film history. From the state trooper's car launching into the tractor trailer to the dozens of Chicago PD cars piling on each other to the tanks, National Guard and Swat teams descending on the boys, the crescendo is a delight to watch and enjoy.

This is one of those local places that people never seem to go to, but once you do you find it fascinating and wonder why you never went earlier. Their website is full of information if you want to visit:

http://www.stonehengeusa.com/

From their website (I couldn't say it any better):

What is America's Stonehenge?
Built by a Native American Culture or a migrant European population? No one knows for sure. A maze of man-made chambers, walls and ceremonial meeting places, America's Stonehenge is most likely the oldest man-made construction in the United States (over 4000 years old).

Like Stonehenge in England, America's Stonehenge was built by ancient people well versed in astronomy and stone construction. It has been determined that the site is an accurate astronomical calendar. It was, and still can be, used to determine specific solar and lunar events of the year.

Various inscriptions have been found throughout the site including Ogham, Phoenician and Iberian Punic Script. Dr. Barry Fell of Harvard University did extensive work on the inscriptions found at the site. They are detailed in his book America B.C.