August 9, 1959 The Short Summer, The Freak Accident, The Junk and The Firecracker

Glad to be back with his hamster

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"It is a fall day & unusual for August.  I hope fall doesn't come too fast.  The summer has been so short.  Yesterday was summer graduation and the nicest day we have ever had for a summer graduation.  It is usually blistering hot & everyone melts in the robes.

We have hardly seen Sorensens.  They were gone again when we got home--had gone to Nebraska to see Woody's brother.  Now they have had to go back for his funeral today.  He was the one with cancer.  Train connections were bad so they had to drive quite a ways to catch a train.  They had a freakish accident in their car (the back window just blew out while they were driving one day) so they took our car and we have theirs.  They will go to the funeral & come right back.  They'll leave our car in a garage & pick it up on the way back.

Edna was sick a good part of their trip this summer.  The insects almost ate her up.  She is allergic to any kind of bite & swells terribly.   Then she had a virus infection so this added trip is going to be tiring for her.  Both of them look fine though.  Woody has been on the job at school all last week so he & B see each other every day but their offices are not together.  All of us have been so busy we haven't had time to see them but maybe we can soon.  They will have lots to tell.

We haven't been having swimming weather so we haven't been to the pool much.  The kids have complained of sore throats & don't want to go.  Their throats look all right & they don't have any fever so it is kind of puzzling.

We have really worked since we came home.  Last Saturday we started painting the living room & it is all finished now.  It is light green & looks so fresh and clean.  The woodwork is the same color in the dining room so it was quite a project.  I sent the drapes to the cleaners & the dining room ones will be finished today.  We have to put the pictures back, too.

I spent yesterday cleaning upstairs.  The kids sure can get things in a mess & it took all day to straighten drawers & really clean it up.  I burned a lot of junk in the fireplace & accidentally got a firecracker in the fire.  I thought I was shot but Bob thought it was a good joke on me.

I hope Leonard is better.  Bessie said his case was different from the usual coronary & the Dr. told him he'd probably be in the medical journals.  I don't remember whether I ever told you we stopped at Buddy's & got to see him, too.  The past month was so full I can hardly remember what I did tell you.

I was so sorry about Jim.  It seems like he was too young.

Larsens start on their vacation today so B will probably be pretty busy for awhile.

I hope Charlotte likes college and I think she will.  She is probably anxious to get started.

I must stop & write a card to Granny Watterson.  She is with her daughter now & I haven't written to her at all but she has written to me.  In another week she is supposed to walk alone without the chair.  She can hardly wait.

Hope you are all fine."

                        Lots of love,

                               Bonnie

NOTES:  It's amazing that we survived childhood given what went on in our gloriously messy rooms.   I kept a round plastic zipper box of mercury that we regularly played with, as well as a box of broken colored glass and Bob regularly concocted a variety of chemical mixtures and heated them over a flame.  While we were expected to "pick up a little" in our rooms on Saturdays, I doubt if anyone would have noticed the difference.