Sunday, March 7
Happy 4th Birthday to Granddaughter Abby Dondis in Richardson, Texas!!!
We headed off to church this morning with grand plans for the day. After a month of off and on evening services and programs at the church, we would finally be back on schedule of Sunday school and church in the morning and choir practice and church in the evening. TJ and Mother would attend Harvest Acres Baptist Church in Mineola and have lunch together and we would spend the afternoon working on Our Little Lot at Holiday Village.
When we arrived at Yantis First Baptist, I went on to our Sunday school class while Barbara went to the sanctuary to help one of the men get the soundboard ready for the morning service. Mike, the regular operator, and the man who has been teaching Barbara to run the board, was out this morning.
Barbara was able to join the class for the last part of the lesson and then we went our separate ways again…she to the soundboard where she found that she had been relieved by another Jim…and me to the choir room to prepare for the service.
We had a fill-in preacher and a fill-in music director this morning, but everything went as usual except for the choir special, in which we learned (the hard way) of the dangers of using canned music as accompaniment to the choir. The disc that worked beautifully in the choir room boom box decided to take a different track (literally) as we were singing. Soon after we completed the intro and the first section of our special, we realized that we were nowhere close to the accompaniment…the laser had jumped several tracks and the music was stopping as we were singing. (Barbara was delighted that she wasn’t at the board!!)
Soundboard Jim started at a track where we had stopped, but the laser again skipped a couple of tracks. Finally, we were able to get the vocal and accompaniment together and finish the song more or less properly, but it did make for an interesting time.
As soon as we walked out after the service, it started to rain, cancelling my plans to get up in one of the large trees at the front of the property to clear out a bunch of dead vines. I had the ladder lined up and I knew exactly what I wanted to do, but not in the rain.
We stopped in the clubhouse to get meals to go and then retired to Big V for the afternoon, reading for a while and then dropping into a deep sleep as the rain drummed on the roof. So, we didn’t get the work done that we had planned, but it sure was nice to sleep in our own bed for a couple of hours!
Choir practice went well this evening and we had a good sermon from our visiting preacher. When that was over, we drove back to Mineola to take care of Mother and the puppies (can’t get it out of my mind that that would be a great name for a 50’s style rock ‘n’ roll group) and settle in for another night.
We did call Cal in Roswell tonight. Teresa answered and held the phone to Cal’s ear while we told him that we loved him and were thinking of him…something that we wanted him to hear from us. Teresa said that he tried to say, “I love you too,” but his voice was so very weak that we could only tell that he was trying to say something.
Monday, March 8
All we can say about today is that we were in the middle of monsoon season!
With rain falling nearly all day, we stayed inside except for a trip to the post office and a quick Walmart run.
Gene and Michelle Young were in town on business and dropped by the house for a few minutes during the afternoon before heading back to Holiday Village.
We spent the late afternoon and evening doing nothing of any importance.
Tuesday, March 9
Today was another house-cleaning day. That wasn’t part of the agenda, but when the sun came out for the first time in three days and we opened the blinds and front door, we could see clearly that the floors were in desperate need of attention. In addition to the dust that regularly accumulates, we had a coating of very small leaves that are shedding from the trees as they bloom and get tracked into the house by man and beast (not that Spike is a beast…heck, he doesn’t even know he’s a dog, but since he’s well-trained to go outside to take care of his personal business, he inadvertently tracks back dust, leaves, and whatever else his paws happen to hit).
Occasional phone calls between here and Roswell kept us apprised of Cal’s condition…unchanged except for gradual worsening.
Gene and Michelle came over tonight to share a light meal and teach us how to play the card game of Golf. We’ve never played it before, but caught on pretty quickly (not that you could tell it by our scores) and had a wonderful time visiting and playing (and eating, of course…Michelle brought a wonderful dessert that’s kind of like pecan pie, but it really isn’t). For once, we spent very little time talking about school stuff (what else are four former teachers/administrators going to talk about) and just enjoyed the moment.
Wednesday, March 10
Today was Bible study day for Barbara, so after having breakfast with Mother and getting ourselves cleaned and dressed, we headed north. Barbara dropped me off at the lot and then went on to her study group at the church in Yantis.
With that in place, I figured I’d better break out the trumpet and start getting the old chops ready again, so I used the relative isolation of our lot and Big V to do some practicing this morning (as well as taking a few well-deserved and much-needed breaks to go outside and spray Round-up on some of those nasty weeds and vines.
