In the last installment of this series, Steve had open heart surgery. Besides heart problems, Steve had been diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years earlier before he had open heart surgery and at the time, it was controlled with medication. Like so many his age, his knees were getting bad — he had arthritis with bone on bone, so traveling became a challenge. I got to go to Hawaii with my sister and he would never have been able to keep up with us. We toured three of the islands and had a fabulous time.
I was invited on a cruise by a good friend and co-worker, Joanie Presslor. I was working at the Star-News as a graphic artist in advertising, and Joanie took a family leave to take care of her husband. She insisted on taking me on the cruise, since I had done her job too while she was gone. I realized Steve could probably handle such a vacation, so I booked us on a Royal Caribbean to the Bahamas. On a cruise you don’t have to worry about meals (they feed you wonderful meals all day and into the night). Entertainment is available for you every night and the daytime excursions are planned. You just sit back and enjoy yourself. Steve was a soft drink guy (almost never drank alcohol), so we bought a big cup for a nominal price that could be filled anytime, all over the ship. I’ve known people who have run up a $300 beer tab on a cruise, so I packed my own bottle of wine with a screw cap. They gave us a complementary glass of champagne the first evening at an art show, and I kept the glass and filled it every evening when we went to the shows. One day when we were supposed to go to the ship’s special private island, the ocean was too rough for the little dingy they would take to shore, so the excursion was cancelled. So instead we went to a movie and Steve of course went to the library, both on board. So many people go for the gambling in the casino, but we didn’t, so it never seemed like there were thousands of people on board. Every evening, we ate at an assigned table in the beautiful dining room with guests from other places in the U.S. One evening, we paid extra and had an exclusive dinner in a special dining room. The food was excellent and we were treated like royalty. Another day, we docked at Paradise Island and saw Oprah’s famous Atlantis hotel and shopped. The ocean in the Caribbean is turquoise (the color is unbelievable). On the way back, we stopped at Key West and did a tour of the Little White House (Truman’s summer place) and took a bus tour to see one of Hemingway’s homes. When we left the ship, we had time to take a bus tour of Miami, which was cool. At the airport, we were settled at our departure gate when over the loudspeaker they announced our flight was moved to a gate on the opposite end of the airport (45 min. walk is what the posted sign said). I got an attendant to get us a wheelchair for Steve and we literally ran the whole way (they had NO golf carts in the airport). We made it, but what a crazy airport!
That same year, I was asked to manage and be the graphic artist for the Eastside Herald, that the Indianapolis Star had purchased. The office was on the Eastside, near home. I took the challenge, which was daunting, but rewarding with all the readers who loved the community newspaper.
For our 35th wedding anniversary, Steve booked a B&B in Batesville, IN. He had been there a couple of weeks before, for a consumer mattress testing and said it looked really cool. I was leery, since for our 20th anniversary, he had booked a tiny room in Metamora, with twin beds and a bathroom we had to share with others. But the Stonebridge Inn in Batesville was incredible and had just opened that summer. The owner, who grew up in Indy on Brookside Parkway, was so gracious and she had raised her large family in that gorgeous home. There was a pool, and we got a massage, and had breakfast on the huge front porch next to the golf course. The house was full of antiques and had stained glass windows. There was a quaint little restaurant across the road and our dinner bill for our 35th wedding anniversary was $35.35!
Around that same time, Steve found out he had kidney stones. Most people pass kidney stones with a lot of pain, but Steve’s were too large to pass and had to have laparoscopic surgery to take his out through his back.
Steve’s leg, that had had the blood vessel removed for the open heart bypass, gave him trouble later. He developed cellulitis on that leg. It looked awful. We went to the ER and a nurse peeking through the curtain and seeing his infected leg, quickly shut it and went to find the wound specialist. We had to do IV antibiotics at home, three times a day for 3 weeks. Luckily, our son had just moved back home to go to culinary school, so he helped with the IVs and dressing his wounds. By 2008, Steve was able to retire on disability — too many health issues.
Steve really got into politics, serving as the precinct committee person and working every election. We both joined the Warren Township Democrat Club. He soon became President and served in that role for six years. I made sure we had snacks every second Thursday for the meetings. As the current club president Charles Miller says, “Steve turned the Irvington south precinct Blue.”
We got to know many politicians. We have sat and had a picnic lunch with former Mayor Bart Peterson and his wife at one of the events and we knew Joe Hogsett before he became Mayor. I remember telling Andre Carson, when he first became Congressman, that his grandmother, Julia Carson, would be so proud of him. It was nice to go to the polls to vote and really know the people listed on the ballot. Steve and I both got to see Obama speak at a rally. We were in awe.
Steve also joined the Irvington Community Council and had a short stint as interim president. Steve never minded going to board meetings, but I would have been bored out of my head.
Steve also joined the Historic Benton House Board and served as president there too. (Steve’s astrological sign is Leo — they always want to be King!) He gave tours of the Benton House on Wednesday afternoons (after he retired). And for many Benton House events, he would serve as docent.
In 2008, we traveled to Nantucket for a family wedding and actually took our van on the ferry to the island. We had been to this beautiful island 22 years before and it was still as enchanting as before with the wood shingled homes and cobblestone streets. The whole family stayed in a huge (7 bedrooms) rental full of antiques and vintage charm. We had a dining room table that seated 16. The seafood was the best. On the way back we stopped in Newport and saw the famous “Breakers” (Vanderbilt mansion).
In 2009, the Indianapolis Star closed the three community newspapers they had purchased, including The Eastside Herald (which had been in business 73 years). The other 3 ladies and I decided we’d been doing this on our own already, so we started up the Eastside Voice right away. They didn’t make us sign a non-compete and I’m sure they didn’t think we could do it.
Steve had been an English major in college and had written for the library newsletter years before. One of his most memorable newsletter articles, that was both brilliant and funny, was all about “Watchers and Doers.” He of course was the watcher and I, the doer. He made the observation that watchers don’t mind watching doers do, but doers can’t stand for watchers to just watch.
We needed writers for our newspaper, so Steve became our sports writer and he loved to eat, so the “Dining Out” section was a natural choice. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. He also did a Boomerang column every month, which was a favorite of our readers. Our daughter (who has a Journalism degree from IU) also wrote a column, when she became a mother.
Just a year later, Steve finally got new knees, one at a time, a year apart. Luckily, we went to the best place anywhere for the procedure (St. Francis in Mooresville). Because we have a lot of steps to get into our house and the bedrooms are on the second floor, Medicare paid for three weeks in a rehab facility. Without that daily workout, I know Steve would not have done so well. We had issues with the facility, I won’t mention names, but I remember there were too many department heads and not enough caregivers for the patients. I was there every day and knew what was going on. You have to be your own advocate or they will take advantage of your good nature. With the second knee, we went to a different rehab center and it was like night and day in comparison.
Next Time: Steve becomes a Grandpa! (will be published May 20th)
Steve’s Celebration of Life will be Sunday, May 1st at Oakley Hammond Funeral Home at 5342 E. Washington St. with visitation from 1-3:30 p.m. and service at 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers. Donations to the Weekly View, 195 N. Shortridge Rd. Suite D, 46219 in his memory will be greatly appreciated.
