August 5
Dan W., age 22, Illinois
August 5, 2013
Wake — 0935 Bed — 01~~ Ok, doing better in the morning, as per usual. Spent a great deal of time packing/cleaning, which always seems to help. As above, so below. Played Civ, did basslines, took a walk to Cravings for dinner and The Economist in the evening. Just read more, said some goodbyes to H+K, practiced bass, waited to go home. I need to go home.
Laura M., age 15, North Carolina
August 5, 1997
Up at 7:00 ’cause Amanda had to go to summer school. Came home and slept til 10:00. Showered. Watched “90210.” Paged Chris many times and he never called me back. :( Was very sad most of the day. Mom came home and told me we were going to see a counselor. We cried and cried. I told her about me liking Chris but not about us seeing each other. Took a nap. Got up and ate dinner. Watched the story with Kathy. Talked to Renee. Then Karen called! We talked about Chris and love and players. I love her.
Anna L., age 75, Illinois
August 5, 1960
Hurrying to get everything set when Lo comes, 11:30. Folks came at same time. Set things out for lunch all hurried, quite warm. Funeral home air conditioned. Went back to Zella’s had punch and cake. Stayed a while then left for home. Stopped at cabin. Cooked corn and wieners etc. Stayed there for some time. K.J. would liked to have stayed but no clothes and Lo couldn’t take her home since too much driving.
Marcy S., age 20, Tennessee
August 5, 1944
Still cloudy and looked like rain. It sprinkled off and on all morn — sun came out and then there’d be another shower. Regular April weather. I didn’t have that empty feeling anymore when I looked out the window. Busy all morn. Mr. H. thought I’d have to work this afternoon at first but we got through. I stayed till about 12:15. It cleared then. Pop drove me home. Card from Joan Craft. Had one from Jean Mac. the other day. Oh, I felt so wonderful! Good dinner with yummy raisin cake for dessert. Washing dishes was actually a pleasure and just looking forward to exercising in the back yard and taking a nap were happy thoughts. There was blue sky here and there but it kept spitting rain. Oooh! I loved it! Mum and Pop went to rest and I went out in back yard armed with tennis racket and ball to have a game with the back of the house. Felt free and wonderful! Sky lovely, still sprinkling. All went well till I aimed a ball too high. There was a sharp crack as if a hard object coming in contact with something breakable. The ball had made a beautiful entrance through the back room window. Two heads popped simultaneously out of the bedroom window and two voices queried “What’s that?” in tones of alarm. I broke the news as gently as possible and, indiscreetly, saw the funny side of it. As I entered the house Pop lost his temper and began with cutting contempt, “Well, if you can’t do any better than that…” But when I reminded him of the windows he had broken in his baseball days he subsided! :) Mum said he remarked later that girls never could aim straight. Well, I came down out of the clouds temporarily and returned to my bedroom for a nap. Awoke at 4 and washed some clothes. Soon had Mum in good humor again. Bath and supper. About 5:15 it started to rain and when I left for town it was pouring. Pop insisted upon driving me down. By the time we reached the library it had stopped and the sun was coming out again. I got Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. Went on up to Dr. Adcock’s. Office wasn’t full then but it was a few minutes later. I read the book and nearly popped laughing. Dr. A. took me about 6:30 which was better service than I’d been prepared to expect. He drilled the bad one and the cavity was so big it felt as if a tooth had been pulled there. He cut the gum so was afraid to put a permanent filling in it. The temporary felt like rubber. Out of chair about 6:45. Dr. A. is so nice. Mushed radly home and was wringing wet. Cleared but muggy and hot. Ironed a dress. Pan called to instruct me to come right down. So I packed my little bag — it felt heavy enough to keep me a week. All cloudy again. Pop and Mum drove me down. Kimmie was up in their bedroom sewing, Pan and Bob Stultz (!) were dancing downstairs. I ascended and found Kim. in the the process of making a skirt. I got some Good Housekeepings and read some very good stories. That’s the nicest room. Listened to radio. I pinned up Kimmie’s skirt at least 3 times and still the hem wasn’t even. Then she put it on me and we went through a few more eons of measuring before the results were satisfactory. About 10:30 we went downstairs. Pan and Bob were out on the porch. He’d bought her a box of chocolates (first date, too!), which we all enjoyed! Kimmie called Mary up to ask her and Horace for