On the way home, we talked and came to the conclusion that we should go ahead and leave Mineola tomorrow morning, driving to Lubbock to help Jimmy Clint get settled in an apartment tomorrow evening, and then going to Roswell Friday morning. Our thinking was that we could visit with the family Friday morning and then go on to Artesia to spend the night with Jean.
There is a memorial service for Max Johnson’s mother Saturday morning in Artesia and I really did want to attend, but we couldn’t see how it could happen with all the other things going on around us. Max’s mom, Medora, was a really great lady who always made me feel welcome in their home, and while we couldn’t be in Santa Fe for Max and Marion when his mom passed away, I did want to be there for this service.
When we got home, we had lunch, talked to Mother about our decision (she has been adamant that we should both go to Roswell AND that she will be quite able to do for herself for a few days, thank you very much!).
The afternoon was spent in trying to get everything ready for a travel day tomorrow. Barbara started her packing and then I broke out the iron and ironing board to press some shirts and slacks. Our wardrobes have become somewhat simplistic and repetitive since we retired, and we thought we ought to dress a little nicer over the next few days.
By bedtime we had everything pretty well organized for Mother and TJ. TJ said she would check with Mother each morning and evening while we’re gone and will come by the house at noon each day to take Mother to lunch…surely we can all make this thing work.
Thursday, March 11
Happy Birthday today to Cousin Darren Wright in Marianna, Florida!!!
We got up this morning and, while fixing breakfast, received a phone call from Roswell that Cal passed away just a few minutes earlier, confirming that we had made the right decision yesterday that we needed to head that direction today.
After breakfast with Mother, we threw a few last-minute items in the car, and then talked with Mother some more to make sure it was okay for us to leave for a few days (actually, when I asked her if she was still okay with this, she asked, “Okay with what?” I said I needed to know if she was okay with us leaving like this; she looked at me like I had just said the stupidest thing in the world and said, “Of course I’m okay…I can take care of myself!”).
So, our next move was to get in the Vibe and start the long drive to Lubbock, this time driving across I-20 through Dallas, Fort Worth, and Abilene (wanted to see our friend Dandy for a few minutes in Abilene.)
The trip was uneventful and the weather cooperated. We did get to see Dandy for a few minutes at the Flying J truck stop west of Abilene and then rejoined the I-20 traffic until it was time to break away and head up U.S. 84 to Lubbock.
We found Jimmy Clint at his empty apartment (he was just preparing to move in) and spent the rest of the evening making multiple trips to the storage complex to load what we could in the Vibe and take it to the apartment. We finally got into a pretty good rhythm of Jimmy and me hauling things in and Barbara putting them in place while we went for the next load.
Somewhere around 10:00 pm, we decided we’d done all we could for one evening and settled in for the evening…no furniture in place yet, so we staked out places on the floor, wrapped ourselves in warm clothing, and slept on the carpet. Thank goodness, we DID have our pillows with us, so it wasn’t as uncomfortable as it could have been.
Friday, March 12
After a little cleanup, we drove to a local donut shop to see Jaycie. Cathey and her brother brought Jaycie and we all gathered around a little table while Barbara, Jimmy, Jaycie, and I ate a light breakfast and talked to Jaycie about her schoolwork and activities. They way we were arranged at the table, it was hard for me to hear a lot of what Jaycie said, so a lot of it had to be repeated, but it was good to see and hear her.
Barbara and I finally ran out of time and had to return the pickup to Don, get our things back into the Vibe, and continue our trip to Roswell. We said goodbye to Jimmy and his apartment around 3:00 and took off again, stopping in Brownfield for a Sonic lunch and then driving on to Roswell to see Carol and some of her family.
We visited at Carols’ for an hour or so, but they were busy making arrangements for the funeral, so we excused ourselves, promising to return tomorrow, and headed toward Artesia with a brief stop at the used book store to replenish our dwindling supply of reading materials.
When we got to Artesia, we found Jean and Becky waiting patiently to take us out to dinner. Jerry and Nancy were in San Antonio for a convention, so the four of us had to find our own entertainment. Becky wanted to eat at the local Italian restaurant, Piccolino’s, but it was crowded and a line had formed outside, so we opted instead to go to La Fonda and sample the Mexican fare. The food was delicious and we enjoyed talking to Jean and Becky and getting caught up on the latest news from Artesia.
