You can reach Sue at (314) 452-3685 or (314) 726-2032. You can write to her c/o Rose Holt, 905 Barnard College Lane, St. Louis, MO 63130


We have a lot of news to report, some good, some not so good.

First of all, Margaret was hospitalized briefly for chest pains. She was in intensive care for three days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday of this week), completed a series of tests, and is now home. The tests showed that her heart is functioning very well, and the problem she experienced has nothing to do with her heart. Her primary care physician will recommend a neurologist for Margaret to consult for further examination. She feels much better, and we are all very relieved.

Bernie and Maudie at last report were leaving their daughter Kaye in Mesa, AZ, to travel north. They were to meet Pete and Janet for a couple of days. Pete and Janet returned earlier in March to Idaho Falls, and Janet is scheduled for shoulder surgery in April. We are happy to hear that Bernie is up and about and once again able to travel.

Mark, Chris, and I (sometimes joined by Shelly, Karen, and Rose) continue our weekly luncheon outings. We have developed an international taste, trying Thai, Greek, and of course good old American food. Surely a long way from Turnbow not to mention Miss Muzzie's Cafe.

I continue to battle problems with getting lake house up and running for the upcoming season. Right now, the downstairs bedroom is torn up due to the leak from the new bathroom above it. Now I'm told it will be another 20 to 30 days before all the repair and replacement is complete. Thank goodness, my bathroom contractor's insurance is covering the costs of this work!

Rose and I made a whirlwind trip to the lake on Tuesday-Wednesday of this week and lighted fires under the insurance company agent and his contractor. [We invited brother Joe to join us for dinner, but he was busy with overseeing work on the rental house and couldn't come. Too bad, because we had a fabulous dinner at HK's, Lodge of the Four Seasons. We could have used one of our brother's credit cards for sure!] Mark Goldman and I will return next Tuesday to look over the estimate, select the carpet and paint colors, and light some more fires.

In spite of the upheaval, several fine young men will be at the lake house beginning March 30th for their annual show-up-for-work-and-play trip. I think if they don't come, the others shame them into it the next year. Of course, it is purely wonderful that they do so much and are so good to me. These are the same young people I ran off when they partied at our house when they were all teenagers and in high school. I've forgiven them and obviously they've forgiven me.

Many of you know that our great niece Jana and her husband John now live in the St. Louis area. They are expecting their first child April 1, and we three old ladies are eager to have a new baby near us. Jana is our late brother Bob's granddaughter. Rose, Shirley, and I (with a lot of help from Shelly) hosted a brunch/shower for Jana and John last Sunday. It was great to bring far-flung family together even though some didn't quite know how Jana and John fit into the family and vice versa.

On a more somber note, Jana's mother, Cindy, (widow of our late nephew Bobby) is at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where she had surgery on Monday. Jana e-mailed us a report about her mother. The surgeons were not able to remove all the tumor (colon cancer) but were able to get most of it. Cindy will be at the clinic for 10-14 days and after that will have a four-week recovery at home. If anyone wishes to send a note or card, send it to Cindy Parr, Rochester Methodist Hospital, 201 West Center Street, Patient Care Unit Station 5-2, Room 215A, Rochester, MN, 55902.

My Springfield former neighbor, Leslie, who is newly-married to "that King Boy, Sam," phoned me about her days in Marshfield recently. Sam's grandmother, Lena King, died on Saturday, March 18. Visitation was at the Fraker Funeral Home in Marshfield with burial in the Marshfield Cemetery. The service was at a country church on Highway A near the same road on which Mrs. King lived her entire live. Leslie spoke with some of Sam's relatives, including Shirley Felin (wife of Red Felin). All remembered the Felins and Mother's store on the square. After the burial, Leslie visited our family plot in the cemetery.

Today Chris and I travel midway to Louisville to meet Scott and bring Brayden and Jalen home with us for the weekend. Tomorrow Sabrina's boys have a big basketball game which we plan to attend. Brayden and Jalen will have to go home on Sunday, but we will again have them in two weeks for a longer period. I doubt if they are as excited as we are.

I haven't bought a car yet. In fact, I am approaching Joe's record time for THINKING about buying a new vehicle. Meanwhile I continue to drive Rose's fancy Lexus. Once I find someone to help me at the lake house this summer, I'll go ahead with the purchase. The way things stand now, it looks like Maddog (Chris Lynch) will spend the summer at the lake house with me, and I am looking for a woman who could come for an hour or so daily to help. If any Dear Reader knows someone who is looking for a small part-time job, please contact me.

PLANS FOR THE FAMILY REUNION THE WEEKEND OF JUNE 3-4 are moving slowly. Pete will be our M.C. Chris and Shelly have reserved their subdivision club house for Saturday evening, June 3. Stephanie is gathering and scanning a number of old photos for the event, and Chris will be making a slide-show video of other photos. We need feedback and some idea of who will be attending. The Saturday evening dinner will be catered, so we will be asking for exact numbers later on, but a ballpark figure would help us now. Of course, we are open to suggestions for making this a memorable occasion.