Wavelength by Friends of Public Radio Arizona

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Cool

Escapes– In &Out OF TOWN

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Features 24 Coming Up Orchids By Elizabeth Exline

Nature versus nurture—it’s a debate with believers on both sides, arguing from parenting message boards and scientific journals. But new studies are shedding light on the subject, revealing that, for the one in five children known as an ‘orchid child,’ it’s a whole lot of both. 32 The (Shared) Office By Walt Lockley

Whether looking for community or to escape the 9-to-5 cubicle grind, a growing number of professionals are trying coworking on for size. 38 Youthquake! By Si Robins

All around the Valley, young entrepreneurs are taking a swing at business—their way. Here, meet some of Arizona’s most successful—and innovative—millennials.

ART HOLEMAN

On the Cover A new science suggests that genes that can cause kids to self-destruct can, with the right parenting or in the right environment, cause those same children to grow into some of the most creative and successful people in society. Read about it on page 24.

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Departments 10 Luthier King

The eclectic director of Phoenix’s well-regarded but little-known Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery works to spread the art of guitar making. By Karen Werner 18 Learn. Discuss. Repeat.

Why Steve Goldstein was born for his public radio job. By Trisha Coffman 46 Gone Swimmin’

Seven perfect places to plunge. By Peter Aleshire 54 Cool Summer

To battle summer temps, we present ice cream, gelato and smoothies. Because the Valley abounds in charming spots that serve comfort, cold. By RaeAnne Marsh

Featured Listener Stories Pages 16, 22, 44 and 53

Also Inside 4 6

PETER ALESHIRE

ART HOLEMAN

Contributors Editor’s Note 60 KBAQ Programming Guide 62 KJZZ Programming Guide 64 Crossword

This student attends a local school that attracts music buffs and craftsmen alike. What is it? Find out on page 10.

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Wavelength P U B L I C R A D IO

Contributors

Summer 2010

Production of Wavelength is underwritten by Friends of Public Radio Arizona (FPRAZ), 2323 W. 14th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281 EDITOR IN CHIEF

Karen Werner ART DIRECTION / PRODUCTION

Susich Design Company Peter Aleshire An award-winning writer and editor, Peter has written eight books, including four history books, three geology books and a book about training F-16 pilots.

Fred Jarmuz On any given day, Fred is busy with all the C’s in his life: cycling, crosswords, computers and his wife Christine. Although not necessarily in that order.

Morgan Benavidez Morgan is a writer and editor based in Phoenix. E-mail her at morganbenavidez@gmail.com.

Yvette Johnson Yvette is a freelance writer. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and their two rambunctious sons.

FPRAZ BOARD OFFICERS

Phil Hagenah Dan Schweiker Susan Edwards Mark Dioguardi

Chair Vice Chair Treasurer Secretary

FPRAZ BOARD MEMBERS

Trisha Coffman Trisha works as a freelance features writer and sometime editor. She has contributed widely to local magazines, and these days writes mainly about business and science for Web and print publications. Elizabeth Exline Elizabeth is a freelance writer who frequently covers design and architecture. Her work has appeared in Robb Report, Estates West and Travel Savvy, among other publications. Kristen Forbes Kristen is a freelance writer living outside Portland, Oregon. To view her blog, visit krissymick.blogspot.com. Daniel Friedman Over the years, Dan has worked as a photojournalist at a daily newspaper, a commercial photographer, and an elementary and middle school teacher. He’s now a writer and photographer for Raising Arizona Kids magazine. Art Holeman A commercial photographer for 30 years, Art has garnered national awards, including appearances in Communication Arts, Applied Arts and Graphis. To see more of his work, visit artholeman.com. 4 Wavelength

Walt Lockley Walt was born in Texas and educated in the back seat of a 1972 Buick Riviera crisscrossing the continent. His work on disappearing mid-century modern architecture in Phoenix is at waltlockley.com.

Mike Chiricuzio Steve Curley Mark Feldman Bob Frank Erik Hellum Dr. Laura W. Martin Carol L. McElroy

Michael Moskowitz Dr. Jim Paluzzi Edward Plotkin Todd Sanders Linda Saunders Dr. Linda Thor

DEAN OF RIO SALADO DIVISION OF PUBLIC SERVICE

KBAQ / KJZZ/ Sun Sounds/ MCTV GENERAL MANAGER James Paluzzi, Ph.D. GENERAL MANAGER EMERITUS

Carl Matthusen KBAQ / KJZZ ASSOCIATE GENERAL MANAGERS

RaeAnne Marsh RaeAnne’s byline appears over articles on subjects as varied as business, decor and life in Arizona. She is the proprietor of Grammar & Glitz. Emily Piraino From the moment she lifted her first camera, Emily knew she wanted to spend her life documenting the world through a lens. She lives for the thrill of preserving in print the way the human spirit thrives. Si Robins Si is the editor of Downtown Phoenix Journal and a family of green living Web sites. You can find him riding his bike throughout downtown Phoenix, and drinking too much espresso at local coffee shops. Drop Si a line at si@siwrites.com.

Ralph Hogan, Bill Shedd, Lou Stanley ADVERTISING SALES

Nancy Mitchell, Public Radio Partners 602.824.9480 KBAQ / KJZZ 2323 W. 14th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281 KBAQ 89.5 FM www.kbaq.org 480.833.1122 KJZZ 91.5 FM www.kjzz.org 480.834.5627 KJZZ can also be found: In Tucson—98.9 FM In Globe—106.9 FM KBAQ, your classical music station, can also be heard in Ahwatukee on 89.3 FM, and North Scottsdale on 89.7 FM. Both KBAQ and KJZZ are streamed live on the Web 24 hours a day to provide worldwide access to our programming at: www.kbaq.org and www.kjzz.org. The views expressed in Wavelength are solely those of the individuals providing them and do not necessarily represent the opinions of KBAQ, KJZZ, FPRAZ, their agents or their affiliates. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information herein, we do not assume responsibility or liability for errors or omissions. © 2010 FPRAZ. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction in any manner is prohibited.

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editor’s note

They (Don’t) Call Me Bruce

Karen Werner “Like so many other adventures, this one was inspired by something I heard on KJZZ.”

stare into the eyes of a kung fu black belt, as he calmly leads me through a sequence of moves designed to quell an attack. “Break the bones of the feet. Smash the kneecap. Strike the face, then the gut,” he explains. How’d Wavelength land me here? Like so many other adventures, this one was inspired by something I heard on KJZZ—in this case, Kai Ryssdal talking to Jane Berentson, the editor of Inc. magazine. Berentson was talking about the April issue, which extolled the virtues of the virtual office. As an experiment, Inc.’s entire staff took to their sofas and kitchen tables to produce an issue from home. What Max Chafkin, the writer of the story, found was that the work he did wasn’t all that different, but his life certainly was. As a home-based employee, he worked more hours and was less happy without his office compadres. Maybe that’s why coworking has gone from quirky concept to full-blown movement in less than a decade. Morning Edition featured a segment about it a few months back, and it was the inspiration for Walt Lockley to examine the phenomenon locally. You’ll find his story on page 32. As for me, I’ve been a home worker for years, nestling into bed with my laptop and churning out copy in the middle of the night. So both Lockley’s and Chafkin’s words literally struck close to home. Because, for me, the line between business and life hasn’t just blurred, it’s vanished. I jot down story ideas during dinner, call writers while I sort laundry, and mull over headlines while I play Candyland with my son. So it’s not surprising that I find coworking intriguing. It’s also not too surprising that when I was searching for something to clear my head, I looked to the pages of this magazine. In it, Si Robins’ story about the local “Youthquake” (page 38) made me think I’ve gotten the equation wrong. The successful millennials Robins’ profiled aren’t sacrificing their lives for their work; they’re making their work adapt to their lives in inspirational ways. The story concludes with a sidebar of recommendations these folks have for the coolest things in the Valley, and one of them caught my eye: a kung fu center in Tempe that the wildly talented cartoonist Tony Carrillo says offers a great respite from the grind. Since he’s no stranger to deadlines, either, I decide to heed his advice. And I find myself on a recent Saturday kicking, punching, stretching and meditating with a roomful of people much better at it all than I. Jacob Rydberg, the owner of the Chinese Shaolin Center, is friendly and encouraging, and he chats a lot in class, probably to try to keep us from analyzing the improbable feats we’re trying to master. “Do the Zhan breath—the Zen breath,” he says. “It’s pronounced like John. I listen to NPR and a couple of the reporters have really good Chinese pronunciation. They say things so correctly, I’m like, ‘What did he say?’” Then I realize, work and life have converged again. An NPR story led me to assign a piece, which uncovered a problem, which aided by another story, introduced me to a man, who recommended a place, where I found a community that felt like home. So not only were my mind and body refreshed, but I also came away with a renewed desire to get back to that home office and put out a magazine to help public radio fans make their own inspirational connections. Warmly,

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music By Karen Werner Photography by Art Holeman

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Luthier King William Eaton, the eclectic director of Phoenix’s well-regarded but littleknown Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, works to spread the art of guitar making. oud noises emanate from a small, somewhat ramshackle building in South Phoenix. Inside, young people in hoodies and flannels hover over workbenches, gluing and sanding, while band saws and belt sanders whine around them. They’re in their 20’s mostly, except for a couple of older guys. And they’re all men, save for one green-haired girl. This could be any shop class anywhere, except these students are making finely crafted guitars. Welcome to the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, which has been teaching students the art of guitar building and repair for more than 35 years. People have come from all over the world—from every continent except Antarctica—to build the acoustic guitar and electric guitar required to graduate from the five-month program. Thirtytwo students are enrolled today. Still, few in Phoenix are familiar with the school, or know what’s produced on the three-acre site, with its small milling operation and collection of sheds. But for musicians, it’s a destination. Nils Lofgren, the guitarist in Springsteen’s E Street Band, recently stopped by and was so impressed, he commissioned a custom electric harp guitar. Today, the students are working on the fretting process, watching Frank Ford, from Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto, California, do a refret. After graduation, they’ll be able to customize instruments, amplify acoustic guitars and do routine maintenance and repairs. They’ll also be able to build stringed instruments that are “an artistic

William Eaton is acknowledged as one of the world’s finest designers and builders of unique guitars. His instruments have been featured in books, magazines and videos, and at international exhibits.

expression of themselves,” says William Eaton, the director of Roberto-Venn. He should know. Eaton is the dynamic visionary behind the school, a Nebraskan who came to Arizona in 1969 after winning a pole vaulting scholarship to ASU. A man of many interests, he’d been playing stringed instruments since his uncle gave him a ukulele at 7 and taught him to play “Has Anyone Seen My Gal?” in one night. Years later, living the student life in Tempe, Eaton was thinking about buying a guitar. Then a chance encounter changed his life. “This guy was going door to door trying to sell his guitar,” says Eaton. “He said he’d made it at Juan Roberto Guitar Works.” Eaton considered buying that guitar but decided instead to visit Juan Roberto himself, to see if they had others to sell. “I’ll never forget walking in that first day,” Eaton says of the big Quonset hut on Washington Street. “The first thing I noticed was the scent of rosewood—a very unique and aromatic smell. There were guitar parts hanging on the wall and sawdust here and there. It made a real impression on me.” Eaton looked at the guitars, but John Roberts, the owner, encouraged him to learn how to make one himself. Thus began Eaton’s apprenticeship with Roberts, the colorful founder of Juan Roberto. A pilot who flew planes for a wood import company, Roberts had befriended the Miskito Indians in the Nicaraguan jungles and, with their Summer 2010 11

