The Series Nobody Watched

Have you watched any of the World Series? Were you even aware it was underway, and that a game is being played tonight? If not, you’re not alone. The viewership for this year’s World Series between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks is stunningly, astonishingly bad.

ESPN reported the ratings for first game of the Series with a headline that must have sent chills down the spine of every baseball executive: Game 1 least-watched World Series game in recorded history. The headline’s reference to “recorded history” makes it sound like the record goes back to Roman times, when in fact “recorded history” just dates to 1969. Still, the numbers are awful. Game 1 averaged 9.35 million viewers, which set a new record for being unwatched. It was only the sixth World Series game since 1969 that didn’t draw at least 10 million TV viewers. The fact that it outdrew The Price Is Right is cold comfort.

And get this: the viewership statistics for Game 2 were even worse, averaging only 8.15 million viewers on Fox. To give you a sense of just how dismal those numbers are, consider that it was only seven years ago, in 2016, when the classic Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs drew 40.05 million viewers–or about 5 times as many viewers as watched this year’s Game 2.

So what gives? To be sure, the Diamondbacks and the Rangers aren’t big-market teams, and they don’t have the histories and fan bases of teams like the Cubs or the Guardians, or some of the other established baseball clubs. But still, it’s the World Series! Does this mean that there just aren’t that many true baseball fans out there, who care about the Series no matter who is playing? When I was a kid, everyone paid attention to the Series and talked about it–but that apparently isn’t the case anymore. And, to be honest, I haven’t watched a minute of it.

If I were involved in organized baseball, I’d be incredibly concerned about these numbers. There’s no way to spin them. It’s really bad news for a sport that used to be the dominant fixation of virtually everyone in America, and now seems to be withering on the vine.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to everyone! What is better suited to put you into the proper mood on the ghostliest day of the year than a creepy poem about the ghosts all around us? I therefore give you Haunted Houses by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the great 19th century American poet (born in Maine, incidentally) who also wrote Paul Revere’s Ride and The Song of Hiawatha.

Haunted Houses

All houses wherein men have lived and died
Are haunted houses. Through the open doors
The harmless phantoms on their errands glide,
With feet that make no sound upon the floors.

We meet them at the door-way, on the stair,
Along the passages they come and go,
Impalpable impressions on the air,
A sense of something moving to and fro.

There are more guests at table than the hosts
Invited; the illuminated hall
Is thronged with quiet, inoffensive ghosts,
As silent as the pictures on the wall.

The stranger at my fireside cannot see
The forms I see, nor hear the sounds I hear;
He but perceives what is; while unto me
All that has been is visible and clear.

We have no title-deeds to house or lands;
Owners and occupants of earlier dates
From graves forgotten stretch their dusty hands,
And hold in mortmain still their old estates.

The spirit-world around this world of sense
Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere
Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense
A vital breath of more ethereal air.

Our little lives are kept in equipoise
By opposite attractions and desires;
The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,
And the more noble instinct that aspires.

These perturbations, this perpetual jar
Of earthly wants and aspirations high,
Come from the influence of an unseen star
An undiscovered planet in our sky.

And as the moon from some dark gate of cloud
Throws o’er the sea a floating bridge of light,
Across whose trembling planks our fancies crowd
Into the realm of mystery and night,—

So from the world of spirits there descends
A bridge of light, connecting it with this,
O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends,
Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss.

A Sidewalk Story

After years of work, it looks like the ongoing project to rehab the former commercial buildings at the corner of Gay and High Streets in downtown Columbus and convert them to residential units is finally drawing to a finish. Last week, we saw an indicator of impending completion–one that you might call it a sidewalk story.

They started pouring the cement for brand new sidewalks in front of the buildings, as you can see in the photo above. I read that as indicating that the heavy exterior work, at least, is concluded. Construction work proceeds in an organized sequence, with installation of new sidewalks presumably coming at the end of the line because you wouldn’t want to bring big trucks, backhoes, and machinery onto fresh concrete and pulverize it. And from the looks of the buildings themselves, much of the interior work seems to be done as well.

It will be good to see this bit of downtown construction come to an end, so that the orange barriers are taken down and the sidewalk is again open for pedestrian traffic. The patrons of the Gay Street District also are excited because a French bistro-type restaurant is supposed to open in newly refurbished space at the corner, and a new seafood place is going into the building directly across High Street. We’ll always welcome new dining options to our cool downtown neighborhood.

