Two Noras: July 2, 1914 and July 2, 2021

Nora Bauer: Thursday, July 2, 1914

Barnes got a new car today and he was trying to learn me how to run it. Susie and Teresa were over this evening we had a good time. 

Nora Spitznogle: Friday, July 2, 2021

Slept in, met siblings and others for lunch at Ulen Country Club. Visited Dad's grave after. Followed Dad's Whitestown Run route this evening - what a lovely evening it was. 

What an exciting day for Grandma Nora - learning how to drive an automobile! I wonder what kind of car it was? When I hear Nora mention Teresa I wonder if it was Teresa Schnitz, who married her younger brother, Herman six years later. I don't have a guess about who Susie is. 

I am grateful that I don't have to go to work today and could sleep in. Not that I'm sleeping well...

Both Beth and J.R. belong to Ulen Country Club in Lebanon. The siblings and the Iowa guys met for lunch. It was fun to hear everyone's impressions of the funeral. It was such a blur that we're all remembering different parts. 

Beth and J.R. and I all independently wound up at the cemetery, We cleaned up the containers and wilted flowers. Beth made bouquets to put on graves of family friends and we put the petals of flowers on Dad's grave - it looked so much better than the dirt. 

I got a call from my tenant that the refrigerator wasn't working...luckily it was just unplugged!  

I really wanted a nap, but had to keep moving to get to Whitestown to trace Dad's usual Friday night route. 

I invited S. - partly because I knew that he'd enjoy it and partly because I wanted a driver - I planned on having a drink at each to the three stops. As it wound up, I picked him up - driving 25 minutes the wrong way to do so. I'll admit to being really angry at the way it was turning out, but decided to let it go as we were driving to Whitestown. Even though I'd made it clear that I wanted not to drive, it's on me that I agreed to what he wanted. Not his fault, but a reminder of why we don't date anymore. 

Our first stop was the Legion where many of the members shared Dad stories and gave their condolences. They had this posted on their bulletin board.  Rush and Aaron, in from Iowa for Dad's funeral joined us as did Beth and Troy and their friends, Margaret and Tim. We picked up a few people along the way, including Art, who Dad knew from the Legion and has been helping Dad at the Farm. 

The next stop was Moontown, where they had Dad's favorite half pint of beer - King of Troy - at his seat at the bar. Everyone there was lovely. I did have a half of my favorite beer there - Fill the Void, a lovely porter. 

The third stop was Dad's beloved L.A. Cafe for dinner. The owner Jessie and the staff have been wonderful to Dad over the years. The even have a "baby beer" button on their ordering system for his half pint of Sun King Sunlight Cream Ale. Here we are toasting with baby beers. I had one of those too. 

I know that I haven't said much about them, but I'm so glad that Rush and Aaron made the trip from Iowa. Rush was here in May and that was the happiest I'd seen Dad in a long time - he loved having visitors and hosting a party a the farm. It was great to share the Whitestown Run with them. 

I will also admit to being emotional and tired and fragile - it's probably just as well that I was the driver and tempered my drinking and I may have been overreacting to the S. driving thing. Maybe.