When we finished our meal, we returned to Jean’s house for a little more visiting, but the long day caught up with all of us, so Becky returned to her house, Barbara and I talked a little more with Jean, and we all turned in for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday, March 13
After coffee (for Jean and me) and a leisurely breakfast at Jean’s house, Barbara and I got cleaned up and dressed to attend a memorial service for Medora Johnson, the mother of one of my oldest friends, Max Johnson, of whom I’ve written quite a bit in previous journal entries.
Max’s mother was a kind and gentle lady who, it seems, always had food ready for any of Max’s friends whenever they dropped by the Johnson house. Medora and Dorman, Max’s dad, were welcoming and kind parents who supported and encouraged Max and his friends, and I have many fond memories of them.
The memorial service was very nice and comforting. The music was well-chosen and the video presentation of old 8mm movies and photographs brought back fond memories for several of those in attendance.
Max already knew of Cal’s death, so he understood when we told Marion and him that we would be unable to stay for the reception after the service. When it was over, we said brief goodbyes, promised to try to catch up with Max and Marion tonight, and headed north to spend the day in Roswell.
Barbara: When we hit the city limits of Roswell, Jim said, “Uh-oh!” Now, that is always a bad sign! What he was uh-ohing about was that we had forgotten to get gas before we left Artesia and were traveling on fumes! However, we found a very proud (polite way of saying high-priced) service station and were able to coast into it and throw in $5.
With that taken care of, we made it to Carol and Cal’s were we found that many other family members had come in (after all Carol and Cal have 4 living children (Missy is deceased) and 19 grandchildren…did you get that? 19!!! And, Cal had 9 brothers and sisters! Well, a crew like that could fill a place in a hurry; but at that time, not all of them were even there…still a large group of us though.
After eating a wonderful lunch provided by many of their friends, the time came for Carol (with Jim and me as support) to tackle a difficult task to go to the funeral home. Carol’s special mission at this time was to put Cal’s wedding ring back on him. As a roofer for so many years and then later as a job superintendent, it was very dangerous for him to wear his ring. Carol was determined that now he was going to be able to wear it without fear.
However, when the time came to put the ring back on his finger, Carol just couldn’t do it and asked Jim to do it for her. He lightened the mood by telling Cal, “I’m sorry, Cal, but she made me do it. Some angels are going to be very disappointed when they find you are a married man.” Carol did give a little laugh which was a good thing.
After leaving the funeral home, we had some errands to take care of…flowers, etc. At first we despaired of finding a florist open on a Saturday afternoon; but, finally we found one that was open and who was willing to work with Carol on the family arrangement she envisioned. Cal was a very humble, simple man who didn’t go for the flashy, elaborate things of life and this selection was very important to Carol. But, we knew we were in the right place when things went very smoothly for her.
We ended up the errand run by pulling into Sam’s (Carol has a membership…we don’t) and using her card, we filled up the Vibe’s tank as she was very thirsty!!!
Once back at the house, we all visited as we awaited the arrival of Gary’s (only son of Carol and Cal) family and our sister Nancy, husband Tom and granddaughter Keylin. (Gary had flown in earlier in the week and he and his sister’s were with Cal and Carol when the end came for Cal.)
We waited around the house until all the out-of-towners who were expected today showed up, visited for a while, and then made the drive back to Artesia to have dinner with Jean and Becky at Piccolino’s.
Jim: When we finished eating, Barbara returned to the house with Jean and Becky while I drove to the local RV park to meet up with Max and Marion Johnson and get caught up on all the latest news regarding our respective families. Max and I email quite a bit, but nothing takes the place of a good old-fashioned, face-to-face conversation. We all knew that this would be the last chance to visit like this for a while, so we made the most of it until two of their sons, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson returned to the motor home.
We could have kept on talking, but the night was getting late and I needed to get back to the house so we could get some sleep and prepare for an early and long day tomorrow, so I said my goodbyes and drove back out to Jean’s house where we all talked for a bit and then headed to our rooms for a good night’s sleep.
Sunday, March 14
We had a light breakfast with Jean this morning and then headed off to Roswell to spend a day with family. Our first stop was at the house, where we found wall-to-wall sleeping kids and grandkids. We had to watch our steps so we didn’t step on anyone and wake them up, but managed to navigate safely into the kitchen to visit with Carol for a few minutes.