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help, shipped a lifetime supply of rosewood, mahogany and other tropical hardwoods to Phoenix, where he began his guitarmaking business, even though he could only play one chord. It was just the sort of outlet the 19-year-old Eaton craved. “It took me about four months to build a guitar,” he says. “I remember being completely elated.” Fast-forward a few years, after Eaton had earned the title “Outstanding Graduate” from ASU’s business college. He was working toward his MBA at Stanford when he bolted up in the middle of the night. “I had this dream about making a second instrument,” he says, “a 12-string with some unique ideas about it.” Eaton called Roberts the next day to ask if he could come to Phoenix over his three-week break to build it. What he built, it turned out, was much more. Over the same break, Eaton had an assignment to write a business plan in one of his classes. So he composed a 60page plan for a guitar-making school. As graduation neared, Eaton interviewed with large companies, but nothing fit. Having written the plan, he knew the guitar-making venture wouldn’t be lucrative, he says, “but it would be really fun to do.” So, Eaton’s class project became the blueprint for the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery, which Eaton, Roberts, Bob Venn and Bruce Scotten incorporated and founded in 1975. (Robert Venn—part of the school’s eponymous name—had teamed with Roberts in 1973, bringing custom electric guitar making to the mix.) As for what Eaton brought, the answer is quite a bit, and not all of it from a university. After starting Roberto-Venn, Eaton took 12 Wavelength

to the desert, sleeping under the stars and living out of his car for two years. He read voraciously, exploring the spirituality and philosophies of various cultures and thinking about the beginnings of music. “You get interested in the origins of things and it takes you back to the hunter’s singing bow, and even the shaman’s bow,” Eaton explains. “Hunters and gatherers would be dependent on finding a species in their local environment to survive. If they were fortunate enough to capture one, they’d use every part of that animal—the skins for clothing, the bones for tools, the gut and tendons for twine. So that’s the origin of strings. And the translation was, ‘Here’s this live creature that has provided sustenance for your tribe. When you pluck the string, the voice and spirit of the animal live on in the presence of this bow.’ That’s the unifying loop. It’s a predominant theme of reverence and

symbiosis in every culture.” It’s that anthropological take that lets Eaton conjure the subtleties of each instrument. He’s known for creating incredibly innovative, almost otherworldly guitars, with unique shapes and tonal possibilities. There’s his koto harp guitar—a birch beauty he built back in the 70’s—with its 20 crossing strings, octave range and Asian sound. There’s also a newer creation, the double neck harp guitar, one of the world’s most sophisticated guitars. Complete with an onboard computer that memorizes positions for six step motors, it essentially gives Eaton the ability to play two guitars at once. “I can instantaneously change the modulation, the key signature or the tuning to get different chord voicings on the electric neck,” he says. “Then I can play synthesizer sample sounds or acoustic tones from the acoustic neck, which is outfitted with RMC midi piezo

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During 880 hours of class time, Roberto-Venn students attend lectures and demonstrations on every phase of guitar building and build two guitars themselves.

pickups. So I can make this neck sound like a piano, drums, banjo, flutes, violins—you name it.” Eaton contends that handmade instruments—even very simple ones, like a harp he fashioned from a mesquite walking stick—have their own personalities. “They possess unique characteristics that are individual to that instrument. The timbre, tone and other sounds are quite diverse. They’re almost like children,” he says. So Eaton relishes teaching others the process and launching them on their careers as artisans. Nicole Taylor is a 24-year-old who studied viola performance at the University of Kansas. Instead of doing a graduate program in music, she decided to study lutherie. “I thought about violin building, but then I saw this program,” she says. “I liked how succinct it was and how well connected the instructors seemed to be.” Taylor also appreciates the dualities of Roberto-Venn. How, for instance, it focuses on both the sound and the beauty of guitars. “It’s a wonderful introduction to a specific type of craftsmanship that people don’t consider to be as artful as it is,” she says. Taylor also likes how it’s both a casual and a serious place. “It’s a really laid-back, free-feeling program, but at the same time you’re expected to step up and do the best work you can and show that you’re there for a reason,” she says. Today, Taylor works at Woodsongs Lutherie in Boulder, Colorado, doing guitar repairs and taking on a lot of the orchestral work that passes through the shop. She also made it into the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, so she has “the best of both worlds,” she says. Other Roberto-Venn graduates work in different areas of the music world. A Korean graduate that lives in Tempe started Uno Guitars. He designs instruments, has them built in Korea, then ships them back to the States to sell. Another

graduate became a wood hunter for Taylor Guitars. He flies to India and Africa and all over the world, looking for good wood. Other graduates have gone on to become repair techs, traveling the country with bands like Metallica. Joe Vallee graduated from the school in 1981 and ran a repair shop in Tucson for 10 years. Today, he does tech work for the Doobie Brothers and teaches at RobertoVenn when he’s not on the road. With decades of history with the school, he works to keep its traditions alive. “It’s still fun here,” he says. “It’s the same kind of place—25 years later, same kind of vibe.” Much of the vibe comes from embracing the student’s wildest instrument-building dreams. After all, with Eaton as director, how could they not? Nicole Taylor wants to build electric orchestral instruments and worked with Eaton to compile plans for an electric viola. She appreciates the different mindset he brings to the school. “Some of the other instructors are heavily influenced by rock ‘n’ roll,” she says. “He really shows how versatile stringed instruments are and how widely appreciated they are by other cultures and times.” But it’s not just building instruments at which Eaton excels. He records and performs original compositions as a soloist and with ensembles. His most well-known work is done with his friend and longtime collaborator R. Carlos Nakai, the Native American flutist. In fact, three of their recordings have been nominated for Grammys. Whether Eaton is playing on a CD, in a concert or at a local corporate event, he only plays instruments he’s built. “That’s not because I don’t like others,” he says. “It’s because I already have enough of them. It’s like my other instruments say, ‘Wait a minute! Why am I not getting played?’” When he’s not recording, performing, building instruments or running the school, Eaton manages a couple of other endeavors, too. Summer 2010 13

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He and his wife Christine own the Old Town Center for the Arts in Cottonwood, an arts venue and concert space. “It’s kind of coming full circle for me,” Eaton says, “because I helped produce shows when I was at Stanford with my friend Danny Scher, who went on to work for Bill Graham. Danny and I wrote a business plan on putting together a production company. So when I left school I was debating, should I do that or the guitar-making school? The funny thing about it all is the coming full circle. But my life has kind of been that way. And I think it’s true with everybody, if you’re paying attention.” Oh, and Eaton also is getting back to his roots as a pole vaulter, coaching at his son Walker’s high school. His goal is to jump at least 13 feet himself, and he works on his strength by doing handstand pushups. He doesn’t see his age as as much of an obstacle as mindset, since with pole vaulting, “your limitations are partly your ability to envision.” With his school, too, as Eaton strives to move it from the school of his youth into the future so it continues to thrive. Roberto-Venn will be leaving its rustic schoolhouse this fall in favor of a new building on 10th Avenue and Grand, though they’ll keep the 16th Street property for milling operations. Eaton says it had gotten to the point that the staff was always apologizing for the school. “We put in our literature things like ‘Old World charm’ or ‘rustic,’ to try to give it a spin,” he

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Essential EATON Recordings: • Carry the Gift • Tracks We Leave • Wisdom Tree • Ancestral Voices • Where Rivers Meet • Naked in Eureka • Sparks and Embers • Dancing Into Silence Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery 4011 S. 16th St., Phoenix 602-243-1179; roberto-venn.com Old Town Center for the Arts 5th Street and Main, Cottonwood 928-634-0940; oldtowncenter.org

says. “But I was always concerned that if people visited the place without anybody being here, they might say, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to go there.’” So the staff is doing an adaptive reuse and renovating another old building, in keeping with Eaton’s adherence to green building principles. The hope is to expand Roberto-Venn’s curriculum, and also offer hobbyists a place to build their own guitar, just like in the old days of Juan-Roberto Guitar Works. “Guess we’ll come full circle again,” Eaton says. Hopefully, the new setting will attract a fresh crop of students eager to push boundaries in the craftsmanship of music. “We provide a service and education, and my dream is to see that continue long after I’m gone,” Eaton says. “To me, one of the defining things about a school like this is that you can have a small company that makes a difference in people’s lives. We have over 2,000 graduates in all related guitar fields. As bare bones and rough as this place is, we’re really proud of the guitars and luthiers that are born here.”

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listener profile By Kristen Forbes

A Lute Livens the Laundry Public radio fan ends boredom with the turn of a dial.

DANIEL FRIEDMAN

Stay-at-home mother Hillary Cully finds that public radio is a perfect companion as she goes about her day—though not quite as sweet as her cat Merlin.

Hillary Cully “I love the way the commentators speak and articulate things.”

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Hillary Cully is a stay-at-home mom whose biggest daily obstacle is boredom. To combat this, she turns to what has inspired and entertained her for more than half her life: public radio. “When I’m doing something mindless like laundry,” Cully says, “it enriches my life to hear the intelligent commentary and music.” A native Californian with music in her blood (her mom is an opera singer), Cully and her husband have been living in Arizona for seven years. They have a daughter—who loves classical music and passionately practices the flute and piano— and a son, who Cully says is more her “shotgun piano player.”

“It’s my favorite source for news and information,” she says of KJZZ. “I love the way the commentators speak and articulate things. I love the points they make and the in-depth discussions they have.” Cully, who sings publicly but plays instruments mainly in private, became particularly interested in Paul O’Dette, an American lutenist and conductor, after listening to KBAQ. She’s played guitar for years and when she heard his songs, she was intrigued by how much his Renaissance music sounded like a guitar. When she learned he was playing the lute, she quickly added lute music to her Christmas list. Cully listens to KJZZ and KBAQ while doing chores and running errands in the car, but it’s the weekends that really define the role public radio plays in her life. Every Sunday evening, while making a big family meal, she tunes in to her favorites. “This is my private time,” she says. “No one gets to talk to me when I’m making the big Sunday dinner. It’s when I listen to the shows I love.” Cully is such an avid fan, she began volunteering at the stations to help with pledge drives once both of her kids were old enough to attend school. The experience is one she’d like to share with other moms. “I’m hoping more moms will realize they can help with the pledge drives,” she says. “It’s only a few times a year. I’m able to sew on my daughter’s Girl Scout patches while I do it, and it’s really fun to get to know the other volunteers. I feel like I’m part of something very important and special.”

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inside the station By Trisha Coffman

Learn. Discuss. Repeat.

ART HOLEMAN

Why Steve Goldstein was born for his public radio job.

t’s tough being interviewed when you’re usually the one posing the questions. But this time Steve Goldstein takes his turn on the other side. Except for a few lapses, the All Things Considered anchor and host of Here and Now answers instead of asks, temporarily squelching his inquisitive instincts.

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Quick: Think of the top three reasons you listen to public radio. Maybe it’s to get informed or for a sense of community connection. Perhaps you listen simply to be entertained. Tuning in offers all of that, but for a certain boy growing up in Arizona in the 70’s—falling asleep to Al McCoy announcing Suns

games on KTAR—radio was a source of fascination as much as information. He listened with a sense of wonderment at the format of half-hour news programs, marveling at the nutshell parsing of news, sports and weather like a kid compulsively picking apart a calculator to examine its pieces. “When I was like 6 or 7 years

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Steve Goldstein and his wife, Deanne Poulos, enjoy one of Goldstein’s abiding passions: baseball. Here, they’re at a Diamondbacks game, though Goldstein’s team is the Cincinnati Reds, not the D-backs. old I was listening to talk radio. I used to love that stuff. I didn’t listen to music,” the now grownup and public-radio employed Steve Goldstein says. “I felt like I wanted to learn as much as I could. I always wanted to be the first to tell people this guy got elected or that guy got traded.” He was reading local papers “as a tiny kid—pre-10 years old,” as well as Time magazine and Sports Illustrated, studying form as well as content. “They had these long features and I thought, wow, you can really tell stories like this! I always knew I wanted to grow up to be in some sort of media thing.” So, yes, Goldstein is positioned in that enviable spot where occupation and defining passion meet. But he appreciates that his job isn't about his own interests and has found it a joy and a responsibility to bring news and analysis to a metropolitan area of educated, aware and sometimes tough listeners. “Once you get past the point of, Hey, I’m on the radio and I get to talk to people, then you really want to make an impact,” he says. That’s where Here and Now comes in. Currently airing on Wednesdays and Fridays, Goldstein says the goal is to go to five days a week starting later this year. “The talk show is how you can attract that community connection,” he says. “A fourminute report on John McCain is great, but as a listener I can’t call in, I can’t text. So I love the interactivity of Here and Now. Plus, it’s always cool to see what a wide variety of people call in. They’re so well educated, and they want to learn. That’s the

coolest thing.” Goldstein and his listeners have that much in common: “Learning is a big word for me,” Goldstein says. He’s deep into three books at the moment: a galley copy of Play by Play, about the Herberger Theater; a biography of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds; and a Sherlock Holmes mystery. He sees a learning opportunity in just about every conversation—more than anything, he wants to get at the intricacies of how other people think. “He always wants to know more,” is how Here and Now’s producer, Paul Atkinson, sums up Goldstein’s appetite for knowledge. “He does his own research and comes prepared for every interview. He also has passion for the topics we cover on Here and Now. He loves Arizona history, particularly the political characters our state has produced. He knows things about local, state and federal politics that few reporters would take the time to learn.” In fact, Goldstein is such a politics hound that he worries the show can skew too political. “I just love talking with politicians. I kind of get giddy,” he says. “We had J.D. Hayworth on, who I’m sure 90 percent of our listeners

“Once you get past the point of, Hey, I’m on the radio and I get to talk to people, then you really want to make an impact.” hate, but he’s a great guest. He’s a really good communicator. What we do—this is so radio—is find people, whether listeners agree with them or not, who can get their message across. You hope it’s not too calculated a message. You have to find the best advocate for a particular point of view, but it has to be someone who can articulate it.” Goldstein names Jon Kyl and Janet Napolitano as favorite guests because, “whatever you ask them, they’re not afraid to answer the question. They’re both smart, confident people who are always ready to defend what they did. They say, ‘I appreciate the fact that you disagree with me, but here’s why I did what I did.’” That’s his aim for the show: interesting, always meaty, conversation without too much emphasis on “horse race” coverage or excess punditry. Goldstein has tried to train his eye on big-picture professionalism, not personalSummer 2010 19

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“I always have my nerdy reporter’s notebook.” from what might make a good news story or an intriguing topic for the shows. “I always have my nerdy reporter’s notebook,” he says, clearly still equipped with that boyish fascination.

