TEMPE, Ariz. – Last weekend here in the Valley of the Sun, there was a gathering of three generations—grandfather, father, and son. It was not a convention, not even a small conference, but the principals met up for three days of sun-splashed hospitality among saguaro cacti, desert rock, and flowers, such as the Blackfoot Daisy and Desert Marigold, which are accompanied by spectacular sunrises and sunsets.
“This,” Alex, the youngest, said on the way to dinner via Uber, “is why I like it out here.” He was waving in the direction of a splendorous sunset over a craggy mountain chain that surrounds greater Phoenix.