Thursday, July 07, 2005
OCTOBER....1994
TV news mentioned the death of Harriet Hilliard Nelson on the 4th of October. Long ago a school friend of mine and I went to the Orpheum theatre in Omaha to get the autographs of her and Ozzie. At that time they were traveling around the country to theatres for matinee performances with their band. We stood at the stage door in the alley until a bus pulled up with the band and a little later, a taxi arrived with Ozzie and Harriet. I was a star-struck 6th grader and stood in awe as they signed my book. After their boys were born they looked for steady work in California so they could give them a decent raising. They had the Ozzie and Harriet show on TV for quite a few years…..until Ricky began his own career. Ozzie and Ricky both died before Harriet. Ricky was trying to make a come-back after a failed marriage and a failed career. Drugs ruin people’s lives in many ways. David, the older brother, and Harriet were left to mourn them both.
Gail flew in on a Saturday (the 8th) and we picked her up at the airport. She flew in to take flowers to Louis’ grave on his birthday (the 9th). A friend of ours, Dean McPhearson, dropped by to tell us he had prostate cancer and was waiting for the results of his surgery. John had performed the wedding ceremony for Dean and his wife and they stayed in touch after moving to Springfield.
Gail stayed with us until the following Wednesday when we got up at 3:30am to get her to the Springfield airport in time for the plane to Seattle……leaving at 7:00am. I stayed home to get ready for work while Bear drove her to the airport. Tuffy was scratching Morris to pieces with his little sharp claws so we took him to the Vet for claw removal and all of his shots. He was a lump of fur in the wing-back chair for several days…..too sore to move. Back then, the Vet removed all of the claws but now only the front ones are removed. Too many house cats escaped outside and didn’t come back because they couldn’t protect themselves…. they became easy prey for predators. In a few days Tuffy was back to his old self and his antics continued but with less blood-letting from Morris.
Martha Raye died October 19th….she was 80-years old and had been in poor health. She was a comedian who always made comedy funnier with her presence. She could twist her mouth in more shapes than a kaleidoscope. Burt Lancaster died on the 21st….he was 78. He had played many parts and was always one to do his own athletic scenes. He died of a heart attack after suffering a stroke and being out of the public eye for some time. His good friend, Kirk Douglas, gave a heartfelt eulogy.
I began sewing on Christmas sweatshirts and they turned out very nice. I gave the first one to Becky to wear for the holidays. It was mild and warm enough that Bear and I planted five clematis along the fence and at the clothesline poles. I had ordered a beautiful Chinese peony at the same time. It was hard digging but we knew the mild weather wouldn’t last so we stuck with it until all were in the ground. Today they are still here, blooming beautifully, where we placed them at the time.
Bear had been working on the leaves on and off….it was always a big job with our large lot and many oak trees. We got a hard, killing frost on the 22nd but some of my plants survived. Bear cleaned the flower beds out nice and worked on more leaves. I took a day off work to cook and clean as Buster and Phyllis were coming for a short visit. They came on the 28th and I had supper waiting when they arrived. The next day, Nebraska U. played Colorado U. so we stayed home to watch that. Colorado fell to our home State so we were satisfied with the results.
Buster wanted to take us to lunch in Mountain Home the next day so that’s what we did. As we reached the old haunts of bygone days, Bidwell Point and Redbank, we laughed about the good old days and the fun times we had there when mom and dad were alive. We had routine dental appointments the next day and Buster and Phyllis were leaving for home. We followed one another to Springfield where our roads divided and we waved goodbye. It was the last day of October and the day we put mom to rest three years ago…….“time waits for no man,” as dad used to say. It doesn’t wait for women either. November would make her debut the next day……….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
Gail flew in on a Saturday (the 8th) and we picked her up at the airport. She flew in to take flowers to Louis’ grave on his birthday (the 9th). A friend of ours, Dean McPhearson, dropped by to tell us he had prostate cancer and was waiting for the results of his surgery. John had performed the wedding ceremony for Dean and his wife and they stayed in touch after moving to Springfield.
Gail stayed with us until the following Wednesday when we got up at 3:30am to get her to the Springfield airport in time for the plane to Seattle……leaving at 7:00am. I stayed home to get ready for work while Bear drove her to the airport. Tuffy was scratching Morris to pieces with his little sharp claws so we took him to the Vet for claw removal and all of his shots. He was a lump of fur in the wing-back chair for several days…..too sore to move. Back then, the Vet removed all of the claws but now only the front ones are removed. Too many house cats escaped outside and didn’t come back because they couldn’t protect themselves…. they became easy prey for predators. In a few days Tuffy was back to his old self and his antics continued but with less blood-letting from Morris.
Martha Raye died October 19th….she was 80-years old and had been in poor health. She was a comedian who always made comedy funnier with her presence. She could twist her mouth in more shapes than a kaleidoscope. Burt Lancaster died on the 21st….he was 78. He had played many parts and was always one to do his own athletic scenes. He died of a heart attack after suffering a stroke and being out of the public eye for some time. His good friend, Kirk Douglas, gave a heartfelt eulogy.
I began sewing on Christmas sweatshirts and they turned out very nice. I gave the first one to Becky to wear for the holidays. It was mild and warm enough that Bear and I planted five clematis along the fence and at the clothesline poles. I had ordered a beautiful Chinese peony at the same time. It was hard digging but we knew the mild weather wouldn’t last so we stuck with it until all were in the ground. Today they are still here, blooming beautifully, where we placed them at the time.
Bear had been working on the leaves on and off….it was always a big job with our large lot and many oak trees. We got a hard, killing frost on the 22nd but some of my plants survived. Bear cleaned the flower beds out nice and worked on more leaves. I took a day off work to cook and clean as Buster and Phyllis were coming for a short visit. They came on the 28th and I had supper waiting when they arrived. The next day, Nebraska U. played Colorado U. so we stayed home to watch that. Colorado fell to our home State so we were satisfied with the results.
Buster wanted to take us to lunch in Mountain Home the next day so that’s what we did. As we reached the old haunts of bygone days, Bidwell Point and Redbank, we laughed about the good old days and the fun times we had there when mom and dad were alive. We had routine dental appointments the next day and Buster and Phyllis were leaving for home. We followed one another to Springfield where our roads divided and we waved goodbye. It was the last day of October and the day we put mom to rest three years ago…….“time waits for no man,” as dad used to say. It doesn’t wait for women either. November would make her debut the next day……….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
