Tucson, Here I Come

My great friend Victor Piccarella has really stepped up and lent me a hand during this transitional period. I met Victor as a freshman at Ft. Lewis college in Durango, Colorado, one of my favorite places in the U.S. At the time, Vic was having his own struggles as a freshman... the freedom that being away from home for the first time can do that to you. I ended up moving to Tennessee to continue my education and I lost touch with Victor. I'd see him when I visited Durango occasionally but we didn't' keep in touch. When I moved back to Denver in 2002, I found out that Victor worked at a bar just down the street from the apartment I was living in.

We started to hang out and catch up with what each other had been doing over the last 5 years or so. Not only did we instantly 'click' again, we got to know each other on a much deeper level than just being "drinking buddies". When I was in Denver for a couple of weeks after being in California, I needed a place to stay and Victor kindly offered his warehouse...

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Not glamorous but a place to sleep nonetheless.

Here's the thing, the crazy, irresponsible Vic I knew as a freshman has turned into a crazy, responsible adult who is slowly taking over the family business. He imports rocks and artisan carvings and many, many other things from Peru.



Currently, Vic is in Tucson at the largest gem and rock show in the world. Much of his business for the year is conducted during a month and a half stay in southern Arizona. He invited me down and offered to give me some work for a week in exchange for a much needed cash infusion. I didn't quite know what I was getting into but I'll tell you this, this show is insane.

The entire city is taken over by massive white tents that contain every precious rock, mineral and jewel you can possibly imagine. This industry has no regulatory board that sets standards for prices, location, and hours, so what you get is a free-for-all system of bartering, hawking, bullying, and partying :). In my three days of being in Tucson, I've met people from Peru, Morocco, India, France, China, Germany, etc... All of them speak two languages, and speak them well. Most of them speak three or more languages.... it's impressive--and disappointing to me, a native English speaker without fluency in any other language.

As I said previously, there is no 'system' for this show and it's not contained to a single location. Much of the business and displays are at hotels--in lobbies and rooms. The hotel operators have wisely transformed their establishments to cater to the rock dealers; constructing show rooms and display areas; even hiring security. It's big business for everyone involved.



Above is a picture of the Days Inn we are staying at.

Last night, there was a party for Victor's aunt Tula. We gathered in the hotel/show room and ate a ton of pizza and drank a lot of wine, whiskey, and beer. Most of the conversation was in Spanish, I picked up a little bit here and there but I never felt like I was excluded from the group. Very warm and welcoming people, Victor and his family are from Peru and are extremely sincere people who are full of life, love, and laughter.




I think that I may of indulged a little too much and I started to feel a little sick, I went outside to get a breath of fresh air and when I came back to the room, Victor had passed out and locked me out of the hotel room. I didn't have a key! I tried to call and knock to no avail... I ended up having to sleep in my trusty Honda.