I always considered Sara a very good friend of mine. "Kindred spirits" is a good description of our friendship, which is odd because Sara was not the type of person I normally seek out for friendship. I often wondered what had happened to her and with the miracle of the internet I found her the other day. Sara died in 2006.
It was August of 1974. I and three other friends were returning to BYU for our sophomore year. As is the practice at BYU, six people (in this case girls) were put in one apartment. Lori came from Montana and we were instant friends. Then Sara came. She was as a ghost coming and going, never really talking to anyone. Then the second day we were there, Sara was unpacking her things and that's when I discovered her extensive album collection. We began to talk, Lori joined in and before we knew it we had listened to all of her Neil Diamond Albums. After that day Lori and Sara and I were best of friends.
Sara didn't attend BYU. She, instead, went to the nearby trade school. Sara also had a car which meant I didn't have to walk to the grocery store, laundromat or the mall. Sara was extremely talented. I have never heard anyone play the piano like she could. She would sit down and play Maple Leaf Rag (which was popular then because the movie The Sting had come out the year before) like she had been playing all her life. She would also read all the time. Not simple little novels, but big, hardbound classics that most of us would shy away from unless we had to read it for a class.
After awhile I began to notice that Sara seemed troubled. She didn't open up much, so I never really knew what she was thinking. I just knew she was often depressed. She started missing classes. Then one night she came home acting a little strange and smelling of alcohol. This happened from time to time, but we mostly ignored it and went our own way. In between these episodes we were best of friends and just goofed off and laughed as college age girls do.
For reasons I won't go into, I took a break from school that following semester and went back to Arizona. Sara called me a couple of times and we just talked about anything and everything. I returned to BYU again after the semester was over and Sara had moved to another apartment complex. She called me one night and said she needed to talk to me. She came over and we went for a ride. I don't remember anything we talked about, but I do remember she had been drinking and I didn't realize it until I was in the car and we were driving somewhere in the mountains. I arrived home safely and that was the last time I heard from her.
I saw on the internet that Sara had found love and contentment in another female. It didn't shock me. I don't judge her, she is my friend. I don't understand those type of relationships and I reserve my judgement until we know more about why people choose this lifestyle. I learned the details about Sara's last days through writings by her partner. I was sad that I had found her too late and could not drop her a line to let her know I had been thinking about her. Her partner must have also been blessed by Sara's special spirit because a year and a day after Sara died, she ended her life.
I saw that Neil Diamond tickets are going on sale next week. I'm thinking I'm going to buy some and reminisce while I listen to the music - for Sara.
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