How to enjoy Christmastime in Phoenix if your friends are back east


One of the great time-honored traditions of living in Phoenix is showing your friends back east how nice it is at Christmastime. Personally, I like to post photos on Facebook of flowers blooming in my backyard in December. And my friends back east say, "Thanks for rubbing it in!" as they slog through the snow and cold.

I collect old photos of Phoenix, and one of my favorites is this group of guys from 1893. This photo was obviously staged to do the most "rubbing in" possible. Although I can't read all of the sign, it clearly says "Merry Christmas", "93", and "Phoenix, Ariz". And aside from the smirky grins the guys have, you can see palm trees, agaves, and what looks like a long straw from some cooling drink. Not sure what's on the table, but Mr. Slick Hair is holding a fan.

Photography was becoming popular, and inexpensive in those days due to the new invention "the Kodak" camera. And so silliness like this started to become common, and has now become a tradition in Phoenix. So if you live in Phoenix, and have friends back east, it is your civic duty to shoot a photo showing how nice it is at Christmastime, and rub it in!

By the way, I don't have an exact address for this, but my best guess is that it was on Central north of Washington.
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