Later, we joined Tom, Nancy, and Keylin for the morning worship service at Grace Community Church. We found the congregation to be welcoming and friendly and the preacher delivered a wonderful sermon, but had to admit that the music was just not our style, even though the singers and instrumentalists were very talented.
When church was over, we drove back to Tom and Nancy’s motel to change clothes, but found that both of us had forgotten some of the things we were going to change, so we just left and went back to Carol’s house to get ready for lunch with the bunch.
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Barbara: While Jim did his thing, Nancy, and I went with Carol to the funeral home for a while. Then we did some shop-browsing trying to find a blouse for Carol to wear tomorrow. Probably our moods hampered the shopping some because we began to despair that we would never find what we were looking for, though all of us agreed we had no idea what we were looking for! Finally, though, we found the treasured blouse at Cato’s…definitely worth the hunt!
Before going back to the house, Carol took us to the Prayer Garden that she has found solace in so many times before at a Methodist Church. The three of us began our walk around as we quietly reminisced of years of memories. It just seemed natural that when we spanned the bridge and faced the huge cross, that the 3 of us hold hands and offer a prayer. I don’t know about my sisters, but for me, I felt that Mom and Dad were embracing us as we held hands and lifted our hearts and thoughts to the Lord. For me, this was a powerful moment in the face of heartache.
Eventually, we three continued the journey back to the house and found that the group was definitely growing!!
The day dawned gray, cloudy, and rainy, not good for funerals or traveling, and we had both ahead of us.
Barbara and I went directly to the funeral home in Roswell so she could check on the slide presentation that would be playing during Cal’s funeral service and I could get my trumpet warmed up to play Taps at the end of the graveside service.
A large group started gathering about 45 minutes before the service was scheduled to begin and by the time the family entered, the chapel was full.
The service was presided over by a minister from a church in Dexter, but more importantly, he was Cal’s “oxygen man.” They had met while he was delivering oxygen to the house and found that they had a lot in common, including a love for all things NASCAR.
Several people got up during the service and spoke about their special relationships with Cal. It was evident to all that Cal was much loved and respected by his friends, family, and fellow workers from Allen Roofing.
When the service at the chapel was completed, we all formed up in the procession to the cemetery (just behind the funeral home, but not so easy to get to) and made our way to the gravesite. When the casket was laid upon stand, the preacher spoke some more and then as I began sounding Taps, Cal’s granddaughter Tonya, a Junior ROTC member, accepted the American Flag from the funeral director and moved to Carol’s side.
The morning concluded with some visiting at the gravesite and then the family returned to the house to prepare for lunch before those of us who had to leave today headed off to the four winds.
Barbara and I began our journey, one which took us through wind, rain, clouds, light snow, heavy snow, and ice before we finally got back to just a light drizzle as we passed through such well known towns as Tatum, New Mexico, Plains, Brownfield, Tahoka, and Post, Texas, before finally arriving in Abilene at the home of our good friend Dandy, who had invited us to spend the night with her rather than seeking out a motel somewhere (since driving all the way back to Mineola was not even part of the plans for the day).
Dandy was a wonderful hostess, and we spent the evening eating some homemade chili and talking and relaxing after a stressful few days.
Tuesday, March 16
We had a great night’s sleep at Dandy’s house and another hour or so of visiting before we struck off again on a rainy morning and drove across Texas on Interstate 20. The traffic wasn’t bad, even through Dallas and Fort Worth, and we found our way back to Mineola and Mother’s house around 3:30.
We found on our return that Mother had done quite well staying by herself (with occasional visits from TJ) while we were gone…what a blessing that was! Okay, that might not be true if you ask TJ, Mother’s sister, who almost had a heart attack one day when she came over to check on Mother. Here’s the story which Barbara and I find actually quite awesome…
Mother decided one afternoon to go check her mail…now this is not a bad deal…however, she decided that she would take Spike with her…to make a long story short, Spike’s leash got wrapped around Mother and the walker and she almost went tumbling. Notice the key word, almost! John, the neighbor across the street witnessed this event and offered his sage advice which was, “Ms. Edith, I don’t think you should try that walk with Spike.” Mother readily agreed and decided that even the walk to the mailbox might not be the wisest move.
Personally, we thought it was awesome that she even thought of it and did attempt! Way to go, Mother!
