A Subdued Fourth of July

by

It’s the afternoon of the Fourth of July. We’re out on the back verandah. We are not doing Heron Watch because we now have a motion-activated sprayer, a Heron Blaster, as it were, that has been keeping our heron at bay. The heron blaster has also surprised Bill and Bella and me. When Bella is blasted, she takes off like a shot, and I’m guessing the heron does, too, since we haven’t seen him since the day it was installed. YAY!!!

We’ve had company all week. Pat McAdams Hall and I became friends in fourth grade which, astonishing as it may seem, is close to sixty years ago. With the help of the Internet, we’ve remained good friends and in touch with one another’s lives all this time. She’s a kindergarten teacher who lives and works in central Florida. I thought what she needed after a stressful school year was a quiet week with us here, and this is the week. We haven’t had a huge to-do list of sights to see. We had dinner on Tuesday with several friends and classmates from Bisbee High School. We’ve read books. We’ve watched for the heron. It has been peaceful. And relaxing. It turns out what we regard as summer, Pat regards as close to winter. This morning when the weatherman said it would be “hot” this afternoon, as in the seventies, Pat thought it was hilarious. In Florida, the seventies do NOT qualify as HOT!

As Judy Busk, I was one of seven kids. The “Kids’ bedroom” in our house resembled a bunkhouse, complete with a crib (for whoever was the youngest) a “three-quarter” bed for the big girls, and a stack of bunk beds for everybody else.

Pat had one brother, Ted. Both she and Ted had bedrooms of their own; bedrooms they didn’t have to share with anyone else. Coming from my over-crowded existence, going to Pat’s house and being able to play in her room with only ONE person was astonishing. I loved going there. We read books together–Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. We played Monopoly and Dominos. And we played with paper dolls.

Paper dolls did not pass the Evie Busk approved-toy test, so I never had any paper dolls of my own. As a consequence, I loved going to Pat’s house to play with HER paper dolls.

I remember clearly, sitting on the carpeted floor in Pat’s bedroom, playing with a set of dolls that had been created in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation, one of the first television events I remember watching. Come to think of it, I believe I watched that at Pat’s house, too.

So this week, Pat showed up with a gift-wrapped package for me. When I unwrapped it, I found, low and behold, a vintage book of Queen Elizabeth Paper Dolls. Not the exact one I remember playing with, but one that came from way back then–her coronation in1953.

It was a wonderful surprise. And the tag said it was from “Jat for Pudy.” In 1962, when Pat and I were co-editors of our school newspaper, the Copper Chronicle, Pudy and Jat was how we signed the column we wrote for the April Fool’s edition of the paper.

She also gave me a BFF coffee cup which seemed entirely appropriate because, it turns out, we have been best friends forever.

As I’m writing these words, a Girl Scout song, a round I learned in Brownies, is echoing through the back of my head.

Make new friends but keep the old
One is silver and the other gold.

It’s true. Old friends are the gold friends. (We will not mention how much trouble Bill managed to get himself into by introducing Pat to someone else as Judy’s “oldest friend.”) He still hasn’t quite dug himself out of the hole he dug himself into with that remark, but it was all in good fun and I’m pretty sure he’s been forgiven.

It’s been a vacation for all of us. We’ve read books. We’ve watched Hulu episodes ofJeeves and Wooster. We’ve talked.

Next week it will be time to go back to writing Joanna # 16. But for today? I hope you had a happy Fourth of July. I’m sure that many of the folks in Prescott, Arizona, aren’t feeling a lot like celebrating this weekend. And attendees at the World’s Oldest Rodeo are probably a bit subdued this year, too. I know I am.

Those fine young men from Prescott who died protecting others won’t ever have the opportunity to sit on a porch on a flawless summer’s day and reflect on friendships that have lasted for sixty years. I grieve for their friends and for their families.

This may the first Fourth of July celebration they will miss, but I also know they won’t be forgotten.

Sixty years from now, their loved ones will still remember.

13 thoughts on “A Subdued Fourth of July”

  1. I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed reading your books. And when I read your July 4th message, I understood why I have been such a fan. I am sixty-one years old and had a bff growing up. And we read Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and Hardy Boys everyday of our lives We were girl scouts although we probably were not good scouts. Friends were and still are most important in my life, especially the lifetime ones. The characters in your books become my friends and I hate to end a book and leave them. I thought my only connection to you has been my love for your stories. Now I know we grew up living similar lives…my Mother did not allow paper dolls for some reason, but I never knew why. I live on the Tennesse River now and love to watch the herons and white pelicans. No problems with our birds so far except they have such beautiful bodies and awful voices. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you what a pleasure it has been and thank you for the message you sent out today. Have a great weekend and post holiday.

    Brenda

    • Dear Brenda,

      Thank you for the kind words. Yes, we do have lots in common. I’ll bet you read Judy Bolton and Cherry Ames, too.