HOWtoTalk TO ANYONE

Conversation Tips From a Pro By Steve Goldstein

TOP: Goldstein enjoys a hike at Spur Cross Ranch, an area near Cave Creek. BOTTOM: Goldstein (on the left) joins three college friends at a Chicago Bears game on Soldier Field. Game-time temperature was 20 degrees.

20 Wavelength

agenda pushing. “As a host you have to take yourself out of, what do I think of this particular issue, and say, ‘Are you getting your point across? Are we having a good exchange and are listeners getting value from this?’” he says. Goldstein has had help finetuning his journalistic knack for impartiality from his wife, Deanne Poulos, whom he married last year. “She’s the most open-minded person I’ve met in my entire life,” Goldstein says. “She’s into cheering great plays on both sides. I’ve tried to be more and more like that. We all have certain

opinions about things. I feel like I’ve tried to evolve from that.” When it comes to obsessions, Goldstein doesn’t limit himself to one. “I’m kind of obsessed with bread,” he says, naming favorites like kalamata olive bread, Texas toast, challah and zucchini bread. He’s also an ardent gym-goer and avowed sports nut who attends Suns games and says he’s still “kind of obsessive” about the Cincinnati Reds. Then there’s that stack of books, often about Arizona political history, because socalled relaxing for Goldstein doesn’t mean getting distance

The key to starting any good conversation is making sure you’re prepared to listen. Sometimes listening can feel like quite an effort … but to paraphrase the old saying: We have two ears and one mouth for a reason. If you’re attending an event that’s bringing together people with a common interest, you’ll have a clear entrée. Make eye contact and ask the person next to you how long she’s been interested in protecting animals, global warming, writing a novel or learning a new language. I’ve never been a fan of asking someone what he does for a living. We’re not defined as human beings by our professions. And the reality of our current economic times can make that an awkward question that leads to an uncomfortable answer. A good question asked by a genuinely interested conversationalist can relax all involved and spark new interests and ideas—perhaps new friendships, too. But like most dances, satisfying conversations need two interested participants. So, don’t be afraid to have expectations. If you feel cornered by never-ending stories, feel free to gracefully interrupt and say you need to move on. That may be just the step you need to stroll into a more mutually satisfying exchange.

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my s

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listener profile By Morgan Benavidez

Algae Whiz KJZZ listener has a passion for pond scum.

Mark Edwards “I think NPR does a wonderful job of allowing people to tell their stories.”

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For many people, algae is just a pesky fact of life. Homeowners pour countless dollars into scouring it from their pools. But for ASU professor and KJZZ listener Mark Edwards, algae is a precious commodity with earthsaving potential. Edwards learned about algae firsthand while attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. “My job was to kill algae off the bottom of boats, but of course I failed because it grows so fast,” he says. These days, in addition to teaching at the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness and working as a consultant helping businesses become more sustainable, Edwards sings algae’s praises all over the

DANIEL FRIEDMAN

Mark Edwards says he finds Diane Rehm’s way of asking questions “very inspiring,” especially in how it helps prompt conversation. “I find anecdotes fascinating,” he says.

globe. Since algae requires no soil, fossil fuels or fresh water to flourish, and grows just about anywhere at an incredible rate, it is the epitome of sustainability and provides an invaluable source of both food and fuel. “I get to share my passion in my talks,” Edwards says. “Most people aren’t aware of how valuable algae is to our world and the potential it has for solving world hunger.” In 2009, his book, Green Algae Strategy: End Oil Imports and Engineer Sustainable Food and Fuels, won an Independent Publisher Book Awards gold medal for top science book of the year. Currently, he is fine-tuning a new concept called “abundant agriculture,” which is food production free of fossil resources. “Our current food supply is jeopardized because it requires so much fertile soil, fresh water and fossil fuel,” says Edwards. “At current consumption rates, phosphorus fertilizer will run out within 30 years and our food supply will collapse.” His solution for this? Recover and reuse phosphorus in a project called “ZooPoo.” As the name suggests, ZooPoo involves recycling zoo waste through a process called “algaculture” and using the recovered nutrients to create animal food, fertilizer and fuel, without wasting precious fossil resources. Edwards, who has been interviewed on NPR several times, says he listens to Diane Rehm nearly every morning and especially loves the way NPR catalyzes storytelling. “We’ve lost the art of storytelling because most people watch TV instead of listening to radio,” Edwards says. “I think NPR does a wonderful job of allowing people to tell their stories. Often we can hear the passion in their voices, which is more valuable to me than the words.”

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Coming Up Orchids By Elizabeth Exline

Nature versus nurture—it’s a debate with believers on both sides,

arguing from parenting message boards and scientific journals. But

new studies are shedding light on the subject, revealing that, for the

one in five children known as an ‘orchid child,’ it’s a whole lot of both.

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Dusk is falling one Sunday evening as my husband, our 4-year-old daughter, Isabelle,

Greenhouse Kids

and I enter a popular Scottsdale pizzeria to celebrate the birthday of my husband’s

It is common, says University of Arizona professor Bruce J. Ellis, Ph.D., for families to have children with varying degrees of biological sensitivity to their environments. Evolutionarily speaking, this would make sense. (If the parents are ideal for dandelions and terrible for orchids, at least some will thrive.) But figuring out whether you have an orchid on your hands is still a largely intuitive process, says Dr. W. Thomas Boyce, a pediatrician and researcher at the University of British Columbia. “I think when they start hearing about or reading about this set of characteristics,” Boyce explains, “for parents who have one, there’s an instant recognition that happens. They sort of intuitively see that there are these kids that seem to have greater predispositions and sensitivities than other kids.” At this point, there are no known differences between orchid girls and boys, and heredity plays as much a role as environment when it comes to developing orchid traits. (The amount of stress a pregnant woman experiences does also impact the chances of having an orchid child.) So what do orchid children need to thrive? For starters, says Boyce, they do well in families that exhibit “a lot of supportive emotional interaction,” or where parents are nurturing toward their children. Routines and good communication are also key. And the ideal school environment would have a low student-to-teacher ratio with teachers who know how to dispel the bullying hierarchy that permeates many classrooms. There’s no accepted formula for success yet—the science is still too new—but demonstrating the same sort of sensitivity toward orchid children that they experience themselves seems to be chief among the proverbial ideal greenhouse conditions.

cousin. It’s crowded, and our party of nearly 20 has to wait while the staff arranges the necessary tables. Instinctively I begin to “protect” Isabelle, physically shielding her from the onslaught of well-intentioned relatives, and helping her to answer the countless questions shot her way. It’s my method of slowing down the stimuli, of buying time before Isabelle gets completely overwhelmed. Our tables, it turns out, share a room with a large group of chatty girls who seem

to be celebrating something themselves. As soon as our party gets settled, the room sounds like an aviary with about a hundred birds squawking their conversations. Before the night is over—and for us, it comes early—Isabelle has succumbed to several tantrums. She’s sobbing as we clamber into the car. This could be nothing. It could be something that Isabelle outgrows. It could be that she is simply high-strung. But as I listen to Bruce J. Ellis, Ph.D., discuss his research, I can’t help but flash back to episode after episode like this where disrupted routines or overcrowded places spark full-scale upsets. It accords with the “orchid child” theory, a hypothesis born in 2005 that is now, thanks to ongoing research, being discussed in both scientific circles and the mainstream media. (The Atlantic ran an in-depth article on the subject in its December 2009 issue.) Orchid children, Ellis explains, are predisposed to an unusually high sensitivity to their environments, and those environments help to shape them, positioning them for either success or failure. Ellis is the John & Doris Norton Endowed Chair in Fathers, Parenting and Families

at the University of Arizona—he studies children’s biological development in the context of their families and relationships—and his work has led him deep within the realm of orchid children. In his lab, he explains, he’ll hook up children to a cardiac monitor that can read their stress responses. Then he’ll present them with frustrating situations, like a puzzle they can’t solve or hot cocoa whose steam triggers a smoke alarm. “Some kids are very psycho-biologically responsive to challenges in their environment,” Ellis says. “And when they can’t solve that puzzle, or they see an emotionally arousing videotape, or they hear a loud noise, you get a lot of physiological reactivity happening. And some kids are quite flat.” The reactive kids, of course, are the ones Ellis is interested in. (Their unflappable counterparts are dubbed “dandelions.” The name is borrowed from the Swedish expression maskrosbarn, or “dandelion child,” which refers to a typical, resilient kid who can thrive in almost any environment.) The top quartile of these sensitive children, Ellis says, can be considered orchid children, and their relationship to their Summer 2010 27

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environments has lately been making waves in both Ellis’ research and the scientific community at large.

Not Your Garden Variety

So what does it mean to be an orchid child? First and foremost, there’s that profound connection to environment. Ellis points out that researchers have long known that high-risk environments set up kids for social and emotional problems. What they hadn’t known was why some kids are more likely to succumb to harsh rearing conditions and to get more out of supportive, nurturing homes than others. The orchidchild hypothesis begins to explain this. “They’re really absorbing more of their environment,” Ellis says of orchid children, “and that’s affecting their development. It’s affecting their personality development. It’s affecting who they are.” It also affects their health, says Dr. W. Thomas Boyce, a pediatrician and researcher at the University of British Columbia. Boyce authored a paper in 1995, which reported his findings from a study that examined 3- to 5-year-olds and their rates of respiratory illnesses. The highly reactive kids—orchid children—reared in stressful environments had the highest incidences of illness, but the orchids raised in low-stress, nurturing homes had lower than normal rates of illness. “These kids that we saw as reactive in

Several ‘susceptibility'

the lab had either the worst or the best of the outcomes, depending upon the kind of context they were living in,” says Boyce. “And the only explanation that we could put

genes have been identified for their

forward for that was that reactivity wasn’t so much a risk factor as it was the kind of factor that increased one’s sensitivity to the influence of the environment.” What’s so interesting about orchid children is that, in order to exist, the right chemistry has to occur between genes and environment. It’s a phenomenon that unfolds along a continuum, Boyce says, but already several “susceptibility” genes have been

connections to

identified for their connections to orchid children—the MAOA gene, the DRD4 gene, the serotonin-transporter gene—and Boyce and Ellis contend there are likely

orchid children.

many more. “But of course genes don’t just have magical effects,” Ellis says. “Genes basically affect the processes going on inside your body. So genes play into things like your stress physiology, how biologically reactive you are to environmental challenges.” This neurobiological space between genes and behavior is precisely what Ellis and Boyce study and where the orchid-child discovery was made.

