Patagonia, Arizona, 12.23 pm. The reader is arguably our best VFYW contributor ever, given all of her great submissions over the years, stretching back nearly to the beginning of the feature. We got her permission to print her full name below (given the Dish’s default anonymity policy):
Andrew, you have become a HUGE part of my day, my husband’s day (he is copied on this), and our marriage, as you have provided us much fodder for conversation as well as little digressions from me while on vacation, etc., to take VFYW pics. (Vince is very patient!) You have enhanced the classes we both teach at ASU through timely blog posts or less-timely ones we’ve saved for the future or dug back to find.
We have exposed our kids (now 26 – our daughter who was cat-called in DC and moved to Silver Spring, is now in Tucson getting her Master’s degree – and almost-24 – our son whose HuffPo blogs on being transgender you have linked to more than once, is still in San Francisco, living with his wonderful girlfriend and gainfully employed – yay!), who have also found you interesting, informative, and entertaining. I have shared many of your posts on Facebook and know I am personally responsible for getting you several more readers. :-) (It was lovely to click on the link in the pets’ deaths comment and see our sweet Zella looking back at me.)
You will be GREATLY missed, and if you ever can resume The Dish on a part-time basis (with the excellent Dish staff’s assistance, of course), we will follow you again, immediately. (Post only M-F AM, with the Window Contest on Saturday, and take off one week a month? No need for guest bloggers – Patrick, Chris, Zoe, et al. are FAB-U-LOUS!) But I am sure you have thought of every possible permutation …
I wish you God-speed and good health and much happiness, with Aaron and your parents and your family and your LIFE. If you ever want to visit Arizona, we have a guest house that you (and Aaron) would be welcome to stay in.
Kathleen Waldron
Phoenix, AZ
Her first view was posted on January 11, 2007:
Sedona, Arizona, 9 am. Kathleen adds:
My father-in-law died later that day after a 10-year battle with prostate cancer. (And he did battle it – went through every clinical trial he could find.) It was from a cabin we rented a few days previously. Nice and snowy! Zella and our other golden, Zoe, had a great time!
She sends a followup:
Good Lord, I’ve had so many – the Contest view from Mankato; the VFYW Book view from Bright Angel Lodge at the Grand Canyon (y’all accidentally mislabeled it as Williams) :-) At least two Patagonia views, the one last week from our kitchen window, one from the French doors in our living room, one from a classroom on the Downtown ASU campus (of the historic Rosson house); one from Tucson (very boring – a lamppost from a restaurant’s backdoor); one from Minturn, CO; the last VFYW of 2014, from snowy Prescott; a bunch of others!
But never the views from my son’s two AWFUL air-shaft windows! Of pipes and a scary Raggedy Ann type doll that used to give him the creeps and other detritus. I forgive you!
And a number of airplane views, too – the Washington Monument under scaffolding, the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, the Grand Canyon, the “lake somewhere in Nebraska” that some readers took deserved umbrage to!, the SF Bay, …
I have SO enjoyed this run, and I will continue to take window views, but they will be limited to my FB page, alas!
Here’s that scaffolding view that never got posted:
The Dish 