Joanie

Life was mostly pretty calm around the apartments. The place was arraigned as two concentric rectangles with the outer layer being efficiencies occupied by singles and larger, more luxurious apartments inside around a huge pool for old folk. When I came to Albuquerque, the boys didn't want me to get lonely so they insisted I bring our large, rather dumb tomcat that my oldest son insisted we name F-14. Grumman Aerospace's premier carrier-based fighter was the F-14 and for the last 2 ½ years I had been commuting up to Bethpage working on the configurable simulator for the F-14 and X-29 among other projects.

 

Have you ever cross-contried with a non-car-trained tomcat? ...in constant rain? ...in a rag-top Land Cruiser? ...yowling constantly? I was thinking how much I would like some Chinese food...
 

Well, we made it. He didn't much care for being locked up for 12 hours a day. One day he got out, probably by the management. Pets, especially cats, were welcome and F-14 wasn't a howler (I asked). He turned up in a sweet little old lady's apartment. She always left her door open, fed and talked to F-14 all day, and I was truly happy they had found each other!
 

This thing was supposed to be about Joanie. I'll try but by now you know I'm a heavy wool-gatherer.

Frank and I continued with our evening air shows, designing new gadgets for our ham radio habits, telling lies about wimmin, and generally having a fine time, One evening he introduced me to Joanie, a gal that came over to Albuquerque every year for a Christian retreat. Frank had met her the previous year. She would decompress from LA at the apartments for a couple of weeks, then move on to one of the famous Christian retreat sites of New Mexico. She was a most pleasant diversion for our evening air shows, asked endless questions, and had the most engaging manner. She also kept our language clean! She was 28 to my 35 and Frank's 38, and with her cheerful nature, made old fogies out of us.
 

One Saturday, I was doing some long-neglected maintenance on the Land Cruiser, and since the weather was clear and warm enough for shorts and sandals, dressed in the aforementioned. Joanie came back from where ever, drug me into her apartment, and gave me heck (she didn't cuss). She comminst to covering me with something like Solarcaine, ran out, threatened me with death if I went out, and went to buy more. Interesting. I could take the Gulf beaches from 9 AM to 3 PM without trouble and I'd only been out for a couple of hours.

She slathered me thoroughly with the goo, however by the evening I was red as a beet. She undoubtedly saved me from 2^nd degree burning, 6,000 feet above sea level and low humidity will get you.
 

Like all good things and times, the day came to say goodbye. Frank asked me if I knew her full name. I told him what she told me, Joan Larkin. He said her light brown hair was her natural color and I had her name right. However, she went by another name. Joan Jett of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

 

It's a strange world isn't it?

 

 

 

Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap

Amazing what a little make-up and a wig will do...

 

 

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