Yes, it is possible to love the ubiquitous Phoenix strip mall

But this will never happen. If it were to, it would take forever to complete. "If you look into the more successful, more sensible strip malls in town, like the La Grande Orange mall over on 40th Street," Greg reminded me, "you realize that there was great resistance from the community to having them there. That probably won't change in the future."

Okay. So maybe I'll have to wait for a strip mall that lets me get all my errands done in one painless visit. In the meantime, I can refine the list of goods and services offered at my fantasy mall. I'm thinking about a topless gelato place and a cheese shop where deep discounts are offered only to fluent French speakers. And absolutely no rhino crap, ever.

To learn more about the Flip a Strip competition, go to www.flipastrip.org. The deadline for entries is March 31, and the show opens in October. I'll keep you posted as I hear more.