Heat and the Arizona way

Arizona.  Land of beautiful sunsets, stunning deserts and the Grand Canyon.  So what does this state have to offer?  Well, where do I start?  Of course every state has its fine points.  We have lots of land to roam around, different climates no matter the time of year, wonderful places to eat out and once you get out of the city, we even have some nice people in this state.  So where is the problem?
Well, Arizona has an image of the wild west.  People can carry guns whenever and whereever they want.  This is not a bad thing, the bad part starts when you have people wanting to control those who do carry, or sometimes with the people who do carry not being responsble when they are.   For the record, I do not carry a gun, heck, I don't even own a handgun nor do I have the desire to.  Still though, its called the 2nd admendment for a reason.  Part of the big reason Arizona has issues is because our State Senate cannot keep their noses out of the people business.  The people in AZ will vote in a law (use SB 1070 as an example) and the next thing happening is its being tested in court.  I am of the opinion that once the people speak, they have spoken.  Let it be or risk not getting reelected.
OK, OK, I am not going to make this a long political rant because for the most part, they do an ok job.  (nor am I going to make this about gun control)  Moving on...the people who live in the city, namely the Valley of the Sun, care about one thing and one thing only...themselves.  People here, with few exceptions, will drive right by when you need assistance on the road with a flat tire.  They will look the other way when someone needs help with pretty much anything.  Yeah, its this way in most big cities and thats why most big cities have major issues, just like Arizona.  There is just no sense of community here.
Well what about the Grand Canyon?  The Parks and recreation?  The great outdoors?  Arizona does have some great recreational activities going for it.  The Grand Canyon is grand to say the least and is a major attraction.  Theres lots and lots of land to explore and old ruins to see.  We have some great mountains, awsome hiking, skiing in the winter, sports teams, etc..etc..all this is great if you want to spend your time in 115 degree heat all summer.  Arizona averages 100 degree days on May 13th each year and those hot days have come as early as March 26th and stayed as late as October 23rd.  Thats alot of heat and those are 100 degree days, not 99 degree days.  Trust me when I say it doesn't go from 100 to 70 overnight.  Arizona AVERAGES 106 days a year of over 100 degrees according to the National Weather Service.  Thats 3.5 months of stupid heat.  (included in the heat is 110 degree days, 115 degree days and sometimes 120 degree days)  Now you will hear its a dry heat.  Yeah, so is your oven, so go stick your head in a 115 degree oven for 6 hours to get an idea of the heat here.
Glad your still reading.  The people here tend to be band-wagon jumpers.  Because AZ is such a metling pot of different communities from around the nation, people have different ideas of what community means.  Mostly its just people looking out for themselves.  Now this is not always the case.  There are some people who are genuinly interested in others well being.  If there were not, we would not have all the homeless shelters, animal shelters and other community places wheres people can get help.  So there is a small bright side to living here. 
So why do I stay here you may be asking yourself?  Why don't you just move some place else?  Well, this is my home state.  I love Arizona and I want to see it be successful.  Yes, we have our issues but those are thing s that we can work through.  Arizona has the potential to be the most successful state in the U.S. We could be a power house economically and socially, we just need to get a sense of community and decide to do what is right for our State as a whole, not for specific individuals.  Get ahold of the growing crime and drug problem.  Balance the budget and stop cutting the budget for parks and recreation.  There are plenty of special issue groups that could raise money without using our tax dollars.  Of course, the politicians also want their share and owe favors to those how paid for them to get elected but thats a topic for another day.
End of rant.