The Kendra's Journal Podcast

Mom and "R" watched Octopussy in the theater. Mom was working a lot of hours and learning how to drive a forklift. She made a friend at work and got pissed after getting stuck in a potato field. Us boys each got early birthday money so we could get school clothes, we were starting 2nd and 3rd grades. Mom broke a tooth and hurt her foot, she felt like she was falling apart at the age of 25. There were plans for Mom and "R" to attend a friend's party but they didn't want to stay too long because his parties always got busted by the cops. She mentions her favorite song at that time, "Maniac" from the movie Flashdance. She also planned on starting aerobics classes again and wanted to take a creative writing class. We all spent a long weekend cleaning out the barn next to our house. Mom also got a surprise when she applied for us boys to get reduced lunches and found out we qualified for free lunches. This was the beginning of something that never ended while we were in school. "R" took us boys to see Krull at the theater and Mom got glasses.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_105.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom was getting ready and hoping for good weather for her trip to Eugene and Oregon Jam '83. They kept making their departure time earlier and earlier, guess they were excited, huh? Mom wanted to spend some time in Portland shopping. We know they went on the trip, but she didn't write about it or her 25th birthday. We had a friend spend the night because his sister was having a slumber party. Mom started a new job driving potato truck but was really unhappy with it after only a couple of weeks. She also mentions that a letter she wrote to Easy Rider Magazine was printed so we found a copy. Also, us boys get in BIG TIME TROUBLE.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_104.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 4:41am PDT

103 What a Feeling

Mom decided it was time to make a budget for the year and has a meeting with the "un"employment office. Us boys went camping with the dogs... in the front yard. Mom also plans a trip to the Oregon Jam with "R" and a second trip for all of us but in the mean time us boys stayed with our grandma. Mom took a trip to Portland with her sister to see their dad and Mom ended up working by serving beer at the sand drags. We got to see Superman III, then we get sidetracked talking about it. Mom and "R" had a huge fight and mentions in her explanation that she spent six days in jail another time for punching a girl, we'd never heard that before. Mom finally landed a job, driving potato truck for $4.25 an hour.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_103.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom watched her cousin's kids for a few days while he and his wife were out of town on a trip. She was also trying to win $1000 on a radio contest. We got new neighbors, luckily they were nice. Mom and "R" were looking for property again so they could get off of his family's land. Our summer break started and Mom was still looking for work. Mom also took a writing test and did great on it. This led to her wanting to pursue writing so she worked out a budget with "R" so she could take a writing class and he can get a new rifle. Mom also talks about getting ready to go to Oregon Jam '83 in later in July.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_102.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

A friend of Mom's moved to a new house so she could be closer to her boyfriend. She also reaches 1100 handwritten pages in the Journal in 9 years 7 months of writing. Mom was counting down the number of school days left before summer break and was on the hunt for a job that would keep her home most of the day to keep babysitting costs down. She got into the mood to write something other than the Journal but never got around to it. But she was planning on sending something into a magazine that was looking for undiscovered talent. Mom got fed up with a long distance friend that never wrote so she mailed her a self-addressed stamped envelope, on piece of paper with "Dear Kendra" written at the top and a pencil hoping she'd take the hint. Mom mentions going on a bike ride and wanting to go to the grand opening of a local bar. Mom took a risk and called on a job with a bit of false info, hoping to get her name on the minds of the people who hire.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_101.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

