You know you're from Phoenix if...

Here's something I hate on Facebook this week: those damn groups about people's hometowns. You know you're from Mayberry if... Remembering the good old days in Chick Creek... Who remembers ol' Nashtucky... You might be from Wayside School if...

You get the idea.

But what if you're from a giant, personality-less city? There's nothing that I can use to identify with people who grew up in Phoenix, other than street names. Not at all in jest, I have actually had this conversation:

Them: Wait, you grew up in Phoenix too?"
Me: "I did!"
Them: "Oh man, that's crazy. Remember how bad traffic was on Bell Road?"
Me: "Ha...Bell Road. Walmart and Fry's...of course there was traffic, am I right??"

Not really an identifying moment for us. I mean, sort of, but it was also an identifying moment with about a million billion people around the world. There is nothing unique about Phoenix...but in my endless quest to be a part of everything, ever, I've come up with the following list, just in case I ever get invited to that Facebook group.

You know you're from Phoenix if...

--It could get hot
--You saw the Olive Garden
--You grew up there
--The roads were paved and striped
--It rained some of the time
--There were a lot of public high schools, but also, some private
--Stop lights were set on timers, not weights, in some cases
--Most of the people over 18 had vehicles, either purchased, or received as gifts
--You knew where various fast food restaurants around your house were
--You had friends with whom you attended school each day in Phoenix
--There were places to get your taxes filed
--Kids liked ice cream
--Every morning, the sun rose in the East
--Some larger concerts came through town
--There was an oldies radio station who, at one point, had the slogan "Good times, GREAT oldies!"
--Mormons were there
--The airport code was three letters
--Some people were lactose intolerant
--There was a favorite place for teenagers to hang out
--Often times, people wore red, or even gray
--It was so light outside when the sun was up

I could go on, but I'm sure the point has been made. You know, part of me wants to start this group with all of these posts, just to see the stay-at-home moms (who aren't cool like my friends who stay at home) post things like "Ohhhemgee there were totally Mormons!!! That is hilarious!!!" or "I TOTALLY remember the Olive Garden...total wow moment!!!"

Happy Friday everyone.