Turns out my life was NEVER in danger....
Have you ever been to Prescott, Arizona? Nice town. Very attractive.
I was in Phoenix several years ago on business when a day opened up on my schedule. What could I do to fill the unexpected gift of time? I’m a big fan of Sedona. I had been there before and I don’t think anyone can go to Sedona too many times. Talk about spectacular natural beauty. Wow!
So, I set off to Sedona. That’s a couple hours north of Phoenix on Interstate 17. Roughly halfway, I passed an exit for the town of Prescott and thought to myself that I’d make a quick re-acquaintance with Sedona, then double back to see what Prescott was all about.
Fast forward to early afternoon. I came upon the Prescott town square lined with shops and other small businesses. It is a really large town square. My first surprise was the big trees full of healthy leaves and the rich green grass throughout the square. They looked like what one would expect to see on a trip to the East Coast. No desert scrub in the town center.
There is a modest change in elevation from the bottom of the town square to the other end, just a few feet but enough of a change so that the entire square and the desert beyond come into full panoramic view.
After a quick lunch of something long forgotten but probably attention-getting at the time because it was full of southwestern green peppers, I went to the high end of the square to take it all in. Out on the desert I could see some activity that one would imagine to be a sand storm.
Big clouds of desert dust were slowly coming my way. In another few minutes I began to hear noise associated with the dust. The noise became louder and louder as the cloud moved ever closer. Finally, I saw a couple of motorcycles, then more and more. Eventually a huge group of motorcycles – I thought perhaps 300 – were descending on Prescott.
The people aboard those bikes were what you think of when you visualize what a pack of motorcyclists might look like. They wore identical t-shirts. It’s possible some of the shirts (and perhaps some of the riders) had never been washed. This situation did not give me great confidence. I remember thinking I’m too young to die. Where could I hide that these thugs would not find me? Would my nearby rental car have any chance to out-run them? I was trapped.
Soon, the gang was upon me and I was shocked to see what their not-too-clean t-shirts said: Riders for Christ. There I was a first-timer in Prescott, Arizona, in the midst of a Christian riding group. I could not have been safer.
It had been a very nervous few minutes, but I was going to live to see another day. This scary experience reinforced what I had been told all my life and it is this: You can’t tell a book by its cover.
I will never forget the Prescott town square. It’s waiting for you and your Harley hog.
DY: In Just a Few Words is a blog that comes out when something needs to be said or every Tuesday - whichever comes first. Davis Young is a communications professional who adds 50+ years of experience and perspective to issues of the day. His emphasis in DY: In Just a Few Words will be humor (a touch of sarcasm here, a pinch of facetiousness there...). Once in a while, he will touch on something a bit more serious - but hopefully not too deep or depressing.
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