A GATHERING

It's become a thing - these gatherings at "The Pie Place".

I think I picked the spot years ago because it is about midway between Prescott Valley, where I live, and "The Valley", the metropolitan area centered on Phoenix.

It's the Rock Springs Cafe, famous far and wide for their huge selection of pies.

In case you're new here, this is all in Arizona, U.S.A.

The gatherings are lunch groups of half a dozen or so former colleagues in the television news business who worked together at KPNX-TV (formerly KTAR-TV) in Phoenix.

Since I'm writing this I can disclose that the ages of the participants are now in their 70's and 80's.

Yesterday's gathering was prompted by the visit to the Valley of Tim Dietz, who was a photographer at The Dozen (a relatively new title prompted by the station's Channel 12 location).

Tim only spent a few years with us.

He was a Midwest boy who was appalled and nearly overcome by the heat of Phoenix summers.

He escaped back to Denver, Colorado, where he had interned at a sister station while in college, and spent the rest of his long career there, ending it as a vice-president of the business.

Tim and I have remained friends through the decades and when he contacted me and said he'd buy me lunch if we could meet somewhere halfway of course I suggested The Pie Place and began rounding up some other pals of days gone by.

So, here they are . . older, grayer, heavier . . but still friends.

Wally Athey (photographer extraordinaire), Ron Brooks (instant sportscaster, deputy sheriff and whatever), Tim Dietz (the sort of retired exec), Roger Ball (photographer, assignment editor, news director), Bruce Taylor (your scribe), Mike Martin (film editor, computer whiz), and the ever-young Baseball Steve Torbeck (photographer, 12 Country one-man band).

Now you might think that senior members of our society like these would be a dignified lot.

Well, you'd be wrong, and apparently our waitresses caught the vibe.

As is often said of gatherings like these, the lies and the gibes flew fast and furious.

Good times, good pals.