It's Episode 100!!! Mom and "R" celebrated their 2nd Anniversary, which was fairly uneventful. Mom was wanting to go back to work. We watched Escape from New York and it was a quiet Easter. Mom and "R" bought a new motorcycle and Mom was excited because that meant they were riding that to the Oregon Jam in the summer. We talk about Mat and an accidental shoplifting incident he had at a local store. Mom and "R" hit a rough patch with his family and wanted to move onto their own piece of land. Mat had to quit wrestling because he got sick and didn't qualify for state. Mom and "R" had a HUGE fight and we all went to the school carnival. Both of us boys were recommended to see the school's psychologist who also happened to be Phillip's teacher the previous year. Mom talks about hitting 1100 pages in the journal and writing in it for nine years.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_100.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom went shopping with a friend in Tri-Cities and us boys had wrestling matches! "R" was back to work and doing fairly well at it. Mom wasn't working yet so she began to get domesticated and was baking a lot. Which was the source of a comment that struck us as funny during the reading. Mom also got a waterbed with her tax refund, us boys remember that bed VERY well. Phillip finally has is ear surgery for tubes and recounts an unpleasant experience afterwards. Phillip also remembers an incident from school when DARE or some program like it began.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_99.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom went on a six hour shopping trip with some friends. She also suffered from what she called "A headache from Hell". Mom was looking forward (hoping) to possibly moving out of the country for various jobs "R" had applied to. "R" also had a procedure done and was hoping he wouldn't need surgery. Phillip went to the doctor and it was recommended he get tubes. They set the surgery for St. Patrick's Day. Mom was saving money for a possible move and she was going to take any job she could get. "R" got hired to work at the McNary Dam as a temporary (sort of) employee. Us boys were still wrestling, Mom said Phillip was the thinker and Mat was the mover. We also went to see "Timerider" and we got really good reports from parent-teacher conferences. We spent a fun day going to the park, Dariy Queen and the city library. Also, Mom mailed one of her poems to a Portland magazine in hopes they would print it.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_98.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom was happy to get out of the office and was looking forward to the weekend. Superbowl XVII happened then Mom was "let go" from her job. This caused stress in the house to rise since no one was working. But "R" and his step-dad went to Boise to take part in the national truckers' strike. In an attempt to get work overseas, Mom worked on "R"s resume with the hopes of going anywhere else but especially some place like Sweden, Finland, the Bahamas, Greece, Norway or Australia. Mom also made us Valentines cookies for our class parties and we were still in wrestling. Mat ended up getting sick and we got our dog JoJo spayed. Mom watched an episode of Donahue and compared the Journal to a story on there. We had our school parties and Mat had a friend spend the night.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_97.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom placed a star in the margin of an entry she made so we explain the "code" Mom was using and what she was trying to say there without letting "R" know. Mom also reconnected with a friend she'd had a falling out with and she was beginning to get frustrated with her job. One of the coworkers was pushing her to work weekends when she wasn't hired to do so. Because of that she starts applying for new jobs. Mom wrote about a night out drinking and the after effects. She also bought a tape recorder with the idea of recording letters and mailing them to her family and friends. She found out a really good friend is having a baby. Us boys started wrestling and we talk about an attempt at recycling that didn't work out as planned. And we get another instance of Mom dreaming about winning it big and all her plans for the money.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_96.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 8:16am PDT

It was Christmas time and us boys got a computer and new bikes! Mom was really pissed about the economy and kept blaming President Reagan. We also welcomed in 1983 without a lot of fanfare. Mom just wanted to stay home so some friends came over to watch TV. Mom was also happy for her dad because he had another lady in his life and things were looking up for him personally. Mom and "R" also did some financial rearranging to make sure things got paid on time and took less money from their pockets each month. Mom also started going to aerobics classes with a friend, she liked it. We also celebrated Mat's 7th birthday with cake, ice cream and family. Also, Mom's mom celebrated her 47th Birthday which got Mom thinking about the future and some surpising revelations to us boys about the kind of people she thought we'd become.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_95.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom got pissed because she got called in on her day off, luckily things worked out and she didn't have to go in. Then she was finally able to quit Burnhams because she got a new job working regular business hours and weekends off! Phillip had his 8th birthday. Mom's dad had Thanksgiving with the family and Mom went holiday shopping. We talk about Dream Torte, Phillip's favorite dessert. Mom wrote about a computer she bought us as a Christmas present which prompts a conversation about a computer we had later in life. Also, Mom was making plans to take us to the mountains for Christmas.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_94.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

"R" was working a really good job, and Mom was getting tired of the irregular schedule of her job. Us boys were giving Mom a hard time without a father figure in the house and she was NOT happy about it. Mom voted on election day with hopes the economy would change. Phillip went to the emergency room with a rash all over his body for what Mom suspected was "using too much soap." Other than that it was life as usual for 1982!

