Sedona AZ (June 2, 2013) – Word has it on the streets that something is happening in Sedona. We can feel it if we pause for a moment. We sense it. Coffee houses normally filled with happy latte lappers are quiet as suspects whispering in muted tones. Eyes are darting around the room like offenders avoiding discovery. Offices are empty. Restaurants are half full. Notice the vacancy rate. Are there any terrorists lurking? Are there offenders who have not paid their fair share to the franchise?
The first clue hit me out of the blue: I had a question to ask at the city clerk’s office. When I arrived, I discovered that there had been installed one inch thick plexiglass windows over the counters between the citizens and city staff. One now has to stand on tip toes like we used to do when we would peek at a baseball game over the right field fence. We speak through a circle of 8 quarter inch wide holes drilled in the glass. It’s very intimidating, indeed. After that unfriendly greeting, I forgot what I was going to ask at the counter. The man behind the counter smiled nervously, recognizing my surprise at the barrier between us, and trying to hide his embarrassment as he tried to act as if everything was normal. Oh yes, I remember why I was there.
“Is the City Clerk in”, I asked. “She’s at lunch” he replied. “It says here that lunch is from 12 to 1 pm, and it’s 1:45.” “She had something to do today, so she took lunch at 1:30. I can take a message for her, if you like”. “Thank you, I’ll come by another time”, I replied lowering myself off my tip toes to stand straight. Days later, another city official, when asked why the barrier between citizens and staff was erected, said it was for protection against terrorists. Queried further about how many terrorist acts we had at city hall, he stated we had none, but now we are protected, just in case. Remember: “You’re either with us or you’re with the terrorists”. While the gesture was appreciated, the sense of friendliness in our small town evaporated, like water disappears on a hot rock in Oak Creek after a summer monsoon. The war on terror has reached our town. Now, we are constantly reminded that we should be afraid. It was written on a subway wall: “Oh Lord, please protect me from the government that wants to protect me.”
What people are sensing is the disappearance of that small town sense of community. It felt safe to be here. That was my second clue something has shifted. We all remember that comfortable feeling of being wrapped in a warm fuzzy blanket. Remember too, this why we moved to Sedona in the first place. In all the excitement we seem to have forgotten. Big Brother is our new security blanket. The reasons we moved here are getting harder to find. Deals that used to be done on a handshake are replaced by pages of legalese mumbo jumbo with penalties for the slightest infraction.
With all this drama about fear and trust we now find the goodness of daily life in our cozy hamlet called Sedona has disappeared as we drift away from the simplicity and beauty of life in and around national the forest. The “outside” world sees Sedona as this special place, sort of like Oz on steroids. The city of enlightenment and Metaphysical Mecca of the Western world is what people believe. They don’t know what is bubbling just beneath red dust. Here, dialogues on topics such as intuition, spiritual beliefs, psychic happenings, UFO’s and life in general are commonplace. It’s been said everyone who comes to Sedona is seeking an experience of some kind: spiritual, healing, inner exploration, a ride iin the back country, maybe a workshop. It’s like people have been given permission to venture into taboo subjects that are not normally shared in the open outside Oz. And share they do. Rent a house for two months to find inspiration to write a book and you’ll be surprised where that inspiration leads you.
All those experiences are still here, although there are now fewer businesses and individuals to interact with. Rising costs of doing business here and a gauntlet of city codes suggest we are not a business friendly city. Sedona has become a brand and, as with all brands, royalties and franchise fees must be paid. Yet, the best things still here are free. Walk through the woods and smell the trees producing fresh oxygen sit by Oak Creek and listen as the water shares its secrets, hear the birds and animals talk to one another. Marvel at the dark skies when you’re off the main drag. Bump into a stranger on the path and share pleasantries without feeling afraid.
Remember who we are and why we are here in this beautiful place, on this magnificent planet. Is it to be managed, with maximum profit, or is it to realize our true nature and become that which we are seeking to become?
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11 Comments
thanks and I agree with you…. Liberty a resident for 19 years..
OM Shanti…. June 3rd….
Thank you for the nice article. i would only add that I believe another deterrent to business in Sedona is the ridiculously high sales tax.
Nicely Written. City Council Should MeetTwice A Year.
Holy crap! You are right, of course (particularly about City Hall), but I really didn’t want to hear/see it. “Our” governments simply aren’t ours, anymore. We have lost our ownership of our governments, if we ever had it.
What about the parking patrol uptown? We might as well throw eggs at the tourists as they come into town.
Thanks for your comments. The list of egg throwing offenses is long.
First things first – get rid of the ridiculous idea of making all who come here park their cars and take a shuttle – what on earth are the city leaders thinking? Things like this work in Yosemite – where one travels to view the park then go on to the next destination. People come to Sedona to stay for a week or two – they want and need the freedom of being able to transport themselves to different parts of our small community when they choose, not when public transport dictates. Isn’t it bad enough here that our roads have been made unfriendly with roundabouts (cluster____) that stop traffic? Our daughter drove down from Flagstaff over Memorial Weekend – we live in VOC, and it took her 30 Minutes! to get to our house from the offramp at Interstate 17 – this is nonsense! Just imagine how much gas was wasted in that short seven mile stretch, and how many gas fumes were spewed into our air? Enough, already!
“Nothing but the dead and dying back in my little town” Really??? Sounds like an awful place to be! Why is it that my husband and I can’t wait to move there? Last time we were there, we noticed how everything is coming back to life. Houses are being built, stores are opening, coffee shops are busy! Yes, the traffic is a problem, but not so much in the Village, where we are building a retirement home. And we LOVE the roundabouts and new bike lanes! Seems like a whole lot of whining going on! Go for a hike or a bike ride among the red rocks in the beautiful sunshine. Maybe it will improve your moods!!!
Nice point Pam, still pinch myself daily.
15 year resident and counting.
redrocklady…have you ever seen traffic tie ups leaving the VOC that extend to Sedona? I haven’t seen any significant tie ups since the road was rebuilt. My point is this…the same roundabouts are used going to/leaving from Sedona. Since there aren’t significant tie ups leaving but there are going, it is a good indication that the roundabouts don’t cause the tie ups. What causes the tie ups is the fact that when you get to Sedona, there is no way all that traffic can be accomodated easily and it backs up. This was the case long before the roundabouts when we had traffic signals at the Y.
Maybe you don’t like the roundabouts for whatever reason, but stating that they are the cause of traffic tie ups is questionable. I travel back & forth to VOC everyday, sometimes multiple times per day, at all hours, and have found that the roundabouts keep traffic flowing much better. Also, I don’t have to wait needlessly for a traffic light to change when no one else is on the road.
One other point I would like to make about your comments re traffic congestion…No road can be built to accomodate traffic that exceeds peak loads. The road was rebuilt to handle the traffic load that occurs most often and it works well under those conditions. When heavy traffic hits the area, the road becomes overloaded, and that is expected. Would you or anyone else prefer a road that could easily accommodate that much traffic?
Why is traffic so bad when visitor numbers are not what they used to be?
Traffic backups became unbelievable after the City took over SR 89A through Uptown Sedona several years ago!
City Hall widened the Uptown sidewalks and made the highway narrower. The one lane each way accommodating through-traffic without vehicles sitting in it under ADOT ownership is no longer. Now vehicles backing out of 89A parking spaces use these lanes and stop through-traffic. Vehicles waiting for someone to pull out of parking spaces sit in these lanes and also stop through-traffic.