We got the car unpacked and everything put away and then, worn and weary from a long day, found our way to the bed and crashed for the night.
Wednesday, March 17
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!
Happy Birthday to Gene Young of Holiday Village!!!
Still tired from our travel, we just hung around the house this morning and got re-acclimated to life at Mother’s place.
Our big event for the day was a trip to TJ’s house for lunch. TJ had prepared a traditional corned beef and cabbage meal for the day (with a big pan of homemade cornbread and some pie), and we sat down and ate it with great Irish gusto. In fact, we used up all of our gusto on dinner, so there was nothing to do by return to Mother’s for a traditional afternoon nap.
Gene and Michelle Young stopped by later to check up on us and welcome us home and let us know they would be returning to Kansas for a week or so.
Thursday, March 18
While Barbara stayed home and took care of the house, laundry, lunch, etc. this morning, I took Mother to the beauty shop and then ran a bunch of errands…post office, cleaners, bank, doctor’s office, etc…just a good morning to get caught up on things.
During the afternoon we drove up to Yantis to see David, Lorri, and the girls. They were busy trying to get their house set up, but took a few minutes to visit. It was good to know that they were safe and sound in their new home after the move from Liberal, Kansas, this week. We still marvel at the great fortune of having our pastor from Liberal move to Yantis, Texas…God sure works in mysterious and wonderful ways!
We left Yantis and drove back to our lot at Holiday Village to pick up some lawn and garden tools we needed to work on Mother’s yard. Once back in Mineola, we decided it was such a pretty afternoon that the place needed sprucing up, so Barbara mowed while I trimmed and raked. One thing led to another, and we were weeding flower beds, raking leaves, etc., etc., etc, until we were too tired to even see straight…and that was only the front yard!
Friday, March 19
The first thing on the agenda this morning was to take Spike to the vet for a laser treatment on his hindquarters. Old age has crept up on Spike and he finds that getting in motion is a little painful and slow some days. He’s fine once he gets up and moving, but the bones and joints just aren’t what they once were.
The outdoors called again and we answered the call by tackling Mother’s back yard. No work can be done in that yard without cleaning out all of Spike’s “calling cards,” of which there are many. But, after raking up all the debris, we were able to get back there with the mower and make the place look much more presentable.
With the lawn taken care of, we decided to paint the patio table and chairs that TJ had brought to the house when Mother moved in. Mother had just left the furniture as she got it, a shade of blue, in her sunroom, but told us (after a fair amount of wheedling on our part) that we could paint it and set it on the front porch.
We can’t say that this job brought us a lot of joy…of all the things we’ve been painting, the table and chairs were the most difficult, but they sure did look nice when we finished them and finally got them on the porch.
After a break for lunch and a bit of rest, Barbara and I loaded the lawnmower, trimmer, and rake in the Vibe and drove out to Holiday Village to make some improvements on our lot. The recent rains really got the grasses (multiple varieties) and weeds going and growing.
We were weary with well-doing when we finally returned to Mineola and spent the evening just relaxing and watching TV. We did get a call from Leah letting us know that Barbara Olsen, Barbara’s next door neighbor in Lubbock for many years, had passed away.
Saturday, March 20
Congratulations to Karen Francis and Conner McReynolds on the occasion of their wedding today in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Karen is a daughter of James and Susan Francis and a granddaughter of Jean Terpening.
Our day started early as we got breakfast out of the way and headed to the church in Yantis for a 3-hour choir practice for me. We have been preparing our Easter cantata and found that time was running out, so we scheduled a couple of Saturday morning rehearsals.
Since the rehearsal would conclude with a potluck luncheon (it is a Baptist church, after all), Barbara prepared a large batch of her famous chicken salad for me to take along with me. She then went to Our Little Lot to spend the morning in peace and tranquility (except for the drumming of the rain on the roof of Big V).
When our practice was over, I called Barbara and asked her to come get me and join the choir members in sharing some of the food…the ladies had all asked about her and insisted that she come eat with us.
We then returned to Mineola and spent the rest of the day just chilling out…it was cool and rainy and there wasn’t any work we could do, so we just rested and watched basketball on TV.
“Write your plans in pencil and let God have the eraser.” – Our Daily Bread
From Mineola, Texas,
Jim/Dad/Gramps & Barbara/Mom/Grams
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