Free Phoenix Fire by Billy Chitwood Page A

guidance and positive stroking.”
    Jason became conscious that he was really talking too long and he glanced over at Jenny. She seemed rapt by his words, so he continued.
    “So I'm doing what I love to do, creating, developing, something that will live beyond my lifetime. We're driving to the most important work project with which I'll ever be involved. 'Apple Brown Betty.' Crazy name, huh? 'Apple Brown Betty' was a dream that began when I was a kid, really, sitting in that wonderful old parlor with Grandma Myrena and Grandpa John. They began talking about 'Apple Brown Betty' all those years ago. Of course, they didn't call it 'Apple Brown Betty' then, but that's when the idea was born, sitting there in front of that beautiful stone fireplace.
    “They had spent some time in Mexico. They loved the small villages there, the lazy, peaceful, way of life. They loved the smell of refried beans, the music of the Mariachis, the people with deep furrowed faces and forgotten dreams. The world of Mexico fascinated my grandparents and I suspect they felt some sort of national guilt for having taken some of their land --- and maybe those 'forgotten dreams.' Anyway, that's where the idea was born and incubated.
    “Grandma and Grandpa experienced some of what you experienced, looking out toward those mountains. Something stirred within them, maybe that ancestral thing you mentioned, and they wanted to recreate a village reminiscent of their composite Mexican town right here in Arizona. There were, and are, lots of Mexican-Americans here in Arizona, living in some semblance of a Mexican community, but it wasn't the same thing for my grandparents. They wanted to build the Mexican village that was in their minds and in their hearts.
    “The problem, the dream came too late for Grandpa John.” Jason paused, lost for some seconds in thought. Then, he glanced at Jenny. “You want more?”
    “Oh, yes, please,” she quickly answered.
    “Well, Grandma Myrena built that dream in me. She tried to include Carlton in the dream, but he was too busy being a brat. Anyway, Carlton and I were taken on some of those trips to Mexico. After Grandpa John died, Grandma Myrena took us on those Mexican holidays. I fell in love with the dusty roads, the smells, the mariachis, the hard brown faces of the people, the aura of the small Mexican village, just like my grandparents fell in love with the country.
    “All through college and all through my early development projects, that dream stayed with me and it stayed with Grandma Myrena. Finally, I decided it was time to create the reality from the dream.
    “Originally, I wanted to acquire some land around Bartlett Dam, government owned land. It was an area where we had camped a lot as kids, and Carlton and I romped, played, and were closer than we had ever been as brothers, likely closer than we will ever be again.”
    Jason hesitated, and Jenny could see a wistful sadness settle on his face. He took a deep breath and continued.
    “Anyway, that was the place, in that general area, where I wanted to ultimately build 'Apple Brown Betty.' Unfortunately, we could never get the government to do some land swapping.
    “So, we had a considerable land holding down here in the Casa Grande area. It was in the family for many years. I decided, with Grandma Myrena's blessing, that 'Apple Brown Betty' would come to life on this land. It just needed some imagination and some resources turned its way.
    “Today, you see firsthand what gives me pleasure. At least, you will see the beginning, meager efforts expended thus far. You will have to wait about five to ten years to see the entire dream come into full focus. But you have the imagination and vision to see it today, just about as it will be ten years from now.
    “That is what gives me pleasure, Jenny. What I want from life naturally follows. I want to see the dream of 'Apple Brown Betty' become reality. I want to know that I did it. It is, no doubt, an ego thing, but