Thursday, February 03, 2005
JULY AND AUGUST.....1986
July sped along for me while I learned the rigors of examining applicants for road tests. Of course the weather is always a factor in our area….we had a couple of weeks with temperatures at 100* and that seemed much hotter on a road test. The motorcycle testing was the worst. In that process you didn’t ride with the applicant but rather stood by cones (marking the different maneuvers) telling them ahead what they were expected to perform. Of course they were always exceptionally nervous because the test required specific skills and bikes can get away from you real fast. The problem for the examiners was extreme heat, standing in the street and having to repeat every verbal instruction over and over. By the time we finished we were soaked to the skin and in most of my working days, wearing the chauffeurs cap was required. Girls…..do you know what the heat and that cap did to your hair?
August came in with a terrible storm in the evening hours. It almost blew us away and a tornado must have been close due to all of the turbulence we experienced. Becky called and said she and the children were afraid…..to tell you the truth, we were too. We dodged or survived another close call. There have been several tornados go up the street next to ours and one that actually moved mom and dad’s mobile home ajar on the blocks. We take storms very seriously.
When morning came I got up on the roof and swept all of the debris off. Climbing a ladder was one thing that Warren wasn’t able to do if it required more than the first rung or two. He was able to help clean up the yard and then we went over to mom’s and cleaned hers while we were at it. Warren went out to WC and brought mom out to check her place (to satisfy her worries about the storm) and to have lunch with us. They had evacuated the rooms at WC and took the bed patients and wheel chair patients to a safe place in the building…..mom and the ones who could walk were also instructed to follow. She had been frightened and worried.
Jennifer’s 14th birthday was on a Sunday and she came to stay with us for a couple of weeks. Jennifer was the one grandchild we got to spend a lot of time with. I kept her while Becky worked the first couple of years and Jennifer was often here and at mom’s…..she enjoyed coming. Jonathan, her little brother, enjoyed being at the other grandma and grandpa’s because they lived on a farm and there were lots of things going on that little boys love. We understood. There was nothing here to amuse an energetic little boy. John and Barb’s “little John” (L.J.) lived too far away to visit very often. Sadly, we have missed a lot of his accomplishments and interests over the years. Worse, we just missed….him.
George came for a visit the second weekend in August. He arrived just after I got home from work on a Friday evening. He and Jennifer went to WC to bring mom out to visit the next day and everyone helped put up peaches that we bought from a local orchard. It was a fun day….lots of visiting. Jonathan was here for supper with the rest of us and George took mom back to WC later in the evening. We had a repeat the next day and finished the peaches.
Aunt Mary called and said she and aunt Inabelle and uncle Tom would be coming soon to visit. The Powell’s had gone straight to Blair this year since mom was in the nursing home. We were looking forward to them coming. School was starting in Springfield so Becky came after Jennifer here and to pick Jonathan up at the other grandparents. The weather cooled off by mid-August and it was a blessing.
Our company arrived the 21st and I had supper ready when they got here. They’d had a long drive from Nebraska but were in good spirits. While I worked the next day they spent the time with mom at WC. She didn’t come out that evening as she was tired after all the excitement of having her family with her. Becky and Jennifer and mom came the next day and I prepared the meals…enjoyed every minute of it. I fixed everyone’s favorites and enjoyed seeing their pleasure when they came to the table. In my next life I want to run a cozy unique inn somewhere to enjoy people as they enjoy themselves……
They stayed another day or two and we hated to see them go. With all of them having medical problems we never knew when our last goodbye would be. We planned to visit John and Barbara so on the 30th of the month we left home early to arrive in New Orleans in time for us all to get to the Super Dome to see the Saints and the Chiefs play a game. It was the first and only professional football game I’ve seen. In 1986 the “wave” thing was going big and it was a hoot to get ready to join in at the appropriate time. It was so much fun I couldn’t keep from laughing the whole time. I didn’t laugh at the score, however. Saints won….our Chiefs lost.
In this day and time, John was working nights at a psychiatric hospital as a security guard. When the game was over we drove home and then Barbara had to drive him to work at 11:00pm. He would work the night through while we slept. The next morning Barb went back after him and he freshened up with a shower…..then we went to la Marquise for breakfast in the French Quarter. We walked all around the Quarter and shopped….Barb and I pigged out on silver jewelry…we ate lunch at Mesparos and on to the Jax Brewery complex for more shopping. We packed a lot into one day and then went home so John could get a little sleep before having to go back to work.