The Reaping

Recognizing and understanding orchid children is a prospect with far-reaching effects. For parents and schools, Boyce says, it’s a wake-up call that parenting is not a “one28 Wavelength

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size-fits-all” endeavor. (At this, I think of Isabelle again and how much kid-glove

Orchid Adults

treatment she seems to require, as opposed to the children of my friends.) As

Because the research on orchid children is so new—the first documented studies were published in 2005, and only recently has the theory begun to build momentum within the scientific community—there is no definitive information yet available about what orchid children grow up to become. Nonetheless, both Bruce J. Ellis, Ph.D. and W. Thomas Boyce, M.D., coauthors of “Biological Sensitivity to Context” and authorities on the orchid-child theory, recognize similarities between orchid children and Elaine Aron’s work with the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), or Sensory-Processing Sensitivity (SPS). “What we don’t know is whether the kids that we’re identifying within childhood populations are the ones who end up being identified as highly sensitive people in terms of Aron’s work,” Boyce says. “I would guess that there are continuities between childhood and adulthood, because it seems and feels and smells like a predisposition that doesn’t go away with maturation, but nobody has done the studies to document that.” Read through Aron’s Web site, hsperson.com, and you’ll hear echoes of Boyce and Ellis’ research on orchid children. There’s the same frequency, for starters. Approximately one in five children are orchids, while roughly 15 to 20 percent of adults have SPS. Aron also identifies SPS as an innate trait that allows adults to process information “more deeply” than others. They’re often mislabeled as shy or introverted when in reality, Aron argues, HSPs are probably just evaluating the situation before acting. And, like orchid children, HSPs are easily overwhelmed by stimulating situations or by too much change at once. Boyce speculates that as orchid children reach adulthood, their basic needs probably won’t change all that much. They’ll likely still benefit from time alone, he says, and from having a set of close, reliable friends. Routines and minimal change are other helpful environmental characteristics for these orchid adults, he posits. Even if all orchid children don’t grow up to be HSPs, there’s enough similarity to render Aron’s many books on the subject a valuable resource. The Highly Sensitive Person and The Highly Sensitive Child (both from Broadway Books) are two of several titles by Aron that are worth looking into for those who are either HSPs themselves or related to one.

evidenced by the rates of respiratory illness, it would be in our society’s best interest to adjust the way we think about and raise our children. “If we can find a way of addressing the health needs of this one-in-five child who has this disproportionate rate of problems,” Boyce says, “we’d really be addressing many of the public-health needs of the entire population of children.” Researchers in child development, Ellis adds, are almost all asking questions about the extent to which children’s experiences affect their development. (Ellis himself is currently studying the effects of family environments on children’s pubertal development and sexual behavior.) The orchid-child theory answers that question, he says, in that it depends upon how susceptible a child is to his environment. Whether, in other words, the child is an orchid or a dandelion. “So it has huge implications,” Ellis says. “And if you’re trying to design interventions or programs to help kids, kids are going to be differentially susceptible to those programs.” Perhaps most compellingly, the orchid-child theory touches on evolutionary science as well. In their research, Boyce and Ellis discovered, “a disproportionate number of orchids in both highly supportive families and in highly stressed environments,” Ellis says. The average-stress households carried a disproportionate number of dandelions. This allocation of orchids and dandelions, Boyce and Ellis contend, is decidedly nonrandom. “We have hypothesized that kids are either developing or maintaining high levels of biological sensitivity in both of these really supportive environments and stressful environments,” Ellis says. In the stressful environments, orchids hone their abilities to detect danger and stay abreast of threats—making the best, in effect, of a bad situation. The price, unfortunately, is compromised health and greater risk for developing anxiety and depression. In the supportive environments, however, orchids stand to benefit more than anyone else. It’s nature’s way of breeding high-achievers. Ellis points out how, in

In supportive

rhesus monkeys, orchids often become leaders of their troops when they are raised by highly skilled mothers, but tend to fall to the bottom of the pecking order when

environments, orchids stand to benefit more

raised by merely average mothers. Similar effects seem to occur in people. When raised in supportive home and family environments, orchids grow up healthy and competent; they are intuitive and unusually creative. (Here, I think of Isabelle and her improvised poetry and searing emotional insights.) Orchid children, in other words, have a lot to offer society. “I think these are pretty extraordinary people,” Boyce sums

than anyone else.

up, “and under the right circumstances they can do extraordinary things.” Summer 2010 31

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e c i f of

the

) d e r (sha

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picture

Picture yourself sitting in a well-known coffee-shop chain, mid-morning. You’re killing time before an appointment, eavesdropping on a job interview at the next table. The applicant is a young woman along the lines of Kirsten Dunst. The two interviewers are both dark-haired, murmuring with their backs to you, in a cool, comfortable shadow, but the lighting is working against the applicant. She’s sitting straight under a spotlight, lit like a crystal bowl in a department store. It’s worse than unflattering. Her eyes look hooded, her hair shines too brightly, and her smile is strained. She looks stricken. Not long ago, holding a job interview in Starbucks would have reflected badly on everybody. Today, it’s just business as usual. We appear to be working all the time, in every imaginable setting, under spotlights in coffee shops, or half-curled up in one of those detestable airport lounge chairs, or at home taking a 6 a.m. conference call in what might loosely be called sleepwear. It’s gradually dawning on a growing number of people that these places are unsuitable for real work. The interesting news is that, having fled the office, the office suddenly looks very appealing.

out of the office

Whether looking for community or to escape the 9-to-5 cubicle grind, a growing number of professionals are trying coworking on for size. BY WALT LOCKLEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY ART HOLEMAN

Out of the Ofﬁce One day, in the early 90’s maybe, a single corporate worker somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area discovered, with a sense of wonder, that he or she had become wireless. Magically untethered. He or she was the first digital nomad, capable of working anywhere. Naturally, he or she fled the building, like a single red balloon drifting out into freedom. This attracted the attention of others. They also quickly got laptops and cell phones and became happily detached from their traditional offices. It was fascinating to track where those red balloons drifted and landed, with sales reps and sysops calling in their performances from Coronado Beach or the top of Camelback Mountain. (“Guess where I am?”) That era of wireless adventure seems like a long time ago. In the last decade, so many red balloons drifted away that many traditional corporate offices have emptied out and gone dark forever. Like our Kirsten Dunst stand-in, today many of us take calls, work up drafts and get interviewed in coffee shops, as a regular thing. Of course, the $4.75 for an iced latte seems expensive, but it includes the rent for seat and signal. In crowded markets like New York and San Francisco, you can stand and watch the cutthroat competition for the choice spots by the window. Even in more relaxed settings, the atmosphere is not always right. It’s O.K. for a while. But it wears thin. Summer 2010 33

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Many of us work from home. Just that short phrase “work from home” evokes a stream of images and ambivalent half-jokes about the attractions and distractions of working under the same roof where you sleep. There’s the dog, the dishes, the refrigerator, the occasional serious struggle with self-discipline and the surprising grind of a 30-foot commute in bunny slippers. It can get terribly lonely in those bunny slippers. If one of them starts whispering to the other, it’s time to get out. A few digital nomads find and cultivate their own secret workplaces, for instance the shared conference area of a condo complex or a sunny corner of the neighborhood library. The library works well for quiet solo typing. But like Starbucks, these secret places are simply not set up for telephone work, and they’re hopelessly unsuitable for one-on-ones, mass meetings, training sessions, teleconferences or videoconferences. These practical limitations pose a minor irritant and waste time. More importantly, over time, no matter what brave face you put on, this chronic rootlessness undermines your productivity. So is there a place in the Phoenix area where a selfrespecting digital nomad can get a decently equipped, appropriate, comfortable workspace? Where is the smart nomad supposed to go? It’s called an office.

the shared office in phoenix

The Shared Ofﬁce in Phoenix A “shared office” is an office community where work spaces are available for rent. It’s a simple and elegant idea, developed in the Bay Area in 2005 by a fellow named Brad Neuberg, who coined the term “cowork,” dropping the hyphen. Rent a shared office, and you’ve become a co-worker. Stroll in, and there’s the good old half-forgotten friend, the “desk.” The immediate practical advantages include sharing office equipment like printers, copiers and routers; office furniture; white boards; good, strong, steady Wi-Fi with friendly technical assistance close at hand; a kitchen; bookable meeting rooms and audiovisual equipment; perhaps a multimedia library; maybe a shared receptionist. Some have cooperative arrangements with shared offices in other cities, providing a ready-made home base for business travelers. The cost of these resources gets split among everybody. Co-workers interact with other busy professionals who are working on completely unrelated, but potentially interesting, jobs and projects. Shared offices come with a certain amount of human energy, so everybody has a chance to compare notes, catch up on national news and local gossip, and everybody has a reason to iron their shirts and wear shoes. No more bunny slippers. 34 Wavelength

“It’s absolutely great,” says Julia Henton, who’s been sharing a rented cooperative office in the northwest Valley for about two years, “although of course there are drawbacks. The main thing is simply being around other people every day, being expected to show up, contribute and talk. That’s a different world than working from home. It feels a lot healthier.” Henton shares an office with four other principal “allies” and their guests, splitting the cost based on how often they use the facility. The cost is one drawback for her. The other is staying conscious of who’s in the office, just to make sure they belong. Interested? Check out Gangplank. Gangplank is a “collaborative coworking facility, tech incubator and education academy” on Elliot Road in Chandler. Even co-founders Jade Meskill and Derek Neighbors struggle a bit when explaining the Gangplank business model—“a group of connected individuals and small businesses creating an economy of innovation and creativity in the Valley”—but their description of what Gangplank has offered digital nomads since 2007 goes to the heart of the sharedoffice philosophy. “The shared-office space is free first-come, first-serve desks, conference rooms, breakout rooms and podcasting studio, along with free Wi-Fi and power,” Meskill says. “The space serves as the catalyst for collaboration, as well as a single point for people to congregate to explore ideas.” Note that Gangplank does not want rent. That’s zero dollars it’s asking for. Wait. Free rent? Yes. Gangplank has started small and taken strategic advantage of some lucky real-estate breaks, like a recent grant from the city of Chandler, and used the resulting community of people to feed referrals and ideas to their affiliated for-profit organization, Integrum Technologies. Meskill and Neighbors don’t charge rent or claim any cut of the new businesses created there, unless they invest directly. The catch is that tenants must be actively involved. “The concept of giving away space seems odd to most people, but by removing barriers a wider range of people are able to participate,” Neighbors explains. “Increasing the density of people provides more ideas and a greater chance for serendipity to work its magic. While space at Gangplank is offered at no charge, participation is required.” Among the many results of Gangplank’s collaborations is an online directory of shared offices across the country, findable at wurkspaces.com. Asked what kind of challenges Gangplank faces three years into the experiment, Meskill names three: “Changing how people think about working with each other. Breaking apart five decades of growth/landdevelopment mentality. Oh, and running out of space.”

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Jade Meskill, left, welcomes digital workers to his brainchild, Gangplank in Chandler—no payment required.

“The spa ce serves a s the catalyst for collabora tion, as well a s a single po int for peopl e to congrega te to explor e ideas.”

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g â&#x20AC;&#x153;Increasin y the densit of people ore provides m a ideas and ance greater ch ipity d n e r e s r o f to work its magic.â&#x20AC;?

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Working alone, together, coworkers discover that inspiration often strikes from just a desk away.

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here to stay

Here to Stay Five years into the shared-office movement, it’s an idea that’s here to stay. That’s despite, or maybe because of, the current economic conditions. Shared offices come in different flavors, offerings and attitudes. Consult Craigslist for Phoenix and you’ll find a variety of choices at a variety of prices. Some downtown, some in Tempe, others nothing more than Scottsdale real-estate deals. Office-suite rentals for upward of $500 a month clearly fall outside the shared-office category. But that’s the beauty of it: The shared-office idea allows candidates to come have a look at the space, as a “drop-in,” and then maybe try it out for a week. If the location is good and the other people are friendly and stimulating, then a candidate might extend his stay to a month. He becomes a resident, a key holder. He brings in his books and plants and family photographs, sets up shop, gets comfortable, spreads out, stays every night until 5 or 6 p.m., leaves it all there, then comes back in the morning. Just like the old days. Office sharing is also a central part of the grand strategy at Optin Learning Center in Mesa, an operation with a much more traditional business plan. Optin is

scheduled to open its doors as a fully-operational facility this September, and the founder, Terry Houghland, is focused on fostering small businesses by running training courses and establishing a coworking community. For $49 a month, you buy into a work space and access to this network of students and experts developing their homebased businesses, Internet-marketing businesses and community-education projects. Also, there’s a coffee shop. Optin is itself a start-up. The differences between its model and the Gangplank model in terms of the overall goal, the feel and the terms of the relationship couldn’t be more obvious—they’re almost opposites. But the core principle is the same. Both are more than real-estate deals. Read between the lines and you’ll see hope, in the good of providing a productive environment where a coder and a real-estate lawyer see each other every day and enjoy each other’s company, while the young guy learns about the risks of a second mortgage and the old guy learns about motion-capture and Project Natal. The hope is to grow and guide a working community that provides fresh opportunities for cross-pollination, founded on the principle that people working together are happier, probably healthier, and certainly more productive than people working alone.

making it work for you Four tips for making your work surroundings work.