And it will be especially interesting to see what, if anything, goes into the other street-level retail space in these buildings. As I’ve noted before, there is a large appetite for residential space downtown, but retail space has been more of a challenge to lease. We’ll know we’ve reached a critical mass of downtown residents when those storefronts are leased and occupied by businesses providing basic services for people living in the neighborhood.

Getting It Out Of Their System (Hopefully)

Ohio State gutted out a victory over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium last night, 24-10. Playing in a night game before an amped-up crowd of Badger faithful, the Buckeyes brought some tough defense to the table, effectively throttling the Wisconsin offense except for one drive that started the second half and tied the game. Offensively, Marvin Harrison Jr. caught two touchdown passes and had his customary 100-yard game, and the Buckeyes found their running game in the form of TreVeyon Henderson, who rushed for 162 yards and scored the clinching touchdown on a great gallop that saw him run through pretty much the entire Badger defense.

It wasn’t a flawless, dominating win by any means. Quarterback Kyle McCord threw two interceptions–one of which was the result of a really bad decision–and had one fumble, all of which killed decent drives and gave Wisconsin life and kept the score too close for comfort until late in the fourth quarter. We tend to forget that McCord really hasn’t played much until this year, and as a result he’s never known what it’s like to try to march his team down the field in a prime-time game in a hostile environment. He’s now done that in two very tough venues, at Notre Dame and at Wisconsin, and we’ll hope he’s learned from those experiences. We’ll particularly hope that he gets those terrible turnovers out of his system before the toughest road test of all, against That Team Up North at the end of November.

I’ll never take a win against Wisconsin on the road for granted; many good teams have gone into Camp Randall Stadium and come out losers. But what I’ve seen of TTUN this season tells me that if Ohio State loses the turnover battle on November 25 the result is not going to be a happy one for Buckeye Nation. If we want to notch a win in Ann Arbor, we’ll need to hold onto the ball and avoid those bad decisions that lead to interceptions.

The Cost Of Invasive Species

I ran across an interesting article on the cost of the introduction of invasive–some say alien–species to different human habitats. One place where invasive species has wreaked havoc is Lake Victoria in Africa, shown above, where non-native water hyacinth has covered huge sections of the lake, causing problems with boat traffic, aquatic life, hydroelectric dam operations, and mosquito breeding.

Another example, closer to home for a Midwesterner, is the upper Mississippi River, where there has been an onslaught of jumping, non-native carp. The invasion of the Asian carp has raised concerns that the aggressive carp will migrate to the Great Lakes, outcompete native fish for food supplies, ruin recreational fishing, and cause other irreversible environmental damage. That concern has motivated a billion-dollar project to try to keep the carp out of those hugely important bodies of fresh water.

A recent study of invasive species estimates that they cost at least $400 billion a year in damages and lost income. They’ve also threatened native species with extinction and spread disease. All told, the study determined that there are more than 37,000 non-native species breeding and spreading at various places around the globe.

The common denominator of all of these invasive species situations is regrettably, human beings. Invasive species have moved around with humans as we have traveled the globe, hitchhiking on boats and planes, but some of the worst problems have been caused because some genius thought it would be a good idea to bring an alien species to a new place–and then, when that the population of that species has exploded in a place where it has no natural predators, the geniuses often introduce another new species to try to combat the problem and have made things worse.

The water hyacinth that is choking Lake Victoria is thought to have been brought to Rwanda by Belgian colonial officials as an ornamental garden flower before it expanded along African waterways to reach, and then dominate, Lake Victoria. The carp threatening the Great Lakes were imported to the U.S. in 1970s in an effort to control algal blooms in catfish ponds and wastewater treatment plants. And in New Zealand, where rabbits introduced by Europeans overran the countryside, someone decided to import stoats to hunt the rabbits–but the stoats decided to hunt birds instead and decimated the native bird population.

The damage we’ve caused by bad decisions has been devastating, but the issue now is how to fix the damage–and, in the process, not make things worse. One option is to try to make the invasive species into food and eat our way out of the problem. In Kenya, they’ve determined that, with appropriate processing, the water hyacinth in Lake Victoria can be converted into affordable animal feed that seems to increase milk production by cows. That ingenious solution has the dual benefit of combatting an invasive pest and conserving scarce food resources, like maize, for human consumption.

