Johnson Journals part 418

9/3/83 Karen to town and had breakfast with kids at Holiday Inn. I broke John in on power saw and we cut up all planks from deck. Karen hosted dinner party. Doug and Mary Logland, Todd Anderson, Lynn Myers and Punky.

9/4/83 Karen and John left at 9:00. Now what will happen to our lovelorn baby? She is so calm outwardly but I know she is churning inwardly. Well, she is a professional counselor. Hope she gives herself good advice.

9/5/83 Labor Day and big celebration in Ranier. We took no part in it - and can’t say why. The Heilmans came to say, “Goodbye, see you next summer.” And I say to myself, “I wonder.” Tessiers came for same reason. Same response. My elbow acting up. It is swollen and discolored. Called Dr. Walter at 10:00 p.m. “See me tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.”

9/6/83 To see Dr. Walter at 9:00 a.m. He “ohed” and “awed” enough to let us know it was serious. Shots, blood tests and more pills. “See you tomorrow.” We had invited Bill and Dare White to dinner. A very pleasant evening followed. Bill has been on wagon for 7 years. A good thing. I remember some of his “toots” and they were not fun.

9/7/83 Blueberry pancakes for the Whites and they left at 10:00 a.m. Back to clinic at 3:45. Dr. Walter gave me more pills and said, “Come in for X-rays tomorrow at 9:00.”

9/8/83 At clinic by 9:00. Had 3 X-rays. No fracture. The lump on my elbow was about egg sized. Fred lanced it and drew out a mess of fluid. He said “That should do it, Don’t come back unless it gives you trouble.”

9/9/83 To visit the Rays in p.m. As always it was a happy occasion. They are cozy in their little log cabin. Basement back filled. They cracked the wall!

9/10/83 We had an invitation for a 4:30 dinner at Rays and spent most of day looking out window wondering if the howling wind would go down. It was still blowing like hell at 4:00 and we decided to call it off. A good decision.One of the wildest days of the summer.

9/12/83 We had long talk with Paul concerning basement. I wish we shared his enthusiasm. Ted and Carol called at 8:00 p.m. They were in Valley City, ND.

9/15/83 Layna’s birthday. I had planned to take her out to dinner but we agreed it was more comfortable near fire. She prepared a feast.

9/16/83 Carol and Ted left at 9:00 a.m. All in all a good visit despite damnable weather.

9/17/83 To island. Cold, windy. Layna packed stuff. Stayed all night.

9/19/83 To see Dr. Walter. Got shots. Feel woozy.

9/20/83 Buck and Ted Hall moved our stuff from island. Used van and pontoon boat.

9/21/83 Snow flurries. A windy, cold day. At 1:00 p.m. Layna, Jim Froehlich to island. Jim drained the plumbing and we picked up a final(?) load of stuff.

9/22/83 For the past 2 weeks we have been worried about taking care of Sheila and 3 friends. When they showed up at noon, Layna had a master plan. She had Sheila call the Cummings who volunteered to haul them to their island! What a relief. Paul Anthony here for final cleanup. The total bill, counting eave troughs and crushed rock, $4400.

9/23/83 Vivian Sutch here for supper. She quit teaching in order to have more time for religion and now is bored. She was turned down at retreat in Pecos, NM, which was quite a blow.

9/24/83 Indian Summer. Annual meeting of Border Lakes Ass’n. The spouses were invited on board Chairman of the Board. Such luxury! $600 a day on a $250,000 boat. Arden Erickson almost wet her pants when I said “This boat reminds me of the Ethel B.

9/25/83 Indian summer. Sheila and friends came at 8:00 on way to Pittsburgh. Jim and Tom moved our deep freeze.

9/26/83 Layna and I to island in a.m. We put anti-freeze in plumbing, drained barrels on dock, put a few things away, gathered some tools and off for home.

9/27/83 Jerry Jensen installed Layna’s new dryer. Her first in 73 years! Ted and Rody here for dinner. Full of talk concerning talk to take Claire down Mississippi. A great adventure. If anyone can do it, they can.

9/28/83 The Moes here at 5:00 to help us eat the ducks that Jim Banks gave us. They were full of talk about their new summer home on Swell Bay. Cliff’s all in favor of the proposed restrictions. He wants all of Swell Bay for himself. He is 81 years old and still looking out for “numero uno”. They went into great detail concerning their moving operation. All volunteer help. I sound jealous. Maybe I am.

9/30/83 Grace Harrison here for fish dinner. Much talk of “olden days”. She was very bitter concerning Pete Peterson’s relationship with Carl. I am bitter about Grace’s relationship with Carl.

10/1/83 Duck season opened today at noon. No excitement for Johnson. A cool, rainy day and I was not sorry to not suffer. At 4:00 p.m. we drove out to Black Bay to check on hunters and found none. I looked out over the bay. Full of memories. No regrets.

10/3/83 To see Dr. Crow at 2:30. He put some dope on my elbow and prescribed some pills (at $1.25 apiece).

10/4/83 Company day! Gerald Wagness came in a.m. Full of talk, most of it interesting. However, he is a poor listener. We were taking a nap when Charlie and Mary Stuart came. Happy to see that pair anytime. Much square dance talk. Fun! As they were leaving, Dr. Milroy came. He has had surgery on both knees. He is cheerful thru it all. He still lives on 3rd floor of Ace Hardware. He started there in 1929 and has lived nowhere else (except lake place).

10/5/83 To Grandma’s Pantry for breakfast as guests of Gin Pavek. Lou Bruggeman and the Ketolas there, too. Good food, good company.

10/7/83 Buck and Terry to island and took care of boats and motors. Good men! A cold, rainy day. The sun broke thru about 5:00 and we went for a walk. Made the loop around Birch Point. Felt good. I am in training for an extended trip. Maybe Mexico.

10/8/83 Layna called Byrne and learned that they plan to come here about November 1. His job has been terminated and they want to regroup. I have mixed emotions, maybe because I am so comfortable now but realize that Layna needs help. We shall see.

10/10/83 Erle and Harriet came for farewell drink. Much good talk. A good laugh when they told about hiding liquor and discovering a few bottles they had hid last year!

10/11/83 Buck and Terry stopped in for coffee. A good visit. They both tell a story well. Buck made no comment when we told him about Byrne’s plan.

10/13/83 Robin desperate for a baby sitter. He called Layna who was going to RLWC meeting. I volunteered, much to amazement of all concerned (me too). No problem. Chris watched TV and the little ones colored. I might even do it again.

10/14/83 Cliff and Lou stopped in for a drink at 4:30 and stayed for supper. Very apologetic but I thot they planned it that way. The house next to theirs in Florida sold for $200,000. Lou told Layna that they were ripped off when they got only $75,000 for their Black Bay property. Money, money, money!

10/15/83 Robin came for lunch at noon. All 3 kids had new jackets, all very proud. After lunch we all watched Kipling’s Jungle Tales on TV. It was good family entertainment lasting 2 hours. We finally had our birthday dinner for Layna and Buck at Rainy Lake Lodge. Good to be with our kids.

10/16/83 After ball game we walked to highway and made circle. A good workout. Layna dug out a folder of letters (mostly fan mail) and we went over it for couple of hours. Some good laughs. She says she saved them for our old age. How true!