      And the characters in my books seem like old friends to me, too.

      Regards,
      JAJance

  2. I just discovered this comment section.

    I had a set of the paper dolls of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose that had their Coronation gowns from 1936. A few years ago I saw the actual gowns in a museum in London was surprised at how small and flimsy looking the outfits were.

    I watched Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation at a classmate’s house. She was one of the few in town who had a TV set. My high school graduating class was invited to watch history in the making.

    My Mom let my sister and I read almost everything except movie fan magazines. We’d sneak looks into them when we went with her to the beauty shop.

    It’s nice that you’ve kept in touch with at least one childhood friend. I really haven’t.

  3. Yes, many of us have had similar memories. I was born in 1930, and had a best friend and we played “paper dolls”. Also took magazines, (similar to Better Homes and Gardens) and cut out pictures of rooms and that was our home. Since I only had brothers, I did have my own room but was allowed to visit a friend and yes, read Nancy Drew books and drank orange crush.
    You mentioned the sadness caused by the Yarnell Hill burn. We live winters in AZ. about 7 miles from Yarnell. So many of our church friends, who live in Yarnell year round have lost their homes, life long treasures, and none of us know what this next year will be. You say it so well, the Hot Shots are gone, but their families will never forget what they did for their community. Oh yes, have fun on your cruise. Lucky you.

  4. What a nostalgic mood you’ve put me in. I had paper dolls which I loved but I loved my coloring books more. I remember our class in grade school being invited to a classmate’s home to watch Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. Her family was a rare one that had a television set. We didn’t have one until I was 15 – so Mom could watch the World Series. We got color TV later so Mom could watch Bonanza’s wonderful scenery. The 4th of July used to mean sitting in the heat to watch our local parade, but now that we’re in our 70s and my husband has Parkinson’s and heart disease, we stayed home to be cool. We have many wonderful memories though.

  5. I just finished reading your new Beau e-book that I downloaded onto my Kindle on Tuesday, the first day it came out. Haven’t had the Kindle very long and this was the first book I have read on it. Loved the book; and the Kindle. I own and have read ALL of your print books and over half of them you have autographed by you. Your personal appearances that I have attended have been much enjoyed by me and the other attendees. My husband and I visited Bisbee in May and took a tour that included driving by the home where you grew up. Just had to let you know how much you have contributed to my reading pleasure over the years. I lived for many years in Juneau Alaska so your Beau books set in Seattle had such familiar settings and now we are retired in Arizona so your other series’ settings are now familiar to me. I often read with a map close by so that I get a better idea of the area you are describing. Thank you for the books you have written that I have enjoyed so much and the ones that are to come!! Carole

  6. I so enjoyed reading your post, I too came from a large family of 11 children, and I can relate to the bedrooms! The girls shared, and my older brothers had a bunk house that they shared. My dad was a ranch foreman, and we lived there until I was a senior in high school, it was a great place to grow up.

    When I was 15 I got to spend some time with my Aunt Mollie who lived in Elfrida Az., when I found your books I felt like I was there again, I have been to all the towns in your “Joanna” books, my uncle took us to many places that summer. Two years ago, my husband and I went to Tombstone, and we took a drive to Elfrida and Douglas, what wonderful trip that was. And I remembered why I loved it there, my aunt and uncle have been gone for many years, but going there was like reading your books, I felt I belonged there.

  7. Wonderful to spend time with long held friends. I too loved paper dolls and when I visited the Nixon Library several years ago, I bought a set of Nixon paper dolls. It was not that Ioved Nixon, but that the paper dolls were a neat souvenir. I also saved the paper dolls from Mary Engelbreit’s magazine Home Companion that is no longer published. What I am going to do with them I do not know. It was most likely a sentimental save with memories of a childhood and a simpler time. The Girl Scout song is one I sing from time to time when I think of those good long time friends. And finally but not least, the grief of those firefighters’ families and friends must echo around the world. When our families are intact, we have so much for which to be thankful. Regards and thanks for all the neat reminders.

  8. I enjoy reading your posts! This one brought back so many memories. As a young girl, I loved playing with paper dolls and my favorite was a set featuring the Lennon Sisters. I used to watch them sing on The Lawrence Welk Show way back when. I thought they were so cute. Since I didn’t have a sister, I thought it was really neat that four beautiful sisters shared their talents with such a large TV audience. I have a cousin who became my friend when we were both very young and has remained one of my best friends to this day. Thankfully, she shared her love of mysteries with me. I remember being in awe that she had the complete sets of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys books in her bedroom. In our mid 30’s we discovered your first Beaumont book and were hooked. Now in our early sixties, we still look forward to every new novel. I am reading Ring in the Dead right now and am loving it. Can’t wait for Second Watch!

    • Thanks for writing. I’m glad my posts speak to you. And I’m glad I’m something you and your friend who also happen to be a cousin have shared for so many years. Thank you.

      JAJ

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