Let’s hope we can find similar solutions for these self-inflicted problems in other places, but let’s also hope that human beings have learned their lesson. Bringing non-native species along for the ride is a really bad idea–and that will be especially true if and when humans move off planet Earth and head to other places. When that happens, we’ll need to be sure to leave those algae-eating fish, rabbits, and ornamental garden flowers at home.

The Power Of Proficient Proofreading

Capable proofreading is a learned skill. Some people work at it and are good at it, some people aren’t, and some people, alas, never understand its value in the first place.

Usually, inept proofreading results in nothing more serious than producing text that is riddled with typos–embarrassing though that may be. Sometimes, however, the consequences can be rather more significant. Ohioans saw an example of that this week.

A group called Citizens Not Politicians wants to change Ohio’s redistricting process to put it in the hands of a citizen-led commission, rather than the politicians who make up the Ohio Redistricting Commission. Unfortunately, CNP realized there was a typo in its proposed amendment language, with the full text of the amendment stating that the citizen redistricting commission must devise new legislative maps by September 19, 2025, while the written synopsis of the proposal identifies September 15 as the deadline. As a result, CNP will have to go through the amendment approval process again, which involves resubmitting its proposed amendment to the Ohio Attorney General and then to the Ohio Ballot Board.

The potential issue with resubmission is that each step in the process will take time, which will reduce the amount of remaining time for CNP to attempt to get petition signatures from Ohio voters sufficient to get the proposal on the ballot. The group needs to collect 413,000 signatures from Ohio voters by July 3, 2024 if it wants meet its goal of getting the amendment proposal on the presidential election ballot in November 2024.

I expect that, after fixing the date mistake, CNP will take a very careful look at the rest of the language to make sure that it is typo-free. And they’ll presumably remember the power of proofreading going forward, too.

The Sign-Stealing Investigation

Last week the NCAA announced that it was investigating That School Up North for potential violations of NCAA rules. People associated with TSUN allegedly were traveling to attend the games of opponents and recording coaches in an effort to determine the signs being used to call plays. NCAA rules don’t specifically ban efforts to steal signs, but they do bar video recording of opposing coaches as well as off-campus, in-person scouting of future opponents in the same season–a rule that was enacted in 1994 to try to level the playing field because not all schools could afford to do it. After the investigation was announced, TSUN suspended Connor Stalions, an assistant on the football team staff.

Yesterday the Washington Post published a story providing some context and background about the NCAA investigation and what caused it. Citing anonymous sources, the Post reported that the “an outside investigative firm approached the NCAA with documents and videos the firm said it had obtained from computer drives maintained and accessed by multiple [TSUN] coaches.” According to the Post, the unnamed outside investigative firm began looking at TSUN’s activities this season and interviewed witnesses and reviewed documents and videos related to the travel and sign-stealing efforts. The Post‘s anonymous sources said the investigative firm presented the NCAA with evidence that included “a detailed schedule of [TSUN’s] planned sign-stealing travel for the rest of this season, listing opponents’ schedules, which games [TSUN] scouts would attend and how much money was budgeted for travel and tickets to scout each team.”

Of particular interest to Buckeye Nation, the Post reported:

“The opponents targeted the most on this schedule, these people said, were not surprising. Atop the list was Ohio State, [TSUN’s] top rival in the Big Ten, and scouts planned to attend as many as eight games, costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets. Next on the list was Georgia, a potential opponent in the College Football Playoff, with four or five games scheduled for in-person scouting and video-recording, also costing more than $3,000 in travel and tickets.”

“In total, those people said, [TSUN’s] sign-stealing operation expected to spend more than $15,000 this season sending scouts to more than 40 games played by 10 opponents. According to the university’s public salary disclosure records, Stalions, listed as an administrative specialist in the athletic department, made $55,000 in 2022.”

Interestingly, the Post also reported that the investigative firm provided the NCAA with photos of what the firm thought were TSUN sign-stealers in action:

“The outside firm also presented to NCAA officials photographs of people investigators believed to be [TSUN] scouts in action — including current students interning with the football team. The photos showed these people seated at games of [TSUN] opponents this season, aiming their cellphones at the sidelines. Days later, the outside firm told the NCAA, cellphone videos depicting the coaching staffs from these games were uploaded to a computer drive maintained and accessed by Stalions as well as several other [TSUN] assistants and coaches.”

