Worthington, IndianaMy friends Mary and Mike Michelle had an antique shop in a house in Worthington that they wanted to sell. They had moved to Bloomington. They were asking $15,000 for it. It was a real mess, and would need a lot of work to make it liveable. So here I go again, redoing a mess someone else has done. But I was determined to make a new life for myself. I was still strong and healthy, so I knew I could do it. |
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We sold the farm and Earl wanted to mortgage the house. I said “No, I can’t afford
mortgage payments.” So we paid cash. He had to put his name on the house,
so I let him. I found out later he planned to move in there also.
I told him “No way are you going to move in.” He had made no plans on getting a place
in Bloomington, so on moving day he had to take whatever he could find.
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I fixed the house up. He came and helped me. I let him because there was so much to do. Wallpaper to take down and clean, floors; everything was so dirty! It had 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, a large kitchen, a bathroom, and 3 porches. The bedroom by the bathroom had an outside door to the porch. I put my studio in there. Students came in by the side door. There was a large basement for tools and storage. The first thing I had to do was put in a new furnace. The house was warm and cozy. I moved in the fall of 1980. p> Then I had to paint the living, dining room and part of the kitchen floors. I put down new linoleum: it wasn’t hard to do. I also painted the living and dining room walls. Then I had the kitchen and studio walls papered. I had a lot of electrical work to be done. The brother of a friend did all of that very reasonable. | |
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I loved that little blue house. It was all mine. I loved the tall windows and had curtains
from the farm that fit. I had to buy a gas stove for the kitchen from a friend, cheap.
Doug came home for Thanksgiving. I invited Earl so he could see Doug.
He sat at the table and cried all through dinner.
At first Earl came out every Saturday after work and stayed until Monday. He said he “came to help me”. I told him I didn’t need his help and not to come again. He asked for $2000 and I gave it to him and said no more. [We found it in his strongbox when he died.] It cost me a lot to get the house in shape. | |
| Earl died in September, 1985. He had quit taking his medicine. [He was living in senior housing, with “pull in emergency” cords on the wall, which he coiled up behind pictures. He was working a crossword puzzle when he died. 4 letters, the clue was “LaMarr”. He wrote a good H, a crooked E, and the d ran down the page. We used his signature on an application for herbal heart medicine on the bulletin for his funeral. Apparently he was off his regular heart medicine.] Doug flew from Baltimore to Indianapolis and conducted Earl’s funeral. It was well done. Doug begged me to come out to Greenbelt and buy a house. I couldn’t move just like that. I didn’t want to be home alone for the holidays. I went to my brother’s for Thanksgiving. [Hannibal MO, at least 500 mi. northwest of Worthington.] | ||
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Doug wanted to go with me to get me a dog. I said no, I know what kind of a dog I wanted.
I was getting ready to go to Southern Illinois for Christmas when Benjie was shown on TV for
adoption. He was exactly the dog I wanted, but I was leaving for Southern Illinois the next day.
I prayed he would still be at the shelter when I came back.
I came back after Christmas. The first thing I did was call the kennel about Benjie. He was still there! I hopped in my car and drove 50 miles to get him. He was standing by the gate wagging his tail quietly. All the other dogs were barking up a storm. |
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| He was so dirty and ill-kept, but his spirit was good. I bundled him in the car and raced home. I stopped at the supermarket to get a collar, leash, and dog food. I walked him, and took him in and gave him a bath. He was a gift from heaven! I started thinking about what Doug wanted me to do, move to Greenbelt. | ||
| ← Windy Hill Farm | Greenbelt → | |