1986-05 (May)

May 1st, 1986

9a.m. appointment with radiologist Robert Palmer. he repeated Soloway's congratulations. On way home, by way of celebration, I bought a 1 3/4 - inch- thick longbone sirloin at Sessel's. Reset Lauria clock for daylight-savings time. Reserved Parkman's Frontenac. Drove to Book Shelf; picked up Edith Wharton volume in "Library of America" series. Jim came to dinner; I cooked the sirloin on the repaired backyard grill, while Gwyn cooked noodles and fresh asparagus; bottle of cours pavillion, ice cream with caramel sauce for dessert, followed up by coffee and [fundxxdor?]. Jim left about 10:30.

Friday, May 2nd[1986] Finished Count Frontenac, with it the whole of Parkman’s seven-volume French + English in North America. A great work. Mrs. Rainer transferred from Rehab to Baptist East, to be prepped for installation of stomach tube to replace the present on in her nose. After that is done, she’ll move into the nursing home on Highland. A sad business, hard on everyone involved.

Saturday, May 3rd[1986] Good night’s sleep, 11:15-7:15, helped by cool, almost cold weather, huddled under quilt. Looked though the new Edith Wharton Volume to decide which of the four novels to read first, The house of Mirth, The Reef, The Customs of the Country, or The Age of Innocence. At first glance, she reads like James, but without his intelligence or, above all, his wisdom. Still undecided, I settled on house on none of them.

Sunday, May 4th[1986] Poolside barbecue at Lucy Fisher’s, first I’ve seen of her in about three months. Also there, Mary Anne + Bryan Eade, Nancy + Danny Cobb. On way back, stopped off at Baptist East to see Mrs. Rainer; sad encounter, as before, seeing what a stroke can do--+ shein here late 70’s. Now she faces an operation to shift the feeding-tube from her nose directly into her stomach through her side. Grisley business at best.

Monday, May 5th[1986] Gwyn got up at 5 to be with her mother while theyprepped her for the 6 oclock operation. I stayed abed till 7; then got up + was made coffee + ate cereal till Sarah arrived to fix 8 oclock breakfast. Wrote to Carolyn Reidy at Vantage asking for front, spine, + back-center Xeroxes of all three Civil War Volumes. Also to Louis Rubin, partly about his money problems in keeping his Algonquin Press afloat.