The Mayor of Tucson

Published by Toni Reavis on November 27, 2013

In less than two weeks Tucson’s Abdi Abdirahman will compete in the Honolulu Marathon for the first time.  Due to the marketplace of marathons, it has been more than a quarter century since a top American male has come to Honolulu to race.  So as Honolulu prepares for its December 8th onslaught, and the nation as a whole celebrates what many believe to be her most endearing holiday (before going off the rails again on Black Friday), I thought we’d go back a few years to a trip I made to Tucson in the fall of 2007 as Abdi prepared for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in New York City.

Though I had known and covered Abdirahman for many years, what I learned during that visit didn’t just reveal the character of the man, through him it reminded me of the character of the country he now calls home.  Perhaps it’s a reminder we all need to hear during this time of Thanksgiving.

---

Abdi Abdirahman hopped into his black 2007 GMC Denali and rolled out of the driveway of his three-bedroom home on the far western edge of Tucson.  Even at 7 p.m. the Denali’s 22” Scorpion rims glinted like torch fire in the falling evening sun, a not-so-gentle reminder of the day’s 107-degree blast furnace heat.

“This is what I tool around in – the Mayor of Tucson,” boasted Abdi in mock pride as he slipped a CD into the dash.  “But this one isn’t tricked out like my first one.  This is just a stock model.  The first had four TVs, 24” rims, and 12” subwoofers.  This is more the mature Abdi.”