1. Respect the conventional wisdom. Say what you want about the restrictions of the corporate “cube farm” paradigm, but it came with discipline baked into the surroundings. Steelcase and other companies invested decades of research into office ergonomics to get the physical work experience just right. They measured a lot of bottoms and elbows. If you find yourself with a less-than-perfect physical setup in terms of task lighting, table heights, adequate flat space around you, etc., consult the classics. 2. Foster the memory palace. Speaking of the classics, there’s something you should know. The Greeks and Romans knew it; the Jesuit scholar and missionary Matteo Ricci taught it to the Chinese in the 1580s; it’s been supported by up-to-date studies of the hippocampus. Long story short, there’s a close neurological relationship between the spaces you occupy and your ability to establish, organize and retain memories. So the link between your physical work setting and your mental performance is even stronger than you thought. (Curious? Google “method of loci.”)

3. Know your arousal limits (in the technical sense). For psychologists “arousal” is the readiness of any individual to respond to environmental stimuli. And if you’ve ever worked with other people in the room, you’ve been aroused (technically) by those people chewing their lunches, playing terrible music, preening like peacocks and quacking like geese, thumping on the walls, over and over and over, until you want to kill them a little. It helps to know that a human’s taste for, and tolerance of, arousal subsides with age. It’s a very measurable and reliable pattern. Keep your mind on those age differences and be patient. 4. Comfort isn’t everything. Many digital nomads naturally gravitate toward a relaxed café-style atmosphere, with easy chairs and low lighting and warmish colors, because that’s where they want to be anyway. But comfort doesn’t provide the attention and focus needed for real productivity. With posture, for instance, if you’re leaning back more than 15 degrees, it’s harder to see what you’re doing, so it’s harder to feel focused and motivated. Personally, I do my best work when I have an uncomfortable boss who comes around every once in awhile. Maybe I could rent one. Summer 2010 37

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All around the Valley, young entrepreneu rs

are taking Arizona’s f o e m o s t e e m , re e H their way. a swing at business— illennials. m — e v ti a v o n in and most successful—

By Si Robins Photography by Art Holeman

Across the Valley, there’s an uprising underway. People aren’t waiting for a midlife crisis to try something bold. Despite the sour economy, a few twenty- and early thirty-something entrepreneurs, leaders and innovators are making a difference now. It’s a youthquake, and it’s helping Arizona become a more vibrant, culturally significant place. In Tempe, a nationally syndicated cartoonist is writing jokes, drawing at all hours, and reaching an audience of millions—from just a few blocks away from where he grew up. In a midtown office space, a smart, pioneering nonprofit connects high schoolers with the biggest economic and social issues facing the world; and it's growing, teaching thousands of kids in the process. In an unmarked downtown storefront, a coffee roaster is teaching customers about his craft, creating java purists one by one. In a leafy Gilbert subdivision, a multitalented artist is juggling a freelance lifestyle with a grassroots rise to Internet fame and financial stability. And at fire stations across Phoenix, a young entrepreneur is working around the clock in the name of music education, despite significant city cutbacks. If young people are the future, then the Valley has a bright one. Though these people are seemingly unrelated, each is a noteworthy cog in the process of the young becoming the significant.

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The Cartoonist Tony Carrillo

Jokes are quietly being written in a Tempe coffee shop, and most patrons have no idea. For today, this is the home base of F Minus, a nationally syndicated comic strip rooted in the Valley. Artist and writer Tony Carrillo, a Tempe native and ASU grad, is the guy behind the witty strip, now in its sixth year of publication. Carrillo didn’t really aspire to this position. After receiving a rejection letter for his first comic from his high school paper, he didn’t emphasize drawing strips until his sophomore year at ASU, when The State Press needed a cartoonist. “They needed to fill a spot, and didn’t think much of it,” Carrillo, 28, recalls. “I wasn’t actively looking for an opportunity like that, but it sounded fun. I always wanted to write comedy, but how do you go about that?” After four semesters in The State Press, Carrillo applied to a comic strip contest through MTV and won, gaining nationwide syndication. “Suddenly I’m on MTV with all the bright lights,” Carrillo recalls. “I’m sure the interview was terrible. I probably looked like a mannequin. I never planned on doing this as a job. Everything that’s happened is a great surprise.”

“I never planned on doing this as a job.” Four years later, Carrillo is syndicated, his work appears in more than 100 newspapers and he has two published books full of strips, but he still faces the same difficulties as other comic artists. “I’m always fighting deadlines, and writing jokes never comes easy,” he says. “The drawing has gotten a lot easier, but coming up with the joke is always tough.” You’d never guess Carrillo writes the funnies. Quiet and laid back, his demeanor parallels the strip’s relaxed approach. F Minus’ trademark is its single-panel, clean look with a simple joke, which differentiates it from a lot of other, busier syndicated strips. In this economy, Carrillo has to deal with thinning newspapers and wavering subscriptions. Even still, he admits being published in just one paper is more than he ever hoped for, so Carillo is thankful for each one. “I think in that wide-screen format, so I suppose it comes naturally,” he smiles.

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Courtney Klein is proof that your first instinct may not always be the best. Klein, 26, started out in broadcast journalism at ASU and thought she wanted to become the next Katie Couric until a service trip changed her life. “After my freshman year in college I went to Akil, a rural community in Mexico, and saw what poverty looked like firsthand and how many people in the U.S. have no idea what’s happening in other parts of the world,” Klein recalls. It didn’t take long for her to act. “I wrote a business plan, changed my major to nonprofit management and submitted that plan my senior year at ASU to the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative,” Klein says. “They weren’t going to fund nonprofits, but I submitted the paperwork anyway.” In January 2005, Klein started with $1,000, a little office space and the mentorship of Lattie Coor. New Global Citizens, her youth-service nonprofit, was born. “What we do is go to high schools and set up teams of students that are passionate about global issues,” Klein explains. “We educate them about issues that are afflicting people all over the world—poverty, maternal health, access to water, universal education, environmental degradation, economic sustainability, etc.” At first, four East Valley high schools were involved. Last year, 76 high schools across 18 states were part of the movement. The goal is to grow the curriculum and support structure so the program can be replicated anywhere—in both rural and urban communities. Klein’s operations now boast nine full-time staff members, 16 members of her board of directors and lots of volunteers. Key to the project’s growth is a $1 million matching grant from the Arizona Community Foundation. But Klein’s nonprofit has to raise its own $1 million for that grant to go into effect. Two months in, New Global Citizens is 20 percent of the way toward raising that money within a 36-month time frame. Confident and motivated, Klein speaks like a true entrepreneur and is clearly moved by her cause. “The long-term goal is the transformation of high school students,” she says. “When their eyes are open to a new way of thinking and a new consciousness, how do they perceive their role in the world for the rest of their lives?” But guiding the students toward a whole-world view is only part of the appeal for Klein. She’s just as excited to meet motivated young people and watch them grow into who they want to be. “My lifelong dream is that I’m replaced by one of our alumni,” she says, smiling. We didn’t do anything to get them where they are—they did everything.”

For more information on New Global Citizens, go to newglobalcitizens.org, or call 602-263-0500.

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The Philanthropist Courtney Klein

“The long-term goal is the transformation of high school students.”

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If you walk into Cartel Coffee Lab’s bustling Tempe location in a nondescript shopping mall near ASU, you wouldn’t think a coffee revolution is happening. But thanks to Tucson-born-and-bred founder Jason Silberschlag, the coffee purist’s movement has traction. Silberschlag, 32, wasn’t always devoted to the coffee craft. He moved up to Mesa to be a youth pastor, but after a few years he was longing for something different. “I always wanted to own a coffee shop,” Silberschlag admits. “I got a job delivering sandwiches and I’d spend afternoons driving around, scouting out business locations and listening to NPR.” It was only after Silberschlag went to a “barista jam” in Tucson that he realized how serious he was. A coffee-farm manager was booking a trip to visit Guatemalan coffee farms, and Silberschlag jumped on it. “It was like going from being serious about coffee to being serious about coffee—just unbelievable,” Silberschlag says about his visit. “I went from wanting to own a coffee shop to wanting to roast coffee. So, I spent another six months researching that.” Over two years later, Cartel has blossomed into a two-store enterprise. The second location opened in downtown Phoenix in late 2009. “The growth was slow at first, but now it’s very sustainable,” Silberschlag says of the store. “You kind of have to know someone to know where it is.” The bohemian warehouse feel of the Tempe location hasn’t been replicated downtown. Instead, that store is bright, clean and more conventional looking. “It’s a totally different clientele downtown, so it will be a good test for our business model,” Silberschlag says. “We’ll see if people put up with us, because we definitely have some strange coffee rules.” He’s referring to Cartel’s coffee-purist reputation. You won’t find a Frappuccino or Caramel Macchiato on Cartel’s menu, because Silberschlag believes in the sanctity of natural coffee taste. The menu does have chocolate and vanilla syrup—used in much smaller quantities than at other coffee shops—but that’s about it. Coffee is serious here: Barista candidates are put through a stringent 40-hour non-paid training period that allows the shop to find the best coffee-minded individuals. Even the beans themselves are carefully chosen. Silberschlag predominantly sources from farms in Central and South America—he’s visited about 20—because of the sustainability and the bright taste. “What sets us apart is the transparency of where we get our coffee—we tend to buy coffee from socially responsible farmers,” Silberschlag says. “When I go to the farms, I see that the living conditions are good.” The eventual goal: to be the first North American coffee roaster to own a coffee farm. For now, Silberschlag stays busy managing his stores and serving an education to his customers, along with the good brew.

“I always wanted to own a coffee shop.”

The Barista Jason Silberschlag

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The Crusader Nate Anderson

“I’m a horrible employee, but I’m a great entrepreneur,” Nate Anderson of Ear Candy laughs. He’s not being cocky, he’s speaking from experience. The Miami University grad worked in corporate America but couldn’t stand it, so he moved to Arizona to start a real estate company with a friend. However, something still wasn’t right. “My heart wasn’t in it,” Anderson, 27, recalls. “I knew I wanted to use my skills—entrepreneurship coupled with a passion for music— and I created Ear Candy in 2007.” Simply put, Ear Candy’s mission is to provide youngsters with musical instruments and to encourage music education. The nonprofit initially hosted music events to raise money for charity, but after hosting a few, Anderson really wanted to do something for music education directly. That’s when the shift happened. “I didn’t see anyone doing anything about musical education to the degree that it needed to be done,” Anderson says. “I don’t think anyone is reaching the number of kids we’re on the cusp of hitting. There are 1.2 million kids in Arizona, and all of them need music education in some capacity.” The operation is still pretty small—a board of directors, a few interns and a few helpers—but Anderson anticipates that changing in the coming months. “I’m a perfectionist,” says Anderson, who works 60-plus hours a week on the cause. “We’ve experienced a lot of growth for a nonprofit. At the same time, I always want more and I always want to do better. No one is doing this as grassroots and community based as we are.” Surprisingly, Anderson himself isn’t a musician, though with his beard and shoulder-length hair he looks like he could be. He’s just always identified with music and wants to share the “overflowing positive energy” he’s gotten from it. Now Ear Candy is teaming up with the Phoenix Fire Department to use fire stations as instrument drop-off locations. There will be four drives in 2010, focusing on school districts in particular need. It’s all part of making a big musical impact. That impact has been widespread, reaching thousands of kids already. But as adamant as Anderson is about music in the classroom, he’s just as vocal about getting kids out in the world to check out other aspects of music—whether it’s meeting musicians, going to concerts or visiting higher-education facilities. Most importantly, he wants to stress to kids that they don’t have to be professional musicians to make music a part of their everyday lives. “I’m not a musician, but I’m involved in music 365 days a year, 24 hours a day,” Anderson says. “I don’t even know what some of these instruments are that come in! I learn so much every day.” For more information about Ear Candy, go to earcandycharity.org, or call 623-826-0202. 42 Wavelength

“There are 1.2 million kids in Arizona, and all of them need music education.”

