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Saturday, March 05, 2005

JUNE....1988 

June came in on a Monday and shortly after I got home from work, uncle Tom and aunt Inabelle drove in. They were on their way to Nebraska for their yearly visit. I fixed supper for everyone, Becky and Jennifer came and we spent the evening catching up on family news. They went to WC everyday and brought mom to our house so they could all visit…..when I came in each evening I got to hear about their day as I fixed supper for all of us. They stayed with us for a week and then continued on to Nebraska. We always enjoyed uncle Tom and aunt Inabelle.

Becky went to Kansas City to be with her dad who was having veins replaced in both legs. The circulation was restricted and he was to have replacements from his hips to the knees. Becky went to care for him when he came home and Jennifer stayed with us while she was gone. George Sr. had a rough 3-days but began improvement after that.

Mid-month we had a call from Bob and Mary Bryant who said they would be coming through here on their way home from Denver. Mary had been out there for a training session pertaining to her job and they planned on staying with us one night. We were delighted and had mom here so she could visit with them. I think mom would have traded me in a heartbeat to be Mary’s mother. As it turned out, they arrived the following Saturday, left on Sunday and Warren’s Army buddy and his wife arrived on Monday. Codd and Carroll were old friends of Warren’s and had accepted me as part of the package when I married him. They pulled a trailer and insisted on staying in it so I fixed supper and we gabbed until the wee hours. They left the next morning for Fort Smith, AR. to visit Codd’s sister and family.

The following Saturday Warren and I loaded the car and headed for John and Barbara’s. Jennifer went with us and Becky was going to stay at our house because it was so hot and she didn’t have air conditioning. We got away by 4:30am and were in Memphis by 8:30am. We couldn’t believe how low the Mississippi River was due to the drought in the mid-West. You could walk half way across the river on dry land….simply amazing. We ate dinner at Jackson, Miss. And arrived at John and Barb’s by 4:00pm We made good time. Barb fixed a nice supper and we stayed up late visiting. John had to work on Sunday so Warren stayed at the apartment and Barb and I did the malls.

On Monday they were both off work so we went to the zoo and it must have been 100* in the shade with humidity as high as it can get. It was miserable walking around but we made a day of it. I saw my first white tiger and white alligator. Pretty impressive. Tuesday we went to the French Quarter and did all of our favorite things….went to our favorite places. It’s fun to “people watch” and listen to the jazz music everywhere you go…..along with an occasional blast from one of the River Boats and the calliope. You never want to be in a hurry when you visit the French Quarter. Life is slow there and meant to be savored …….

Barb had to work on Wednesday and George was flying in to join us so we made the trek to the airport to pick him up by 11:30am. We stopped off for some lunch and then went to one of the malls…..getting home by the time Barb did. We had pizza from the pick-up window for supper and enjoyed some good movies. Barb had to work again on Thursday and John had some work at home to do on the computer. (He did billing for one of the doctor’s to help make extra money) so Jennifer, George, little John and I went to the French Quarter and rode the Natchez for a 2-hour ride. It was very interesting with the tour guide filling us in on the historical aspects of the trip, down the Mississippi towards the Gulf for a few miles and then back.

George wanted more beignets at Café du Monde so we did that and then went back to the French Market for shopping. We managed to get home by the time Barb did and after a good supper we watched…….yup!….more movies.

July will have to wait another day……

Until then,
Essentially Esther