Some Things Really Never Change

[Kay Thompson Fields]

 In  1970 I lived in Mesa,Arizona with my ex husband and 3 year old daughter.. I was the wife of an Air Force pilot just back from flying fighters in Vietnam.. He was going to be an instructor pilot at Williams AFB.. Shortly after we moved I met a woman who had a boy 2 days younger than my daughter..She lived down the street and was also an Air Force wife.. We became best buds..It was the most idyllic 3 years of my life.. Of course a lot had to do with my age and the age we lived in...Never was music like the early 70"s.. Nancy and I and our kids spent nearly every day together.. We would do our housework early.. She favored the Allman"s "Eat A Peach" album to clean by.. By afternoon after the kids had a nap and  we we were swimming pool junkies.. She was a fabulous cook, sewed, made macramé and embroidered my jeans.. We made candles, baked bread and generally loved life...Her second son was born in Mesa also..As many marriages did in the 70"s both of ours ended and we lost touch completely..I have never had a friend quite like Nancy... Last year I decided to try and find her.. I am an excellent skip tracer which is a skill I acquired during my years as a credit analyst..I found her last year and wrote her a letter..We have not seen each other since 1974.. I also sent her a little poem I wrote for her...It was titled "Fly Like A Phoenix"....Like lizards lazily basking in the desert sun...Complete with shades, smokes and an occasional toke...We spent our days..Not in a purple haze....But under a blazing sky...Cooling our heels,arms,elbows,legs,toes and sun-burned noses.. In the tepid water of an apartment pool...Our kids were nearby... Our husbands away.. We could lounge and lay.. our plots and plans.. Schemes and innocent dreams.. Meaningless chatter.. Nothing really had to matter...We were so achingly young...Untried and untested...Just happy little nesters.. Fate spun her wheel.. and flung us apart.. But we did start .. The 70"s on the same page.. As I have aged through the years.. Often drowning in a vale of tears.. Sometimes recalling with perfect clarity.. The jewel -like rarity and easy living of those days.. In the Valley of the Sun.....I realize how rare is a friend you discover again...when Tangled Up and Blue .. is not True anymore.. Neil"s "Cowgirl in the Sand" belonged to this arid desert land... I"ve checked out of the "Hotel California" and I'm boarding "The Last Train Home Tonight""Eating a Peach" on a Forida beach with my friend .. Is how this chapter will end..

On Friday July 26th Nancy Kirby arrived in Dandridge pulling her travel trailer from Florida.. She is still the same Nancy..We had a fabulous ten days.. I will post some pictures