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It’s hard enough to make your name in one medium, but Gilbert artist Promise Tangeman is so busy juggling photography, graphic design, trinket making, fine art and blogging that she doesn’t know how to identify herself. Tangeman, 24, who moved to the Valley from outside Seattle, loves having her hands in many projects. “I’m just a little design girl who makes stuff,” she laughs. “I’m pretty much the only person I know doing what I’m doing in this random of a place.” That place, again, is Gilbert, and yes, it’s a far cry from some of the Valley’s more art-inclined enclaves. Within minutes of opening her portfolio, she’s gushing over her wedding album, eagerly showing decorations she and friends designed and handmade boutonnieres she presented to groomsmen. Her excitement over the album isn’t surprising, given her many interests. In fact, she can hardly finish one thought about the page before blurting out the next. The fervor is there, and the talent is obvious. Tangeman is enjoying unexpected success, to the point that she gets to pick and choose projects and doesn’t have to search

for clients. Rather, they seek her out—for a photo shoot, a design scheme or some super-quirky accessories—through her increasingly popular blog and Twitter feed. “Going through school, I felt pressure to focus on one thing and try to be the best at it,” she remembers. “But why limit yourself? This year, I said I was going to do whatever I wanted.” Currently, Tangeman is finishing designs for children’s clothier Matilda Jane; branding designs for composer John Debney; designing an album for musician Ryan Axtell; crafting wedding invitations and a line of jewelry and accessories; and making countless photo edits. “It’s a lot of work, right?” she laughs. “I’m really inspired to do it, and it’s really fun. The economy is so bad right now, but I’m surviving doing what I love.” Eventually, Tangeman would like to start a business partnership with like-minded creatives, but she’s still feeling out her niche. “I have an entrepreneurial spirit,” she says. “I really love using my art for the greater good, but I just don’t know what that means for me yet in the long term. I love collaborating with other artists, so that’s a possibility. For now, I really like the variety.”

What’s Inspiring the Youthquake? Our panel shares local favorites. Courtney Klein: Local First Arizona. “We as a city are finally catching on that local business is what makes a city vibrant,” Klein says. “Phoenix is becoming kind of cool, but I don’t want it to move backward. Local First is making sure that doesn’t happen.” Nate Anderson: Tempe band What Laura Says. “I think they have the most potential to make it,” Anderson says. “They’re consistently the tightest, most evolving band, and I’ve seen them probably 20 times in the last year. Out of all the things bubbling in Phoenix from a musical standpoint, they have it.” Jason Silberschlag: “I’m going to be really selfish, but I’m really excited about having a baby,” Silberschlag says with a grin. At the time of the interview, Silberschlag was “on call,” waiting for word of his wife’s delivery at any moment.

The Artist Promise Tangeman

Promise Tangeman: Whatchaseewhatchaget, a band that used to play at Black Forest Mill in Phoenix on Friday nights. “The band has soul like no other, and they know how to rock,” Tangeman says. Tony Carrillo: The Chinese Shaolin Center in Tempe. “I’ve always wanted to learn kung fu,” Carrillo says. “It’s a really great group of people, a great workout and a great release.”

“I’m just a little design girl who makes stuff.” Summer 2010 43

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patron profile By Yvette Johnson

Second Life

DANIEL FRIEDMAN

Jazz lover enjoys his next act.

Phil DeAngelis

Phil DeAngelis has loved jazz for almost 40 years. “My dad owned a music store, so I was always around it,” he says. “I learned to play the guitar at 7 and was in bands all through junior high.” Of course, during those years DeAngelis mostly played rock; it was what was popular then. However, in his late teens he discovered the beautiful complexity of jazz. “A friend of mine had a Wes Montgomery album,” he says. “I put it on and tried to play along and had absolutely no idea what I was doing. A light came on for me, and I realized how simple rock harmonies are compared to jazz. It was a shocking awakening.” From then on, DeAngelis has been a jazz devotee. “That’s actually what I did for a living—play in a jazz group—until I was in my late 20’s,” he says. But DeAngelis realized that making a living as a musician was no 44 Wavelength

easy thing. So, in 1985 he moved to Phoenix to start a career in real estate. “My goal was to be able to work real hard for 20 or so years and then retire at a relatively young age and devote the rest of my life to playing music again,” DeAngelis says. “That’s where I’m at now.” When he arrived in Phoenix 25 years ago, DeAngelis discovered KJZZ and was thrilled to find such a good jazz station in his new city. Although DeAngelis was disappointed when KJZZ switched from an all-day jazz format to include NPR programming, he says he still appreciates that KJZZ “exposes people to instrumental music who otherwise wouldn’t be listening to it.” And he’s since become a fan of NPR’s comprehensive news, too. These days, his dial is always tuned to KJZZ. While DeAngelis loves to play jazz, he

The Patrons Leadership Society (PLS) is a diverse group of philanthropic individuals and families committed to sustaining KJZZ & KBAQ’s ability to inspire and inform members of our community with world-class news, music and informational programming. Members of the PLS share the distinction of being our stations’ most generous annual contributors, giving $1,000 or more each year to one or both stations. In return, PLS members are granted behindthe-scenes access to our studios and are invited to participate in exclusive programming and private visits with public radio personalities from across the country. For more information about the PLS, please contact Aaron Pratt at 480-774-8453 or apratt@kjzz.org.

is first and foremost a fan. “I really like jazz from the mid 50’s,” he says, “Miles Davis and John Coltrane and all the guys who played in their bands. One of my favorite musicians is Wayne Shorter. He’s an unbelievable composer, as well as an unbelievable player. I also love Herbie Hancock. I was fortunate enough to play in the opening act of several concerts with him.” But DeAngelis doesn’t just look back. “Recently, I’ve stumbled upon some musicians from northern Europe that are unbelievable; particularly some young guitar players,” he says. Some of his favorites are Lage Lund, Jesse van Ruller and Martijn van Iterson. “These guys don’t sound like anybody else. You don’t hear the typical clichés.” Which could also be said of his favorite radio station.

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travel Story and photos by Peter Aleshire

Gone Swimmin’ Seven perfect places to plunge. A clean dive. A cool dip. A glad gurgle. The perfect swimming hole conjures summer and soaks into memory. Now, you poor fools deserve all sorts of credit for getting through yet another 115 degree summer, roasting here on our own little heat island. But don’t be ridiculous. We’ll still admire your fortitude if you sneak off every so often to soak in one of Arizona’s rare treasures—a stream that burbles and splashes through a perfect swimming hole, where you can indulge your inner Huck Finn—

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and maybe bond with the kids (or grandkids). So, culled from 20 years of knocking about the Arizona outback, I offer seven strategically scattered Arizona creeks along which you can find the special joys of a shaded swimming hole. Alas, I ran out of room before I could tell you about Wet Beaver Creek near Sedona, the White River in the White Mountains, Cherry Creek or Workman Creek in the Sierra Anchas, Cibecue Creek in the Salt River Canyon, the Salt River itself or Turkey Creek in the Chiricahuas—but, hey, I have to save something for myself.

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Oak Creek he weekend crowds constitute the one and only crack in the dam of my affections for Oak Creek— especially on weekends at Red Rock Crossing and Slide Rock. Oak Creek has soaked into my heart thanks to that afternoon 7-year-old Noah made himself into the mud monster; the happy hours of crawfish hunting with toddlers; the slide down the Slide Rock chutes of sandstone— and even the trip to the Sedona doctor to stitch up Caleb’s forehead after a fall on the aforementioned chutes. Oak Creek has it all— world-famous scenery, vortexes that can soothe your soul, brilliantly colored birds, trout pools, mud banks, cottonwoods dangling rope swings over deep pools, glorious shade, bright sun, red rocks and gushy mud. Of course, one must contend with those crowds—so try to go during the week. You can also get a little more privacy by driving up State Route 89A and looking for an unoccupied turnout so you can forsake the car and scramble down to the stream. The state stocks the creek with trout, but you can always take the kids to the fish farm off State 89A as your backup plan. Of course, if you’re in a better income bracket than scribblers like me, investigate renting a streamside cabin for a week—preferably someplace with a deep pool and a long rope tied to a tall tree.

Summary: The most beautiful,

Equal parts iconic and idyllic, Oak Creek is quintessentially Arizona.

refreshing, varied stream in Arizona— marred only by the swarms of people that have discovered its charms. Enjoy the crowded scene at Oak Creek Crossing and Slide Rock, or drive 89A looking for an unpopulated section of stream. Facilities: Lots of hotels in Sedona. Cheaper hotels available in Camp Verde and Cottonwood. Developed campground at Page Springs and commercial camps along 89A. Access: Take Interstate 17 to State Route 179, then to 89A in Sedona.

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Fossil Creek almost hate to tell anyone about Fossil Creek—but seeing as how we’re so close, I’ll make an exception. At the moment, Fossil Creek ranks as my favorite swimming hole in the whole state—and it’s only about 100 miles from Phoenix. The creek gushes from a stream laden with travertine at the base

Water Wheel offers a stretch of pools and some cool relief.

East Verde River— Water Wheel his little-known treasure just outside Payson offers one of the best all-around swimming holes in Arizona. The East Verde River emerges from a spring at the base of the Mogollon Rim and flows down past Payson and into a wilderness area to merge with the Verde River. Houston Mesa Road on the outskirts of Payson follows the East Verde, offering ample access. The Arizona Game and Fish Department stocks the stream with trout every week. Water Wheel offers the best single swimming hole along the

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whole stretch of river, with a 40foot waterfall and a deep pool. Normally, the Water Wheel Campground bustles with people all summer. But after a fire last summer, the Forest Service closed it. So you may need to go past the campground up the hill to Second Crossing. Right by the road, you’ll find a nice little pool of water stocked regularly with trout. To the right, you can climb down to another beautiful pool, swim it and hike downstream to the waterfall. In truth, you can find all sorts of ways down to the creek off Houston Mesa Road.

Summary: This 15-mile stretch of stream offers a scattering of deep pools, a couple of waterfalls, open camping spots and lots of chances to catch a trout. Access: Take State Route 87— the Beeline Highway—about 90 miles out of Phoenix and on through Payson toward Pine and Strawberry. Just outside Payson, take Houston Mesa Road east about seven miles. Water Wheel lies between the first, bridged crossing and the second crossing, where the stream flows across the road.

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Part of Tonto Creek’s allure is the difficult trek to get there. of the Mogollon Rim and flows some 15 miles to its junction with the Verde River. The travertine gives the creek a mind-blowing blue-green cast, like the famous Havasu Creek. Moreover, the travertine creates almost swampy stretches of stream (except the water remains crystal clear) and a fascinating architecture with strange drip castles, stone dams and little spillovers. For nearly a century, APS diverted creek water out through a flume to generate power for Phoenix. About four years ago, APS decommissioned the power plant, returning water to the

stream. That’s probably the only reason this stream hasn’t been overrun. The spring that feeds it gushes reliably, creating mile after mile of little waterfalls and deep pools. Moreover, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has established a catch-and-release fishery there for native chub—perhaps better known as Verde trout. (You have to use barbless hooks and lures and immediately release anything you catch.) When they emptied the stream of non-native fish, put the water back in and restocked it with native fish—they also managed to get rid of the crawfish, the invasive scourge of almost every other stream in the state.

Summary: Magical, mostly because of the blue-green water, Fossil Creek has been brought back from the dead and has now become a refuge for native fish. Facilities: The Coconino National Forest has banned camping along the creek but maintains some portable toilets during the summer. Access: From Payson, take State Route 260 to Strawberry and turn on Fossil Creek Road. Follow the dirt road down a hair-raising, hairpin ride down into the canyon. It’ll take you about 50 minutes from Payson. You can also pick up Fossil Creek Road outside Camp Verde, just down State 260 from Interstate 17.