It’s pretty hard to argue with video, photographic, and computer evidence, although in these days of AI and deepfakes anything is possible. It will be interesting to follow the investigation as it proceeds, and to learn the identity of the investigative firm and how it came to have access to knowledgeable witnesses and video and photographic evidence. I expect that a focus of the NCAA investigation will be to confirm whether or not there was an organized sign-stealing effort, and if so figure out how many people in the TSUN football program were aware of and involved in it. Jim Harbaugh, head football coach for TSUN, has denied any knowledge or involvement.

The Shifting, Sliding Spice Scale

In the last two weeks, I’ve been to two different Indian restaurants. At each one, I ordered lamb korma, and requested the dish at spice level 4–that is, medium-plus–on the traditional 1-5 spice scale. At the first restaurant, my dish was decidedly not very spicy, and indeed almost bland. At yesterday’s visit to Indian Oven here in Columbus, in contrast, my request for spice level 4 resulted in a bowl of lamb and sauce that had an excellent zing and nice amount of heat that got my sinuses running, which is just what I wanted.

This experience illustrates an issue with not just Indian food, but any restaurant where you can make a choice on spice or heat levels. Regrettably, there’s no standardization, and the spice scale seems to shift and slide from restaurant to restaurant. This is not a problem if you like your food on the mild side, because you can always ask for no or low spice. However, if you like it on the hotter side, as I do, that means you never quite know what you’re going to get. In Indian restaurants, where does the 1-5 scale start? At a taco shop, what does it mean when you see three little flame icons next to a particular sauce option? And at a Nashville hot chicken joint, does the “hot” choice indicate you are going to get a tolerable level of heat, or that you are going to leave with your tongue and gums blistered?

I’d like to see the development of a universally accepted, standardized spice and heat system that is akin to what happens when you order a steak at a restaurant. If you go to a steakhouse and ask for a steak medium rare (which is about as far you should go in cooking a steak, in my book) 9 times out of 10 you’ll be served a steak that is warm and cooked on the surface and red in the center. In short, you know what you’re going to get. Is there a reason we can’t get our spice/heat restaurants together to develop a similar approach on the spice scale, so I can always be sure to get that delectable heat sensation on my tongue and some welcome nose-running when I order my lamb korma at 4 out of 5?

The Name Of The Game

This past weekend, my two favorite teams showed the importance of the kicking game in college and professional football.

The Cleveland Browns pulled out a last-second win over the Indianapolis Colts because placekicker Dustin Hopkins had an unbelievable day. By himself, he accounted for 15 points, going 4 for 4 on field goals and converting all three extra points he tried. Three of those field goals were over 50 yards long, including a 58-yarder. (I’m old enough to remember when making a 50-yard field goal was an exceptional feat, so it’s extraordinary to me that someone could do it three times in a single game.) The points notched by Hopkins kept the Browns in the game and allowed them to eke out a win with a last-second touchdown. In the meantime, Browns punter Corey Bojorquez punted five times, averaging 54.4 yards, with a long kick of 69 yards. When your offense is struggling, as the Browns’ offense has been for most of this season, having a punter who can drive the other team deep into their own territory is crucial.

Hopkins’ steadiness is in marked contrast to the inconsistency of the Browns’ prior kicker, Cade York. You never knew whether York would miss a chip shot or shank an extra point, deflating the fans and dispiriting the rest of the team. And having a sound, professional placekicker has also seemed to change the decision-making of coach Kevin Stefanski–who seems much more willing to trot out the field goal team and go for three points this season, rather than always trying to convert on fourth down, now that he knows he has a player who is likely to make those kicks. Hopkins has made 16 of his 18 field goal attempts this season, and Stefanski clearly has confidence in him. The pre-season decision to trade a 7th-round pick in the 2025 draft for Hopkins is looking like an incredibly good move by Browns’ General Manager Andrew Berry.

The Ohio State Buckeyes also showed the impact, both good and bad, of the kicking game in their win over Penn State. In my view, the key play of the game came when the Buckeyes were pinned deep in their own territory and punter Jesse Mirco launched a 72-yarder that totally flipped the field. I texted a friend that former Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel, who once famously remarked that the punt is the most important play in football, would have loved that punt and what it accomplished. The downside for the Buckeyes came when placekicker Jayden Fielding, who has been solid this season, missed a makeable field goal near the end of the game that would have put the contest on ice, giving Penn State hope and spurring them to score on a drive that made the final score closer than it needed to be.

