RichEisbrouch
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Perhaps family -- and other kinds of -- reunions take place easily and electronically now. My high school class certainly stays together that way, rather than gathering from across the United States. Though in this chapter, Addy's writing about 1988, still even before the general use of e-mail, let alone everything that's come since..
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When I was in Hattiesburg, I began thinking about my grandchildren a lot, and first, Neal’s son Danny. It was probably because I was surrounded by my family, and he seemed so cut off from it. We didn’t even know if he liked being called “Danny.” We called him that because we always called Del’s son “Daniel” and Charley’s son “Dan.” But when I asked Neal what his son wanted to be called, he laughed and said, “I have a private name for him, but I wouldn’t say it in front of you, Mama.”
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Thanks. It's just weird how life never seems to get simpler, even when you're living in what should be a quiet place.
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Everyone knew my eightieth birthday was coming up, though it didn’t seem like anything special to me. Ruth was already eighty-seven, and Leona was eighty-four. We had parties for them, and all their children came to celebrate. But Joann felt my party should be bigger. “For one thing, we all live here, Mama. That makes it easier to get everyone together.” “But you see me all the time,” I protested. “That means you don’t have to make a fuss.” “May
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Fortunately, the city Bodark Creek is based on doesn't die. It just changes and gets stronger.
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Soon after I moved back into the house, the town started talking about tearing down the mill. It had been empty for over fifteen years, and the last owners had given up trying to find a new buyer. They tried selling the land, too, but no one was interested. Finally, they stopped paying the taxes, and the property was taken over by the town. They tried to sell it. They even put the mill up for auction, then took it back when no one made a reasonable offer. “The problem is that no
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Chapter 2 -- My 42-Buck Adventure
RichEisbrouch commented on RichEisbrouch's story chapter in Chapter 2 -- My 42-Buck Adventure
Thanks. It's always fun to reread these, or even glance at them and remember why I wrote them. Many were for New Year's letters, but some were just sent to batches of friends. They seem to enjoy my writing if it's short. -
I was at the dog park Friday morning, but the rotating sprinklers were on in the large dog area, so after dodging the water for a couple of minutes, I moved to the small dog area. People don’t really make a distinction and mainly gather with their friends. While walking inside the fence for exercise, I happened to hear three women talking about drivers. Since I’d spent part of the morning thinking about all the friends I wanted to see, from Ohio to Massachusetts, and then unhappi
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Milk is good. Thanks. But maybe something less sweet than Oreos -- though try to find something like that in a supermarket or bakery. So maybe I'll just shut up and graciously take the Oreos.
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Yep. But the good news is Addy just keeps getting older. Fortunately, she's healthy, too -- possibly from all that exercise from years of work on the farm.
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Pat lived for another six years, until she was almost forty-nine. In all that time, she never even opened her eyes. It was a hard time for all of us. I went to the nursing home every day, usually in the morning. I made sure that nothing had changed, and I sat with Pat for a couple of hours, usually reading to her. Sometimes, she got cards from her friends, but mainly I read magazine articles or parts of books that I thought she might like. And we celebrated birthdays and other holidays as if she
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Perhaps. Though I'm not sure she's really aware of that. She seems mainly focused on Pat. Good point though. Thanks.
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With Albie gone, another part of my family went. I’d lost most of my brothers, Sonny, Dougie, and Walter, and I’d lost Rosalind. But as long as Albie was there, it seemed like that part of my family was still alive. All my brothers’ children had moved away. Like June, they went to what they hoped were more interesting places. And though they came back to visit Leona and Ruth, it wasn’t the same. I knew I was lucky to have my own children close, not that Dallas and Fort Worth wer
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It's interesting that she moves back in to close where she started, though not where she was born. Even Charley wasn't born when the family was living in that house. They were across the street.
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Charley was doing pretty well after his heart attack. He was out seeing his friends, and he was driving again, but his doctor wanted to do a little surgery. “The problem is,” Charley told me, “that he thinks I can have another heart attack at any time.” “Isn’t one enough?” I asked. “Well, no one in our family’s ever had two. But that’s only because no one’s ever lived through the first one.” “Then I’d let the doctor have his way.”
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Thanks. And, yes, there's lots of moving on with a family this big.
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When I got back from Tucson, I found that Ruth, Leona, and Pat were making some plans. “What’s this all about?” I asked, when I heard a bit of it from Del. “Well, you know how I want to go back to school,” Pat told me. “And how many years I’ve talked about finishing my degree.” I laughed at that. Almost anytime I asked Pat what she wanted for her birthday or for Christmas, she said, “How about getting me my RN?” And she’d take classes, and she’d usually do well.
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Again, thanks. As with your mother, it's interesting to change your perspective a bit when you're seventy.
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William died unexpectedly. We were at his house for no special reason. It was Memorial Day, but we didn’t have anything planned. It was going to be an easy day, and we probably wouldn’t do a lot. We’d eat, and read, and maybe catch up with a few of his friends. We’d only been in Montana for a week and were thinking about another trip to Europe in the fall. William wanted to test out his Spanish. I got up before he did. It must have been around six, because I still got up early.
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Glad your mother found more excitement in Florida. That sounds like it was a nice surprise.
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It was fun. It was more than fun. I really was in love. Not for the first time. My loving William has nothing to do with my still loving Martin. And it’s not that Martin would have wanted me to stay alone. But I’m sure he never thought I would be. There were our children. And our grandchildren. And there was always the farm. I kind of left the farm to Del and Neal for a while. I was home for many of the holidays, and William and I stayed at the house. And we were at his house in
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Yep, and evidently, Addy didn't expect it, either.
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When Charley promised he’d make it up to me for missing Dock’s funeral, he meant it. After that terrible year, he decided we needed a little rest. “I’ve been seeing so many people,” he told me over the phone, “only to say how sorry I was. Wouldn’t it be nice to say how good it was to see them instead?” “That sounds fine to me,” I said. “And next spring’s the perfect time.” So Charley started making plans for another family reunion, this time to
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Yep, Albie had a lot of help from his parents and seems able to do just fine, now that they're gone. And Addy seems to be outliving everyone, so she's the one with the memories to share.
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When Dock died, it almost wasn’t a surprise. Practically no one had seen him since Rosalind’s funeral. At Sunday dinners, Albie would say, “Daddy’s not feeling well,” or “You know how he’s been since Mama’s gone.” Or Albie wouldn’t say anything at all. He’d just show up and have the best time he could. But he’d be having it alone. “Daddy really misses Mama,” he’d tell us. “I miss her, too. But somehow not as much.” “Is Dock all right?” we’d ask.