Fossil Creek begs adventurous souls to jump feet-first into its blue-green water.

Tonto Creek he spring-fed, upper-reaches of Tonto Creek offer parched Phoenicians one of the best alternatives to sweating out the summer. Tonto Creek boasts great trout fishing in a succession of beautiful ponds and cascades in its rocky bottom— stocked all summer from the Arizona Game and Fish Department hatchery near where a spring gushes from the base of the legendary Mogollon Rim. Fed by water seeping through the massive sandstone layers of the forested Rim Country, Tonto Creek seems conjured from the mountain and then rushes down its steep grade collecting Christopher Creek waters before plunging down past the pines and pools into the vividly named Hellsgate Wilderness. This easily accessible stretch of river perfectly combines water and scenery—but you’ll have to overlook the crowds. On the other hand, the lower reaches of Tonto Creek in the wilderness area offer an unforgettable stint of canyoneering. It’s a strenuous hike, and you’ll need to bring a water filter, but here you can go days without seeing anyone. The river returns to civilization, often

nearly exhausted, at Gisela, which waits at the end of Forest Service Road 417 off State Route 87. Tonto Creek continues on south into Roosevelt Lake.

Summary: Tonto Creek offers sweltering desert dwellers an idyllic mountain stream for the cost of a roughly two-hour drive. Fish and splash along the easily accessible section just off State Route 260, or plunge into the wilderness for a canyoneering experience. Facilities: There’s a Forest Service streamside campground along Forest Service Road 289 off State 260, and another by Christopher Creek, a few miles farther along 260. The historic Kohls Ranch offers rental cabins and time-shares right on the creek, too. Access: From Payson, follow 260 16 miles to FR 289, which runs along the creek. To backpack the very difficult Hells Gate Trail, turn off 260 at Forest Service Road 405A about 11 miles east of Payson and drive about a half mile to the trailhead at Forest Service Road 893. To reach Gisela, turn off State 87 at FR 417/Gisela Road, then follow Tonto Creek Shores/Drive. Summer 2010 49

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Grassy meadows, tall pines and scenic waters—Black River boasts the perfect recipe for a summer day.

Black River he Black River gurgles happily along through the 8,000-foot-high forest from near Alpine and down into the 7,000-foot mixed pine and oak woodlands of the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Pines, willows and alders line its banks, while bunches of grass overhang its undercut banks where intermittently cooperative trout linger. The blessing and the curse of the Black River remains the road that runs along its banks. It provides easy access to an eight-mile incantation of pools, riffles and bends—which means you can easily spend the day exploring the river but must contend with others with the same yen. The dirt and gravel Forest Service Road 276 follows the river’s east fork, while Forest Service Road 25 goes by the

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smaller west fork. Once these two streams join, they head down into a steep canyon to meet the White River—thereby creating the Salt River, which makes Phoenix possible.

Summary: Great scenery, fishing and access in the cool, forested high country that offers one of those perfect fantasies of childhood that will make you wonder, at least briefly, whether you took a wrong turn and ended up in the Rocky Mountains—so long as you avoid the summertime weekend crowds. Facilities: Excellent campgrounds all along the river. Several lodges and rental cabins around Alpine and Hannagan Meadow, about 20 miles south on U.S. Route 191. Access: Take U.S. Route 60 from Globe through the spectacular Salt

River Canyon, and on through Show Low to Springerville and then U.S. Route 180/191 to Alpine. Off U.S. 191 just north of Alpine, Forest Service Road 249 leads to FR 276, which follows the east fork, eventually meeting up with FR 25 for the west fork, too. Or from 191 south of Alpine toward Hannagan Meadow, hop on Forest Service Road 26 and head for Forest Service Road 24 to get to 25.

NOTE: Back-road travel can be hazardous, and high-clearance vehicles are advised. Be aware of weather and road conditions, and carry plenty of water. Don’t travel alone, and let someone know where you’re going and when you plan to return.

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Aravaipa Creek unning through the heart of the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, this spring-fed, often ankle-deep stream nurtures a sycamore jungle in the midst of a scrub desert. Anyone sampling the creek’s refreshing waters should come prepared to spend most of the day crossing repeatedly from bank to bank. That lush streamside vegetation threaded through the 3,000-foot-elevation desert surrounding the canyon makes the creek a wildlife paradise. Any day spent splashing through Aravaipa Canyon will likely seep into the aquifer of your permanent memories. Most people simply hike a few miles in from either end of the canyon, which runs through a wilderness area that prevents other access. You’ll need a per-

mit from the Bureau of Land Management—available online or at the BLM office in Safford— to do this, and access is limited to 50 people per day. Those eager for a life experience will find some way to start from one end and hike all the way through— most likely spending one night in the middle. The hike itself takes about 10 hours from one road through to the other. That’s assuming you can resist the lure of the many side canyons and the overpowering temptation to stretch out on a sandy bank under a sycamore.

Summary: A green miracle of a spring-fed, sycamore-graced, canyon-contained, year-round stream gurgling through a thorned and sun-blasted desert. Facilities: There’s a good campsite on the eastern side but very limited facilities in Klondyke. Access: To get to the passengercar friendlier western side: From Superior, take State Route 177 to Winkelman and then State Route 77 for 11 miles to Aravaipa Road. Drive east on the gravel road 12 miles to the trailhead. For the harder to reach eastern side: From Globe, take U.S. Route 70 to Klondyke Road (eight miles past Fort Thomas). Take a right and follow this dirt road about 45 miles through Klondyke to the trailhead. You’ll encounter a few stream crossings toward the end, so you’ll need a high-clearance vehicle (four-wheel drive wouldn’t hurt, either) and the road is also subject to flooding and closure in wet weather.

Noted for its desert stream and grand cliffs, the Aravaipa Wilderness area is home to some of Arizona’s most remote and spectacular scenery. Summer 2010 51

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If you’ve got a passion for birds, migrate to the San Pedro, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the Southwest.

San Pedro River he San Pedro River remains one of the most remarkable, endangered and fitful struggles of water in the desert. The low flows along its 140-mile length protected it from the ambitions of the dam-builders who have destroyed or altered almost all the riparian areas in the Southwest. The San Pedro meanders past Tombstone and on toward Benson—running happily along at the height of the spring runoff and the summer monsoons. It offers one of the best places to get a glimpse of a relatively intact cottonwood-willow riparian habitat, the most biologically productive habitat in North America. All of this attracts some 350 species of birds, more than 80 species of

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butterflies, 83 mammals and more than 65 species of amphibians and reptiles. In fact, nearly two-thirds of the bird species found in the U.S. flit through the San Pedro in the course of a year. That’s why the Nature Conservancy deemed it one of the world’s “Last Great Places” and why the Bureau of Land Management designated a 40-mile, easily accessible stretch as the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. Nonetheless, the river faces serious threats—mostly from groundwater pumping in and around the boomtown of Sierra Vista. Average flows have dropped an estimated 75 percent in the past half century. The river crosses State Route 90 just east

of Sierra Vista. The prettiest, most easily accessible stretch is just north of the bridge over the river halfway between Sierra Vista and Tombstone. You can also follow the river on a good gravel road that starts at Benson and meanders north to State Route 77 near Oracle. SUMMARY: The fitful San Pedro provides one of the most remarkable wildlife habitats in North America. The river draws 350 species of birds and a chance to splash through a lazy stream beneath a canopy of cottonwoods. FACILITIES: Excellent hotels in Sierra Vista, Tombstone or Benson can serve as a base of operations. There’s a visitor center seven miles east of Sierra Vista on State 90.

Cheers

toThat!

In an upcoming issue of Wavelength, we’ll be looking at our state’s emergent wine regions. Got a favorite Arizona wine, winery or wine-country destination? Write us at wavelength@fpraz.org.

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listener profile By Kristen Forbes

Sweatin’ to the Suites KBAQ fans say metal isn’t the only soundtrack for pumping iron.

Ramon and Linda Nunez “Life has enough stress in it. I don’t need more from my radio station.”

They may be Phoenix residents, but Linda and Ramon Nunez can often be found elsewhere. Whether Linda is volunteering in Argentina or China or the couple is scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, the Nunezes know how to fill a passport. While they work safaris and sightseeing into the itinerary, most of their time goes to helping others. In 2008, Linda helped build a South African community center for AIDS orphans. And more recently, the duo took a bicycle trip from Pittsburgh to Lake Erie to

DANIEL FRIEDMAN

Though classical music at the gym may seem unorthodox, the Nunezes insist no one complains. “What’s amazing is that people, for the most part, respect our request,” says Ramon. “They put on that music for that hour we are there. Two seconds after 1:00 p.m., it goes back to the other music.” support multiple sclerosis research. “We actually don’t have a lot of time, but we spend the time that we do have the best that we can,” Ramon says. Ramon works for StandardAero and is an ordained deacon in the Southern Baptist church. Linda, a full-time volunteer, takes several mission trips a year and mans phones at KJZZ and KBAQ fundraisers, too. Volunteering for the stations is a natural fit, since both Linda and Ramon are avid fans. “Life has enough stress in it,” Ramon says. “I don’t need more from my radio station. In my car, I can set up to 20 preselected stations. I only have two set up: KJZZ and KBAQ.” Their appreciation extends so far, they even request KBAQ at the gym. Athletes’ Performance, where they work out five days a week, normally has loud, heavy music streaming from its speakers. The strong beats and fast rhythms are intended to motivate the many professional athletes that exercise there. For the Nunezes, though, that kind of music just doesn’t cut it. To train for their physically grueling trips, they work out hard. And they do it to classical music. “Classical music helps me focus,” says Linda. “I think it has surprised people how energetic some of the classical pieces can be. They always think of it like it’s in slow-motion, but it’s not that way at all.” Ramon’s preference for classical boils down to what feels good deep down. “I prefer to have music that soothes my soul, rather than accosts it,” he says.

Winter 2009 53

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local flavor By RaeAnne Marsh Photography by Emily Piraino

Cool Summer Places to get a brain freeze.

o battle summer temps, we present ice cream, gelato and smoothies. Because the Valley abounds in charming spots that serve comfort, cold.

Sweet Republic: Conic Selection

weet Republic wants customers to linger over their cups of coffeeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;savoring in peaceful contemplation, or over the rough and tumble capitalism of a game of Monopoly borrowed from the community shelf, or while

54 Wavelength

connected to the free Wi-Fi. But if coffee doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t appeal, there are always 23 other flavors of ice cream, dairy-free sorbet and fatfree yogurt to choose from. And more creative ways to enjoy it than just in a cup. Drop a couple of scoops into one of the premium root beers for

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Helen Yung (opposite) and Jan Wichayanuparp (below, right) funded and founded their ice cream shop themselves. They’re using both the old (a 1959 milk truck to deliver their ice cream to farmers’ markets) and the new (the shop has a Twitter account) to make Sweet Republic a success.

an old-fashioned summer favorite. Or stuff one into a waffle cone and cover it with brownie chunks and maybe a marshmallow on top. The ice cream, waffle cone, brownie and marshmallow are all made on the premises. With KJZZ playing in the back room, co-owner Helen Yung applies her Cordon Bleu training and patisserie experience to create premium quality products. Why ice cream? “I like the diversity,” she says. “There are classic flavors, and I can experiment.” Her experiments yield delicacies like a salted butter caramel swirl ice cream and a basil lime sorbet. Yung has approximately 100 flavors in her repertoire to date. She and co-owner Jan Wichayanuparp left the banking world after 9/11 to follow a different dream, eventually bringing their plan to fruition where they saw the best opportunity—metro Phoenix. They opened Sweet Republic on Memorial Day 2008. The business is determinedly eco-friendly, not only dedicated to recycling but also tapping into “green” decor advances with energy-efficient lights and fans, VOC-free paint and tabletops made of sorghum stalk (a

renewable plant resource with a look similar to bamboo). And it should go without saying that they opt for all-natural ingredients with an emphasis on local sources. What’s on tap this summer? “May—peaches will be coming around then,” says Yung, looking forward to seasonal flavors like peaches & cream and peach cobbler. “We’ll go pick our peaches at Schnepf Farms,” she smiles. Sweet Republic 9160 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale; 480-248-6979; sweetrepublic.com

