Here we are in June already. The year’s almost half over and we will have another anniversary in a few weeks. That’s right, The Times celebrates its 46th anniversary on June 27, 2020.

We will be having a special page on the history of The Times in our June 24th edition.

Diane and I were in Fountain Hills from May 24 to June 3. We got caught up with our close friends and I had three appointments at the Mayo Clinic.

I met with Dr. Mehta, my Deep Brain Stimulation doctor, who gave me my annual checkup to make sure all my readings were still accurate and all of the 16 leads in my brain were still connected.

He said everything was fine and he added that a brain test I took earlier this year turned out very well. He told me there was no indication of the beginnings of dementia. I had asked him about that on my last visit. I had told him I was having a slight problem with remembering names of people I had just met. He ordered the test that took nearly four hours to complete. It was administered by a person that was rather unique. She was highly intelligent and articulate in her speech. She enunciated every syllable of every word that she spoke.

There were word memory tests. “How many animals can you name that start with the letter “t?” There were simple math problems, adding and subtracting fractions. Then there were the dreaded word problems. You know, “if you had 43 chickens and 67 turkeys, what time is it in Philadelphia?” I’m exaggerating, but you know what I mean.

The final section of the mental test was on finding and creating patterns from different shapes and numbers.

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You may remember I said in the last column I wrote I would give you a list of notable politicians who have visited Fountain Hills in past years.

The first was Barry Goldwater, the popular state politician who had lost his bid for the presidency in 1964. In 1976, he ran for Arizona’s junior Senator position.

He came to Fountain Hills and spoke to a full house at the Sales and Reception Center. That building is now Messinger Mortuary.

The biggest crowd to ever hear a politician speak here was when Donald Trump brought his campaign team to Fountain Park in March 2016.

The first sitting governor to visit our town was Evan Mecham. He spoke at a Chamber breakfast.

Another governor to visit Fountain Hills was J. Fife Symington, who was flown in by helicopter to meet with Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation President Clinton Pattea. The two men met at then Town Hall to discuss a settlement of the standoff between the tribe and armed federal agents who had raided the casino’s slot machines earlier that morning.

Other governors who have made stops in Fountain Hills were Janet Napolitano, Jan Brewer and our current governor, Doug Ducey.

U.S. Senators who have spoken to groups in our community have been John McCain, Dennis DeConcini, Jon Kyl and Martha McSally.

U.S. Representatives who visited our town have been Eldon Rudd, John Rhodes and of course, our current U.S. Representative, David Schweikert, who grew up in Fountain Hills and still maintains a home here. Current State Legislator, Rep. John Kavanagh, has lived in Fountain Hills for many years, and Rep. Jay Lawrence is employed by MCO Realty.

I would like to mention one more person in the list of celebrities who have visited Fountain Hills. Movie actor Robert Mitchum came to Fountain Hills and handed out diplomas at the high school graduation ceremony one year. School Board member Nancy Puffer made arrangements for his appearance. She had gone to grade school with him and they have maintained a friendship ever since.