We Moved to Phoenix Because of a Dart

There are decisions you make after months of careful planning and research.

And then there are decisions like ours.

Scott and I knew something in our lives had to change. We didn’t know exactly what that change should look like, so somehow a map and a dart got involved.

I honestly don’t remember which one of us threw it. I just remember it landed somewhere in Arizona.

That was enough to get us looking.

This was back when dial up internet was just becoming a thing. We did what research we could and decided Phoenix made the most sense.

So Phoenix it was.

We Had a Year to Prepare

We spent about a year getting ready.

In my head, we were going to arrive with $10,000 or $15,000 saved.

That did not happen.

By the time we got there, we had about $50 to our name.

We did have two weeks prepaid at a hotel, and Scott had contacted the Phoenix location of the courier company he worked with. They had told him they were taking on drivers.

So at least we thought there might be work waiting.

There wasn’t.

When we arrived, they were under a hiring freeze.

Of course they were. 😂

We didn’t know anyone in Arizona. The one person I had connected with was a guy named Greg who helped people find apartments.

He had told me, “Look me up when you get here. I’ll help you.”

That was pretty much our housing plan.

Welcome to Arizona

We drove across the country separately. Scott had the Astro van with our black cat Oreo and the litter box in the back. I was in my brand new Honda Accord.

When we got into Fountain Hills and I saw those huge Arizona roads, I panicked.

I told Scott he needed to somehow park the van, come back, and get me because I was never driving on those roads.

Obviously, I kept driving. 😂

The next morning, I called Greg.

He said, “Great, let’s meet for breakfast.”

I said, “We don’t have money for breakfast.”

Greg bought breakfast.

While we were eating, he told us his mother had a townhouse being remodeled that would be ready in about two weeks.

I reminded him that we had no money.

He still wanted us to go see it.

We had two weeks of hotel already paid, so Greg basically said, “That gives us two weeks. We’ll figure it out.”

Somehow, We Did

Scott grabbed a phone book and started calling courier companies.

Eventually, one of them asked, “You just moved here. How do we know you can find your way around?”

Scott answered:

“I found you, didn’t I?”

They hired him on the spot.

I started temping.

Greg kept his word too.

He let us move into the townhouse, put the utilities in his name, and told us we could start paying rent when we were able.

Then he said something I still remember:

“I don’t know why I’m doing this. I’ve never done this before, but something tells me I can trust you.”

About three years later, Greg told us he thought we had outgrown the townhouse and moved us into another property, a three bedroom house.

We ended up renting from him for years.

The guy who bought us breakfast when we had no money ended up being part of our Arizona story for more than a decade.

What I Didn’t See Then

I wasn’t walking around saying, “God has us. Everything is going to work out.”

That wasn’t where my faith was yet.

I was just trying to get through whatever was directly in front of us.

Years later, though, I looked back and noticed something.

Two weeks.

The townhouse needed two weeks.

We had two weeks of hotel already paid.

During that time, Scott found work. I found work. Greg gave us a place to live before we could even pay him.

At the time, I didn’t see anything bigger in that.

Looking back, I do.

We Kept Building

Life didn’t suddenly become easy.

A few months later, a box truck backed into Scott’s van while he was making a delivery. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt, and because of his auto body background, he was able to repair the van for much less than the insurance payout.

That money helped us catch up and finally breathe a little.

Later, Scott landed a large courier route for Cellular One. Someone there eventually asked if he had ever thought about starting his own courier company.

The contract they were talking about would have been worth six figures.

So we started S&S Express Delivery.

I quit my job to handle the administrative side.

Then Alltel bought Cellular One and didn’t keep our service.

Here we go again.

My car was repossessed. Money got tight.

But we kept going.

Scott started approaching companies that were advertising for drivers and explaining why using our courier company could make more sense than hiring an employee. I went back to temping. A few small customers came with us.

And little by little, S&S grew.

We became known with print brokers, landed larger accounts, had ten drivers at one point, and operated 365 days a year.

S&S Express Delivery stayed in business for 11 years.

About That Dart

Looking back, I would never call throwing that dart a leap of faith.

I didn’t have much faith at that point.

It was desperation. Courage. Survival.

And probably a little insanity. 😂

We arrived with about $50, two weeks of hotel already paid, no secure housing after that, and a job that disappeared when we got there.

Somehow, one thing after another happened.

At the time, we were just trying to survive.

Today, I can look back and see something I couldn’t see then.

There was a lot more happening than I realized.

And that dart?

It landed us in Arizona for more than two decades. 🌵❤️