Summer 2010 55

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Angel Sweet: Gelato Heaven

es, there are toppings on the menu. But putting them on Angel Sweet’s gelato is almost sacrilegious. The flavors and creamy texture deserve to be savored as they give the taste buds a raison d’être. Gelato, aka Italian ice cream, is actually denser than ice cream because less air is added when making it. Credit its lighter taste to having only a quarter of the fat. But as Angel Sweet makes it, it hasn’t lost an iota of creaminess—even in the noncream-based fruit flavors. Flavors span the spectrum from pure fruit (blueberry) to candy (black licorice, one of the newer creations), from favorites (the flan-like panna cotta) to the unexpected (“I have done jalapeño,” says manager Glenn Surkan). The recipe and the bases for the gelato come from Italy, and many of the flavors have also made the trip. But Surkan gives the recipe a twist, adding new temptations to answer local tastes. Peanut butter and Oreo are two such non-traditionals. It’s first come, first served at Angel Sweet, since the gelato is made fresh on the premises in limited quantities. But that’s not as risky as it sounds, since Surkan has a firm handle on the anticipated daily demand for the various flavors. Still, they have a limited shelf life, which figures into the equation of how much to make: “It’s a three-day cycle,” Surkan explains. After that, whatever’s left of a batch comes

56 Wavelength

A few things differentiate gelato from its American cousin, ice cream. First, it contains less butterfat. Next, it’s served at a warmer temperature. And finally, it’s churned at a slower speed, so not as much air is whipped into the mixture.

out of the showcase and gets donated to charity or goes home with a lucky employee. Usually, two or three flavors are offered at a time; maybe more at special times of the year. There are seasonal flavors, too: pumpkin pie in the fall (which boasts crumbs of crust), peppermint in December, watermelon in the summer (made from fresh watermelon). And then there’s MCC (milk chocolate and caramel)—a perennial, but it only sees the light on weekends. Angel Sweet 1900 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler; 480-722-2541 937 N. Dobson Road, Mesa; 480-969-5227 angelsweetgelato.com

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Whether they drink smoothies or coffee, customers are encouraged to hang out at Buzzberry, enjoying the low-key vibe and free Wi-Fi.

Buzzberry: Givin’ It a Whirl

t looks like it’s been there forever. An eclectic assortment of couches, easy chairs and cocktail stools randomly fills the sunny indoor patio studded with small tables. The seats and surfaces seem scuffed from years of the kind of friendly confabs a community gathering place encourages. What a difference a few months make. Prior to November 2009, this space was an eyesore on the corner of a strip mall. So owner Kate Tobias, wanting a neighborly gathering place, created this been-thereforever ambience and enhanced the comfortable feeling with free Wi-Fi and a dog-friendly outdoor patio. “I believe in coffee, smoothies and community,” she says, and she tries to put “community”

into the menu as well as the meeting place. The coffee beans—a blend created for Buzzberry—are locally roasted, and Tobias sources her dairy, bakery and produce items locally, too. Her smoothies, however, cross boundaries—the base comes from California, and the taste takes customers out of this world. The Scottsdale Sunrise, combining pineapple, wild cherry and cranberry, is a refreshing mouthful of ripe fruit. Strawberry, pineapple and mango are available straight up, as well as other flavors in popular blends that include tangerine-orange and strawberrybanana. And keeping the fruitonly purees refrigerated means less ice is required to make a smoothie—so it doesn’t turn into a watery slush. Wanting to “offer something that’s actually healthy,” Tobias admits there was a learning curve

as she ventured out of businessto-business marketing into the restaurant world and discovered “there are additives in foods we don’t expect.” With no fat, no dairy, no dyes and no added sugars, her smoothies have brought thanks from people with dietary issues like gluten or lactose intolerance, she says. And that’s part of the fun of the business: “Interacting with customers, getting feedback and following through on those suggestions.” As the name implies, Buzzberry offers espresso drinks, too, as well as teas and hot chocolate. There’s also a short list of made-to-order sandwiches, including a tasty breakfast option of freshly scrambled egg, cheese and bacon (or sausage) on a flaky croissant (or bagel, toast or tortilla). Buzzberry’s menu fits on one chalkboard, but it offers a lot of choice.

Buzzberry 5959 N. Granite Reef Road, Scottsdale; 480-626-4797; geturbuzz.com

Get Your

Greens

In a future issue of Wavelength, we’ll be looking at healthy places to eat. Whether you’ve found a great vegetarian restaurant or a perfect farmers’ market, we want to hear where you go to fortify yourself healthfully. Write us at wavelength@fpraz.org.

Summer 2010 57

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I Scream,You Scream Listeners sound off on their favorite frozen treats.

“ 741 E. Glendale Ave., Phoenix; 602-252-1200; unlimitedcoffee.com

SUGAR BOWL

4005 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale; 480-946-0051; sugarbowlscottsdale.com The Sugar Bowl has been a longtime favorite of ours. We used

premises). In addition to sundaes, real malts and other specialty items, I can get a tasty soup, thick chili or a BLT. —Mark Richards

18914 E. San Tan Blvd., Queen Creek; 480-279-3546; thedeliqc.com This cute little café seems like Napa by way of Queen Creek. It serves wonderfully creative soups, salads and sandwiches, but the real treat is the homemade ice cream made fresh every day. And I’m not talking chocolate or vanilla, but sophisticated, farm-fresh flavors like red chile honey, cinnamon brown sugar, and lavender. It’s the perfect spot for an unpretentious, yet gourmet, dessert. —Lori Lattin

UNLIMITED COFFEE/ MONSTER’S GELATO

When this coffee shop started serving gelato, I was so excited to be able to get such a treat right in my neighborhood! Unlimited Coffee has nice, large tables where you can spread out with an iced coffee and read the paper. It’s also open late and we like to stop in after a weekend movie to satisfy our sweet tooth! —Alicia Funkhouser

THE DELI

to go for special occasions, like when my daughter and I would attend Scottsdale’s Parada del Sol. We’d go to lunch after at the Sugar Bowl. It was always crowded and always a fun dad-and-daughter day. Sometimes we, the family, would go to have lunch or dinner and a sundae—or just a sundae. They make a killer meat-loaf sandwich and, of course, the hot fudge sundaes were, and are, magnificent. —James Metcalf

THAT’S AMORE

7605 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale; 480-419-6280 8320 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale; 480-315-9970 thatsamoregelato.com

In 2005, Italy’s loss was Scottsdale’s gain. When sisters Cristina and Paola Marrazzo moved to Arizona, they introduced this area to some of the best gelato I’ve tasted outside of Florence, Italy. MARY COYLE That’s Amore’s two locations both feature gleaming, curvy cases filled with 5521 N. 7th Ave., dozens of flavors of frozen deliciousness Phoenix; 602-265-6266; that are more intense than American marycoyle.net I’d heard of this Phoenix fixture long ice cream and yet lower in butterfat. I before becoming a full-time resident in love their luscious red forest berry, the the mid-1990s, and had made a point rich and creamy hazelnut, the tropical of stopping in whenever I was out here coconut and, for one with a little heat, the chili pepper chocolate. The only problem on business. I don’t think the decor has changed since it was built in the with That’s Amore is that it’s spoiled 1950s, and I love that as much as the gelato for me most anywhere else. —Julie Zagars super-rich ice cream (made on the

”

Puzzle Play

Here is the solution to the crossword puzzle on page 64. If you haven’t found the puzzle yet—no peeking!—get a pen and turn to the last page.

58 Wavelength

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Summer 2010 59

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ON THE AIR

mon

kbaq 89.5

tue

wed

FM Public Radio Schedule

thu

fri

sat

sun

midnight 1:00 2:00 Classical Music Throughout the night

3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 Classical Music

7:00

with Sterling Beeaff

Classical Music

with Jane Hilton

8:00

Sunday Baroque

with Suzanne Bona

9:00 10:00

Classical Music

with Janine Miller

with Jane Hilton

with Janine Miller

Classical Music

with Jane Hilton

11:00 Metropolitan Opera Mozart Buffet with Randy Kinkel

noon

(Through May 2010 at various times)

Classical Music

with Frank Sprague

with Duart Martin

1:00

with Katrina Becker

Classical Music with Randy Kinkel

2:00 3:00 Classical Music

with Jon Town

4:00 5:00 Performance Today Performance Today with Fred Child and Jon Town

St. Paul Sunday

6:00 7:00

From the Top Classical Music

with Katrina Becker

Southwest Season Ticket

Classical Music SymphonyCast

ASU in Concert

8:00

with Frank Sprague

Classical Music

with Duart Martin Classical Music

with Brian Dredla

9:00 Classical Music with Katrina Becker, Duart Martin or Frank Sprague

10:00 11:00

60 Wavelength

Classical Music

Throughout the night

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Summer 2010 61

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kjzz 91.5

ON THE AIR

mon

tue

wed

midnight 1:00

FM Public Radio Schedule

thu

fri

sat

sun

Classic Jazz

with Paul Anderson

with Michele Robins

Classic Jazz Classic Jazz Classic Jazz

2:00 Classic Jazz

3:00 4:00 Only a Game

5:00

BBC Newshour

Morning Edition National and Arizona News, Traffic and Weather Reports

6:00 7:00 Weekend Edition

8:00 9:00 The Diane Rehm Show 1-800-433-8850

10:00

Car Talk

11:00

Here and Now

Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!

Talk of the Nation 1-800-989-8255

Whad’ya Know?

Fresh Air

This American Life

The Splendid Table

Marketplace Money

Best of Public Radio

A Prairie Home Companion

Car Talk

noon

On the Media

1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00

All Things Considered

5:00 A Prairie Home Companion

Marketplace

Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!

6:00 BBC’s World Today

7:00

PRI’s The World American Routes

8:00

Those Lowdown Blues

with Bob Corritore

9:00

Classic Jazz

Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz

with Blaise Lantana

Riverwalk Jazz

10:00 Classic Jazz

11:00

62 Wavelength

Classic Jazz

with Paul Anderson

with Michele Robins

Classic Jazz

with Michele Robins

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Summer Fall 2008 2010 63

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Crossword By Fred Jarmuz

Lost in Space Across 1. Committee type 6. Static __ 11. Cacophony 14. Part of LED 15. Southwestern desert plant 16. Genetic letters 17. 1976 Barbra Streisand movie 19. It can be tidy or paltry 20. Enjoy a CD 21. “__ So Vain”: Carly Simon hit 23. Splits 26. Said, “Preach on, brother!” 27. Completes the deal 28. Overly diluted 30. Zamboni’s milieu 31. Rode like Lance 32. Dadaist Jean 35. It comes before 800 36. Fish in a can 38. Wood from which Woods 39. 40. 41. 42. 44. 46. 48. 49. 50. 52. 53.

58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63.

hits woods Susan of “L.A. Law” Tearjerker? Kon-Tiki Museum site Grazing area Collapse Future oaks They may be single Combination of tones Drunken state Sn, chemically speaking Where part of 17-Across and 11-Down and 25-Down can be found Bauxite or galena Doctoral exams Spot for an eagle-eyed observer? All Things Considered network Clothes go in and out of it regularly Musical Rimes

Down 1. Letters on a Crest tube 2. Opposite of dat? 3. On a winning streak 4. Harem slave (var.) 5. Crayola choice 6. Dermatologists’ concerns 64 Wavelength

Garage job, for short Something to click on Big ATM maker Largest moon of the planet Jupiter 11. Chinese leader 12. Get used to 13. “A Streetcar ___ Desire” 18. Doctrines 22. Not ‘neath 23. Boston entrée 24. “Crazy” country singer 25. Ralph Kramden, Ed Norton, e.g. 26. “... two fives for __?” 7. 8. 9. 10.

28. Lehár operetta “The Merry __” 29. From the same tree? 31. Vivacity 33. Used used candles 34. Lowly laborers 36. %#&!#! ones 37. Partner of its and buts 41. Supervise 43. Be human? 44. They’re billed at the ballpark 45. ___ pain in the ... 46. Follow, as an impulse 47. Birds do it; bees don’t 48. Prize money

50. 51. 54. 55. 56. 57.

Do in, as a dragon Like most N.B.A. players Bit for a boxer La-la lead-in Un : France :: ___ : Germany Word on a door

The solution to this puzzle appears on page 58.

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Summer 2010 65

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66 Wavelength