Football is a team game, and special teams are an essential part of the sport. Week after week, the kicking game reminds us there’s a reason the sport is called “football.”

Spousal Medicine

The American Cancer Society recently released the results of an intriguing study about cancer mortality among individuals in the U.S.. The study found that adults who live alone have a significantly greater risk of dying from cancer than those who do not.

According to the study, women who live alone are at a 30 percent greater risk of dying from cancer, and men who live alone are at a 38 percent greater risk of dying from cancer, than those who live with others. The risk is particularly acute for adults in the 45-64 age range, where singles have a 43 percent greater risk of cancer death. The study examined data from 1998 to 2019 for more than 473,000 adults from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey linked to the National Death Index, and the data was tracked for up to 22 years to assess the association between living alone and cancer death.

Of course, statistics can identify associations, but not necessarily causation. What, then, might account for the disparity in cancer death rates between people who live alone and those who don’t? I suspect that “spousal medicine” is a big part of the causation analysis. Having someone in your life who encourages healthy living habits, who notices changes in your appearance, activity levels, sleep habits, or other potential markers, and encourages you to visit the doctor for a check-up, are bound to have an effect in terms of early detection, and prompt treatment, of cancerous conditions. Singles might rationalize not going to the doctor promptly, where married people would not.

I think there probably are lots of aspects of living with a loved one that help to minimize cancer mortality. Just having someone else who is paying attention, making sure you take your medication and make your appointments, and offering encouragement is bound to have an impact. It’s another dividend of a happy marriage.

Football In The Air

On today’s flight from Tucson to Atlanta, I flew on a nice new Delta plane where every seat had a TV and —even better—you could watch live broadcasts of NFL games. This meant I got to watch the improbable end of the Browns game, in which they pulled out a last-second victory, and then another game that literally ended right when the wheels touched down in Atlanta.

I really like the ability to watch live TV in the air, especially on Saturdays and Sundays in the fall. It makes the airborne time go by much faster!

The Fructose Survival Hypothesis

With so many people in America experiencing obesity and the health-related problems that accompany it, trying to determine the root cause of the condition is like a scientific search for the Holy Grail. If you look at pictures of America in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, the vast majority of people shown are trim and fit. In more recent pictures, the percentages are flipped, and people at unhealthy weights predominate. What happened to cause this huge change?

Many different studies have proposed different causes and cures, which is why people worried about their weights often go from one diet to another. One major study, however, has tried to unify all of theories and recently announced that it thinks it has found the ultimate culprit: fructose.

Fructose is a naturally occurred form of sugar that is found in fruits and certain other foods. Since humans have been eating these foods for millennia without having to worry about obesity epidemics, fructose from a banana or apple logically can’t be the cause of the problem. According to the study, the problem arises from consuming lots of fructose–often in the form of products with high-fructose corn syrup as an ingredient–and other sweeteners like table sugar. The study found that high levels of fructose cause a drop in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a compound that provides energy for human cellular processes. When ATP falls to a certain level, it is a signal to the body to consume more fuel, making you want to eat. The study calls this the “fructose survival hypothesis.”

The fructose survival hypothesis knits together all of the other theories, because they all boil down to eating too much of something. The researchers in the study write: “Although practically all hypotheses recognize the importance of reducing ultraprocessed and ‘junk’ foods, it remains unclear whether the focus should be on reducing sugar intake, or high glycemic carbohydrates, or fats, or polyunsaturated fats or simply increasing protein intake.” They conclude that all of these views are basically correct, and that the fructose survival hypothesis is what triggers the consumption problem. The researchers explain: “Fructose is what triggers our metabolism to go into low power mode and lose our control of appetite, but fatty foods become the major source of calories that drive weight gain.”

Is the fructose survival hypothesis the Holy Grail of solving the obesity epidemic? Like any true scientific hypothesis, it will need to be tested and validated by future studies. But in the meantime, you might want to take a good look at the ingredient labels on the foods you buy, and think about whether you can takes steps to reduce the amount of fructose in your diet.

