Friday, September 03, 2004
MAY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2 ND....1975
May is always a busy month in our family because of Mother’s Day and birthdays for mom and me……as well as aunt Beulah and aunt Inabelle. George Jr. was here several times, going back and forth. We always had him bring grandma Strain down for dinner and the afternoon. She enjoyed seeing our flowers and visiting with mom as well as catching up on all the news. Grandma Strain lived in an apartment in Cabool after grampa died and she was never one to complain….about anything.
John came down with George Jr. and on the 14th of May John applied for work at Hillbilly Junction and was hired as a cook. His dad brought him down on the 23rd and Rosalie came with them. She was my buddy from across the street in Shawnee and it was fun to show her around so she had an idea of our little corner of the world. George Jr. came the next day so we had both boys and Rosalie here while George Sr. visited with his mother in Cabool.
John joined church the next day and went to work at 2:00pm later……he rode his Honda back and forth and that was the part that troubled me. However, unless he did something I don’t know about, he made it just fine but I never went to sleep until I heard him pull in the driveway each night. On my birthday that year, Warren took me to Hillbilly for dinner and it was cooked by John….now that seemed odd but it was one of those moments when I realized my baby was growing up. As with everything else, everything he tackled…… he conquered.
June was busy with church and social functions common to small town living. Warren, mom, John and I went to see aunt Beulah in Arkansas and Warren always stopped to get uncle Alfred at the nursing home for a day out. On the July 4th week-end, my old neighbors, Gene and Rosalie Fowler and George Jr. came to visit. We had a wonderful time but it always ended too quickly.
August 12th John told us he had definitely planned to go on to college. He wanted to go into some kind of full-time Christian work but wasn’t sure just what. Warren and he went to visit our pastor, Brother David, the next day who made some phone calls and put them on the right track. On the 18th Brother David rode up to Bolivar (a Baptist college north of Springfield) with us to see about registration and to work out the final details. I have always been grateful for the help that he gave us. John worked his last day at Hillbilly on the 24th of August. He caught a bus to KC and saw all of his pals….sorted through a lot of stuff and George brought him back the next day.
On September 1st we moved John and his things to Bolivar where he was assigned a dorm. It was less than desirable, as well as being small, John was the last of three who would share the room. His room-mates had staked their claim on everything about the room that was good and he had to squeeze into what was left. We spent the night in Springfield and went back the next day when he would enroll and register.
The saddest time for a parent is driving off when you leave your “baby” behind at college. I can remember looking out the rear window until we were out of sight and John was still standing by the curb watching us go. I don’t know what he was thinking but I wanted to drive around the block and go back and pick him up. I knew he would have a lot of stuff to learn and keep up with and without a car he was more or less stuck.
As fate would have it, he got along fine, got a better room, had a room-mate with a car and loved being at Bolivar. Typical John. No sweat.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
John came down with George Jr. and on the 14th of May John applied for work at Hillbilly Junction and was hired as a cook. His dad brought him down on the 23rd and Rosalie came with them. She was my buddy from across the street in Shawnee and it was fun to show her around so she had an idea of our little corner of the world. George Jr. came the next day so we had both boys and Rosalie here while George Sr. visited with his mother in Cabool.
John joined church the next day and went to work at 2:00pm later……he rode his Honda back and forth and that was the part that troubled me. However, unless he did something I don’t know about, he made it just fine but I never went to sleep until I heard him pull in the driveway each night. On my birthday that year, Warren took me to Hillbilly for dinner and it was cooked by John….now that seemed odd but it was one of those moments when I realized my baby was growing up. As with everything else, everything he tackled…… he conquered.
June was busy with church and social functions common to small town living. Warren, mom, John and I went to see aunt Beulah in Arkansas and Warren always stopped to get uncle Alfred at the nursing home for a day out. On the July 4th week-end, my old neighbors, Gene and Rosalie Fowler and George Jr. came to visit. We had a wonderful time but it always ended too quickly.
August 12th John told us he had definitely planned to go on to college. He wanted to go into some kind of full-time Christian work but wasn’t sure just what. Warren and he went to visit our pastor, Brother David, the next day who made some phone calls and put them on the right track. On the 18th Brother David rode up to Bolivar (a Baptist college north of Springfield) with us to see about registration and to work out the final details. I have always been grateful for the help that he gave us. John worked his last day at Hillbilly on the 24th of August. He caught a bus to KC and saw all of his pals….sorted through a lot of stuff and George brought him back the next day.
On September 1st we moved John and his things to Bolivar where he was assigned a dorm. It was less than desirable, as well as being small, John was the last of three who would share the room. His room-mates had staked their claim on everything about the room that was good and he had to squeeze into what was left. We spent the night in Springfield and went back the next day when he would enroll and register.
The saddest time for a parent is driving off when you leave your “baby” behind at college. I can remember looking out the rear window until we were out of sight and John was still standing by the curb watching us go. I don’t know what he was thinking but I wanted to drive around the block and go back and pick him up. I knew he would have a lot of stuff to learn and keep up with and without a car he was more or less stuck.
As fate would have it, he got along fine, got a better room, had a room-mate with a car and loved being at Bolivar. Typical John. No sweat.
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