dinner tomorrow — has tried to get in touch with her since Thursday but it’s a miracle if you can ever find the Greers t’hum! Mary and Kim. talked about 20 minutes, during the course of which time, Mary accepted the invitation. Then I took over and we chewed the fat. Kim. kept tickling and otherwise annoying me and it was most difficult to carry on an intelligent conversation under those circumstances. The latest is that Mary’s boss gave her job to another girl and put Mary to work at something a moron could do without taxing its mentality! So Mary is trying for a release and has an offer of a job at the bank. She said we could have lunch together and it would be much better for her to work in town. Then she told me about a nice picnic spot out at Swan Pond and wants our “families” to plan a picnic there next week. Ah! Horace returned home and we kidded a few minutes. Mr. and Mrs. Young came in from an evening of bridge at the Marshes’ and were apparently in excellent spirits. Mr. Young is so funny. They sat in the living room while Kim. and I took turns at the telephone. About 11:30 we hung up and Kim. and I went out and sat on the step. Bob left about then and Pan joined us. We told moron jokes till 12 when the elder Youngs summoned us in. Pan has a tennis date tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Young went out on the porch and talked to Bob when he first came home and made Pan so mad! She thinks her parents don’t trust her. It didn’t seem late at all. I had gotten over my sleepy spell and was far from ready to call it a day — even if the clock was! We all sat in the living room a few minutes and joked. Decided on waffles for breakfast. Kim., Pan and I adjourned to the second story and by a concerted effort succeeded in moving a cot into the bedroom for Pan. Then began the long and seemingly endless preparations for bed. I finished up first and retired to bed. Pan was downstairs at the time. Well, much to my dismay, what did my watchful eye encounter as soon as I pulled back the covers, but a layer or two of cracker crumbs on the bottom sheet. Kim. professed innocence so I saw only one thing to do. And I did it. Transferred the offensive crumbs to Pan’s cot and then lay down, at peace with the world in general. Pan returned to the fold and she and Kim. went through the fascinating process of curling their hair. I kept my eye open till Pan made the great discovery and then I drifted off to dreams — at approximately 1:30 a.m. Kim. said later — the next morn to be exact — that she was talking away and looked around to see both Pan and I sound asleep. Rather disconcerting.
Henry S., age 25, Michigan
August 5, 1887
It looked like rain this morning, but turned cool, and finally cleared off entirely. I am afraid we are not going to get any rain for a long time, and all things need it so badly. I cultivated the front yard and all the fodder corn this afternoon. I hoed some rows of corn fodder that included the peach trees, so as to get them all clean. It has been a nice day to work, and I am feeling pretty tired tonight.
*(R. Henry Scadin Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville)
Cornelia H., age 25, North Carolina
August 5, 1862
Mended some stockings for Mr. Henry & myself & mended Mr. Henry a pair flan pants. Spent the evening at Mrs. Fanning’s. Very warm & dry. Mr. Henry went over on Newfound today. Got some jeans & a coat to sell again.
*(Fear in North Carolina: The Civil War Journals and Letters of the Henry Family, Eds. Karen L. Clinard and Richard Russell, used with permission.)
Samuel P., age 35, London
August 5, 1668
So to bed about two o’clock, and then up about seven and to White Hall, where read over my report to Lord Arlington and Berkeley, and then afterward at the Council Board with great good liking, but, Lord! how it troubled my eyes, though I did not think I could have done it, but did do it, and was not very bad afterward. So home to dinner, and thence out to the Duke of York’s playhouse, and there saw “The Guardian;” formerly the same, I find, that was called “Cutter of Coleman Street;” a silly play. And thence to Westminster Hall, where I met Fitzgerald; and with him to a tavern, to consider of the instructions for Sir Thomas Allen, against his going to Algiers; he and I being designed to go down to Portsmouth by the Council’s order, and by and by he and I went to the Duke of York, who orders me to go down to-morrow morning. So I away home, and there bespeak a coach; and so home and to bed, my wife being abroad with the Mercers walking in the fields, and upon the water.
*(The Diary of Samuel Pepys M.A. F.R.S., edited by Henry B. Wheatley F.S.A., London, George Bell & Sons York St. Covent Garden, Cambridge Deighton Bell & Co., 1893.)