As some of you may or may not know, I lived in Tucson, Arizona in 2008-2009 working for AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). Tucson was modern-day Shangri-La for me, that's how drawn I was to its beauty and magic.I knew that I had to write about Tucson after the horror of what happened there. So, I called the local newspaper. Would they be interested?
I began exploring in this piece my love for this city and all I had seen and observed, its people, its culture, the essence of its aura, if you will. As I wrote, I was transported back to the warm, desert air, the rainbows over the Catalina Mountains, the sunsets of indescribable beauty,
Writing about my "dream city" helped me come to terms with leaving it behind. Like all dreams, they die hard. When we write about what we know or have experienced - and we write from the heart - we can't go wrong. This is the power of writing as a way of healing. I also believe that writing from the heart imparts to others the experience of the human journey. The piece then belongs to the reader. Here is the article, "A Shocking Scene in a City of Dreams" that I wrote for the Daily Local News in West Chester, Pennsylvania, published on January 11. I hope you enjoy. Susan
http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2011/01/11/opinion/srv0000010580392.txt
