Grand Canyon from the sky .. thanks, Southwest

Grand Canyon from the sky, originally uploaded by RobinJP.

I am usually a very good flier. I pick up my trash, keep quiet, read my book and listen to music. And, yes, especially this: I turn off my phone and keep it off.

But today, I broke that rule.

During a morning flight from Phoenix to Portland, the pilot said, "You'll be able to see the Grand Canyon out the left window."

The understatement of the day.

As I looked down at this awesome site, I kept thinking about telling people about it. But how could I describe the Grand Canyon from this vantage point?

So old goody-two-shoes .. I dug into my bag, pulled out my new phone (HTC Incredible), cranked it on and shot a few wonderful photos.

Truly incredible. The Canyon, not the phone.

Robin, Tempe

Things I learned today from my Auntie Joan

My Aunt Joan called early this morning to chat. What a treat.

I had sent Joan a link to a Webinar I taught recently and she wanted to tell me how much she it helped her to understand what I do at work.

Then we just chatted for about an hour.

Things I learned during our conversation:

• Ben Kilpatrick, a member of the Sundance Kid's Hole in the Wall Gang, was a relative of ours.


• When Joan and my Uncle Rog lived on a farm 40 years ago, they hired Mexican workers from Texas. Farmers in Nebraska were often visited by INS employees and were fined if immigrant workers didn't have the correct papers. She is very worried about how Mexicans and Mexican-Americans will be treated in Arizona when the new immigration law takes effect.


• Some of our ancestors arrived in the U.S. through New Orleans.


• The ancestors I thought were Dutch were actually Danish.


• The ancestors I thought were Irish were actually Scottish.


• I love my Aunt Joan who is in her mid-80s and, although I kind of hate to say it out loud... to put words to it, I am missing her already.

Robin, Tempe