9 a.m. Football

There’s a big game in college football today between two teams ranked in the top ten. The undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions travel to Columbus to take on the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes. It should be a great battle between two great teams.

The only thing weird about it is that the game kicks off at 9 a.m., Marana time. You’d think this kind of match-up would be a night game, but the networks wanted a noon start. And while Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone, which is supposed to be two hours behind the Eastern Time Zone, Arizona doesn’t recognize Daylight Savings Time so whenever the rest of the country is on DST, Arizona falls three hours behind.

I don’t think I’ve ever watched a football game at 9 a.m. A high school football practice, maybe, but certainly not an epic struggle between two unbeatens with clear College Football Playoff implications. I know that Pacific Time Zone friends accept such early-morning games as a matter of course, but it’s very strange for a native Midwesterner. You’ve got to get mentally stoked up for a big game like this, and a 9 a.m. kickoff doesn’t allow much time to do that. And forget about cracking open a traditional brewski at the kickoff to enjoy during the game. With a 9 a.m. kickoff, I’ll still be guzzling coffee, and my taste buds won’t be ready for a frosty adult beverage for hours to come.

It’s odd to think that, as I wipe sleep out of my eyes and write this post, there are thousands of wide-awake scarlet-clad people tailgating in the parking lots around the old Horseshoe on a cool morning, analyzing the game, enjoying tailgate food and warming adult beverages, and getting ready to head into the Stadium and scream their heads off. But when 9 a.m. Marana time rolls around, I’ll do my best to be ready, to add my morning rooting efforts to the collective vibe emanating from Buckeye Nation.

The Boys On The Bus

The other day I was out driving in the afternoon when I stopped to let this school bus unload. It was a bus for grade school kids, and watching them file down the center aisle and exit brought back some memories.

For the first few years of my school experience, I walked to school, but when our family moved to a semi-rural area, we kids took the bus. Every morning, rain or shine (or freezing cold and snow), we waited with the other public school kids at the designated pick-up point, which was at the bottom of a small hill leading down to our neighborhood. When the bus arrived, we’d pile on. The wait for the bus was often cold, but the bus always seem to be warm–often overheated, in fact. On winter days, you’d take off your hat and gloves and scarf, and then try to remember to collect them when you finally got to school, but as winter wore on the school lost and found always became stocked with forgotten cold weather wear.

Once aboard, you’d try to find a seat with a friend and avoid having to sit next to the kid who didn’t seem to wash up properly. This was a challenge, because our stop was one of the later ones, and most seats were taken when we boarded. Girls usually sat up front, and boys headed toward the back–which typically was crowded with junior high school kids.

As the bus rolled down the country roads the chatter would begin, usually started by the older kids. I’m pretty sure the bus was where I heard my first “dirty joke,” which I pretended to understand because that’s what you did. I think it’s where I got my first really hard punch on the arm, too. You hoped it was a day where you didn’t get singled out for some kind of ritual hazing exercise and could just ride in peace, but that was really out of your control.

The bus was where you learned the power of peer pressure and the importance of not getting too upset about what other kids were saying about you or doing to you, because that just made you more of a target. You were on your own, and you needed to develop your own, personal strategy for dealing with, say, an older kid stealing your hat and starting to pass it around to his friends. Riding the bus was a daily lesson in personal toughness.

Interestingly, my memories of the bus are all about the bus ride to school, rather than the ride home. The “big kids” seemed to be a bit more engaged with the younger kids on the morning ride, as if they were gearing up for the challenges of school. On the ride home, fortunately, they seemed to just ignore the rest of us, letting us look forward to getting home and out of that yellow painted cauldron of power dynamics and youthful angst.

A Sonoran Sunrise

The typical sunrise in Marana is different from the typical sunrise in Columbus. Because Marana is located in the middle of the Sonoran desert, the sunrises are often cloudless–as this morning’s sunrise, shown above, demonstrates. As a result, there is no dramatic underlighting of thunderheads on the horizon that can make Midwestern sunrises so colorful. Instead, you see a warm glow above the Tortolita Mountains to the east that gets gradually brighter until suddenly the sun clears the mountaintops and you immediately need to don your sunglasses.

Sunrise is a good time to be out and about this time of year, when the midday temperatures are in the 90s and bright sunshine is forecast. It is a very quiet, peaceful time, too.