The heat increased as the afternoon wore on. Willow was barfing again. I think it is the heat crossed with being anxious; everything makes her bark. Finally James plunked her into the bathtub, gave her a bath and a cold rinse.

Joe and his helper showed up. It felt funny watching them take apart the bed and cart the furniture out of the house. I keep wondering if this is what my mom would want. Plus I keep seeing things and thinking "I have to tell Mom..." It happened when we went out. First we stopped at the Miller Box Company. Their boxes were half the price of Office Max's and they threw in a roll of strapping tape. Then we were hungry (by then it was after two) and we drove out to Oakland Beach. It's in a cove off Narragansett Bay and at the "opening" on a clear day you can usually see both the Newport and Jamestown bridges (ahem! the Verrazano and Pell bridges...sheesh). A popup thunderstorm was rolling in as we drove up and the horizon disappeared, lightning dancing on the horizon.

We went into Iggy's and had lunch and the storm continued to approach. Everything had vanished except the water closest to the beach and the wind tossed the trees so that the leaves hissed and rattled. The sky opened and the little sparrows cadging crumbs at Iggy's overhang vanished for the few minutes that it rained. Oh, how we enjoyed the breeze! But soon it was over, the sparrows came back, and it got hot again. I kept thinking about telling Mom about the sparrows, and the roll of fog.

On the way home we drove down Warwick Neck. I wanted to show James where Rocky Point Amusement Park used to be, but the whole thing is gated and chained off. A shame, because it's a beautiful view. Even after the amusement park closed, the Shore Dinner Hall was still open for a while and you could drive along the shore. I guess they had too many vandals rummaging among the crumbling remains of the House of Wax, the Tunnel of Love, the midway, the miniature golf course, and Kiddieland. ::sigh:: These creeps always have to ruin it for everyone else.

Stopped at the new Shaw's supermarket on the way home. This is an unremarkable event except that the new Shaw's and the new development "Chapel View" next to it are built on what used to be the scariest sight for West Bay youngsters: the dreaded Sockanosset, the "bad boys and girls school." Yep, they are making a condo/commercial development out of the old reform school. When you hit your rebellious youth, there was no threat worse than "I'll send you to Sockanosset." The multi-story buildings were of grey stone and forbiddingly set on a corner of what was then mostly country and across the street from a coal tipple; down the road was the state prison. Even the chapel for which the development was named was made of this same unyielding grey stone; you did not expect a merciful God in its shadow. Charles Dickens would have felt the familiar loom of old London from the old site.

The house was roasting when we came in, but in a few minutes the front finally came through with great gusts of wind, some thunder, and a spatter of rain. (We were lucky. Places like Burrillville and Brockton, Massachusetts, had wind damage.) It did get cool but the breeze vanished as well, so the fans are still needed to drag the air into the house.

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 8:19:00 PM

Comments:

I see dad all the time... I sometimes walk in the door and look over to where he had his chair and start to tell him about my day. I worry that you will give away all your memories of your mom and the special times and things that you shared... I had to make a concious decision after dad died to quit giving everyone what they wanted. Nicki has nothing really now to remember her grandfather. I do know that mom had given everyone what she wanted them to have. James got the 3 tables and the 4 plates. dawn got china and a plate series. sherri got a rocking chair and i think a plate series. Sabra will get one of the china hutches and the buffet in the old dining room and she has a plate series. I have a plate series and what ever I want out of the house... that will be the hard part. what do I want? the good memories for sure but not the tree limbs falling on the house or the leaks from the crummy roof or the old cabinet doors... good air finally is a good thing. have to go and put some ice in the water bowl for the puppies...
I do want you to know I admire you and the decisions you are having to make. I know it is hard and with no air conditioning I couldn't do it. Oh by the way Sa's sugery was good... he knee( you know the family curse; bad ones) should work well now...

# posted by  Anonymous : 12:13:00 AM

 

I didn't know Sabra needed knee surgery! Which leg? Someday James will need it--and I didn't inherit it, but I will, too! You should hear my knees click and crackle when I climb the stairs.

# posted by  Linda : 2:04:00 PM

 

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