peculiarities of the place in which i grew up #3
Peculiarities of living on the side of Camelback Mountain:
The dentist’s castle. My house, on Saddlerock Drive, was directly below the mountain from Copenhaver Castle, built by a Phoenix orthodontist. I was a kid when it was being built, and my utter enchantment at the whole idea made me overcome my lack of adventurousness — I would sneak onto the construction site from time to time to check the progress. Ultimately, I was disappointed by the whole non-Disney look of the thing — I would have included a moat, large flickering torches, primary colors and some glitter. However, the sight of the castle was absolutely thrilling during one of Phoenix’s insane lightning storms. Looming over us — while the acoustics of the mountain made every thunderclap echo insanely, hellishly — the castle took on an appropriate dark and scary ominence. You could almost see the cartoon bats whirling overhead, and the glowing windows narrow into mean, staring eyes.
If you encounter a native Phoenician, ask them about the Camelback Mountain castle, and more likely than not, they will say “the dentist’s castle!”
Neat!!!