When I think about it….about the struggle John and Barbara have had…I am very grateful that all of their work and efforts were finally recognized and they began to be blessed financially. Nothing comes easy but for these two….even easy wasn’t easy. As the mother……I am very grateful for their success and for the character and spiritual qualities that flow from both of them….and that’s a “wrap” for August 1986.………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
August came in with a terrible storm in the evening hours. It almost blew us away and a tornado must have been close due to all of the turbulence we experienced. Becky called and said she and the children were afraid…..to tell you the truth, we were too. We dodged or survived another close call. There have been several tornados go up the street next to ours and one that actually moved mom and dad’s mobile home ajar on the blocks. We take storms very seriously.
When morning came I got up on the roof and swept all of the debris off. Climbing a ladder was one thing that Warren wasn’t able to do if it required more than the first rung or two. He was able to help clean up the yard and then we went over to mom’s and cleaned hers while we were at it. Warren went out to WC and brought mom out to check her place (to satisfy her worries about the storm) and to have lunch with us. They had evacuated the rooms at WC and took the bed patients and wheel chair patients to a safe place in the building…..mom and the ones who could walk were also instructed to follow. She had been frightened and worried.
Jennifer’s 14th birthday was on a Sunday and she came to stay with us for a couple of weeks. Jennifer was the one grandchild we got to spend a lot of time with. I kept her while Becky worked the first couple of years and Jennifer was often here and at mom’s…..she enjoyed coming. Jonathan, her little brother, enjoyed being at the other grandma and grandpa’s because they lived on a farm and there were lots of things going on that little boys love. We understood. There was nothing here to amuse an energetic little boy. John and Barb’s “little John” (L.J.) lived too far away to visit very often. Sadly, we have missed a lot of his accomplishments and interests over the years. Worse, we just missed….him.
George came for a visit the second weekend in August. He arrived just after I got home from work on a Friday evening. He and Jennifer went to WC to bring mom out to visit the next day and everyone helped put up peaches that we bought from a local orchard. It was a fun day….lots of visiting. Jonathan was here for supper with the rest of us and George took mom back to WC later in the evening. We had a repeat the next day and finished the peaches.
Aunt Mary called and said she and aunt Inabelle and uncle Tom would be coming soon to visit. The Powell’s had gone straight to Blair this year since mom was in the nursing home. We were looking forward to them coming. School was starting in Springfield so Becky came after Jennifer here and to pick Jonathan up at the other grandparents. The weather cooled off by mid-August and it was a blessing.
Our company arrived the 21st and I had supper ready when they got here. They’d had a long drive from Nebraska but were in good spirits. While I worked the next day they spent the time with mom at WC. She didn’t come out that evening as she was tired after all the excitement of having her family with her. Becky and Jennifer and mom came the next day and I prepared the meals…enjoyed every minute of it. I fixed everyone’s favorites and enjoyed seeing their pleasure when they came to the table. In my next life I want to run a cozy unique inn somewhere to enjoy people as they enjoy themselves……
They stayed another day or two and we hated to see them go. With all of them having medical problems we never knew when our last goodbye would be. We planned to visit John and Barbara so on the 30th of the month we left home early to arrive in New Orleans in time for us all to get to the Super Dome to see the Saints and the Chiefs play a game. It was the first and only professional football game I’ve seen. In 1986 the “wave” thing was going big and it was a hoot to get ready to join in at the appropriate time. It was so much fun I couldn’t keep from laughing the whole time. I didn’t laugh at the score, however. Saints won….our Chiefs lost.
In this day and time, John was working nights at a psychiatric hospital as a security guard. When the game was over we drove home and then Barbara had to drive him to work at 11:00pm. He would work the night through while we slept. The next morning Barb went back after him and he freshened up with a shower…..then we went to la Marquise for breakfast in the French Quarter. We walked all around the Quarter and shopped….Barb and I pigged out on silver jewelry…we ate lunch at Mesparos and on to the Jax Brewery complex for more shopping. We packed a lot into one day and then went home so John could get a little sleep before having to go back to work.
When I think about it….about the struggle John and Barbara have had…I am very grateful that all of their work and efforts were finally recognized and they began to be blessed financially. Nothing comes easy but for these two….even easy wasn’t easy. As the mother……I am very grateful for their success and for the character and spiritual qualities that flow from both of them….and that’s a “wrap” for August 1986.………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
