EXPERIENCE ARIZONA

Drive NORTHWEST of Phoenix and You're in for a BIG SURPRISE

SOME FRIENDS OF MINE LIVE NEAR PHOENIX on the northwestern edge of the Valley of the Sun. Recently, I bought them a gift and was having it sent directly from the store. The clerk asked, “To whom is this package to be sent?” I didn't answer immediately. Questions phrased in correct (I think) grammatical form rattle me a bit. Recovering, I gave her the name of my friends. "And what address do you want it sent to?" Thank goodness, she came down to my grammatical level by using a preposition to end a sentence with.

I gave her the street address.

"What city?" she asked.

I said, “Surprise.” She said, “Oh, of course, sir. We won't breathe a word of this until the package is delivered. But I must know the name of the city to deliver it to.” "Surprise," I said.

She said, “I don't want a surprise. I just want you to tell me what city to send it to.” "Surprise," I repeated.

She said, “Sir, people are waiting. I don't really have time to play games. Now what city, please?”

I said, “The name of the city is Surprise.”

She said, “Next.” I said, “No, wait . . ."

Let me interrupt here to tell you that Surprise is the name of a lovely, active community in Arizona. It's located about 20 miles northwest of Phoenix. Sure, it is an unusual name for a city, but an innocuous one. I hate to think what sort of exchanges I would have had with that store clerk if the founding fathers had named it “None of Your Business, Arizona,” or “I'll Tell You When I'm Good and Ready to Tell You, Arizona.” Why the unusual name? One story has it that when the town was first developed, someone took a look at it and said, “I'd be surprised if this place ever amounted to anything.” That story's untrue.

Besides, the place has amounted to something. It has been Arizona's fastest growing city for three years running. It's the home of the West Valley Art Museum, whose five exhibit halls display artworks from around the world. Soon a new ballpark will be spring training headquarters for Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. That's certainly amounting to something.

In truth, Surprise, Arizona, borrowed its name from Surprise, Nebraska. In 1937, the Arizona town's founder, Homer C. Ludden, named it after his hometown in the Cornhusker State. So residents should be proud of the name of their community-and grateful. It might just as easily have been called Luddenberg or Homerville.

Of course, now the question is how or why was Surprise, Nebraska, called Surprise? Frankly, I think people just wanted a town named Surprise because they thought it would be fun. What sort of mischief can you have with a town named Upper Darby, for instance, or Conshocken? But Surprise presents some interesting possibilities.

You can start your own community newspaper and call it Surprise Edition.

If you sent a city delegation of residents to a convention of some sort or another, you'd probably become known as “The Surprise Party.” Suppose you were a dedicated scientist living and working in this town, and you discovered a new element to add to the periodic table. As the discoverer, you would earn the right to name this element. You could call it . . . that's right . . . the element of surprise.

If you opened a mortuary in the town, it would be a clever idea to call it “Surprise Endings.” You probably shouldn't pay too much for the sign, though, because it most likely won't be there long. It won't attract much new business and certainly no repeat business.

But see how much fun the name Surprise can be?

Anyway, back to the gift I was sending to my friends who live there.

I finally convinced the clerk that the actual name of the city was Surprise.

She said, “My, that's a strange name for a city, isn't it? Now how about this other package?”

I said, “I'll just take that one with me.”

You see, I also purchased something for friends of mine who live in Why, Arizona. That's right, the community of Why. However, considering the problems I had with this clerk over Surprise, if my friends in Why want their gift, they're going to have to come and pick it up. AH In the book Marriage is Forever, Some Days Longer, author Gene Perret notes, “We were made for each other. You're a great cook and I'm a great eater.” To order this book ($6.95 plus shipping and handling) or other Perret humor books, call toll-free (800) 543-5432. In Phoenix, call (602) 712-2000. Or use arizonahighways.com.