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_93.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom got pissed about a coworker who she felt kept falsely calling in sick. She also took us boys school clothes shopping (1st and 2nd Grade, Yay!) and got us haircuts. We also got our new puppy JoJo. Mom also hit a huge milestone in the Journal, 1000 pages. There was talk of Mom and "R" taking over the operation of the Blue Chimney gas station, if Mom's in-laws decided to purchase it. Phillip and Mat also go way off topic explaining Mat's legal name and the trouble it caused in school. Mom also shared a vacation we took to Portland, Enchanted Forest, the Oregon Coast and the Sea Lion Caves.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_92.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom went on a quick trip with a friend to The Dalles to pick up a crib with a friend. She was also riding the motorcycle with "R" to get into shape for longer rides in that summer. "R" was given some nice sunglasses for Father's Day. Mom felt bad about her gaps in writing and we celebrated the Fourth of July. Mom talks about calling her friends long distance on Sundays because it's cheaper, Phillip and Mat go into describing to Mathew about that since his generation don't understand the concept. Mom and "R" went to a bachelor/bachelorette party on a work night where "R" broke up a fight between the groom and "some jerk." Mom also celebrated her 24th birthday. She cleaned out a metal storage box to keep her bills organized, Phillip and Mat had forgotten about it but remember it. Mom and "R" spent the day with her dad in Portland seeing the sights: Pittock Mansion, Market Street and then rode almost all the way to the coast before it got too cold and windy and turned around to find a hotel. Mom's work was having a sidewalk sale and she wanted to dress up like a nun. Phillip and Mat pull weeds for fair money and everyone went to the drive in to watch Firefox with Clint Eastwood. The boys were excited to start school again and our well broke because we had no water to pump out of it.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_91.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mat and Phillip start out with a little insight on the recording process but eventually get to reading the journal. Mom was working hard at her job but hated missing the nice weather when she did. She was also practicing her calligraphy again. "R" had a job interview at the Army base that Phillip eventually worked at (15 years later). She was also looking more into writing her book, she was checking out books on writing to get tips on the process. Mom was also shaking a lot so her doctor put her on tranquilizers. We also celebrated Mother's Day and the boys gave Mom some nice gifts. Mat got to ride a train with his kindergarten class one day then went to a dairy another day, Mom missed both because she had to work and regretted it so she stated she'd make sure to attend his last day of school, no matter what. We also spent some time on the river but ended up running out of gas in the middle of it the paddling back with water skis. Rounding things out was the end of school and the arrival of summer.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_90.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom and "R" celebrate their first anniversary and "R" is restless because of his job situation. He was trying to get a job on the pipeline in Wyoming. Mom decides to try and work full time again. Phillip got to launch 54 balloons at the "Balloon Blastoff". The boys got to watch cartoons on a Saturday and Mat was stealing change from "R". The boys reminisce about their tree house. Mat caught a moth and took it to school for Show-And-Tell. Mom took her new furniture back and exchanged it for a new set, this is the set Phillip and Mat remember from growing up. Mom was still stretching her money as far as it could go and everyone went fishing with some friends. Mom went bowling on "Monte Carlo Night". Phillip sold tickets to his school's annual carnival where they were raffling off a hog (a pig, not a bike). Phillip and Mat got to spend the night with their grandma. Mom's dad showed up for a surprise visit too. Mom also wanted to get back into a creative mindset so she could write poems again. She figured 5 hours of solitude with Rod Stewart playing would do the trick. Finally, Mom was researching writing a book, she claims she'll write it if it takes her a lifetime. It did.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_89.mp3
Category:Personal Journal -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom was practicing her calligraphy again. She was working a lot too, even asking her boss about promotion potential. She mentions a bar that her parents used to get chicken from when she was a kid, Phillip reminds his son Mathew about how he used to do the same thing for him and his sister. Mom mentions "R" looking at new motorcycles, even though he was still laid-off. Everyone got to go roller skating a couple times too.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_88.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Going to the dentist is fun! Well, it was in 1982 when you had no cavities. We spent the night with some friends and got to watch movies on a "video tape machine". We also took a road trip to Bellingham, Washington for an opportunity Mom's aunt was offering. It could have involved a move, but in the end the decisions was made not to go. But we had fun, we got home made slingshots and ran around like kids do in the woods. This brought up memories of a few years later when we visited again and ended up working in a strawberry field picking strawberries for almost no money. It was around this time that Mom started writing in Book 16. We also remenisce a bit about Hermiston.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_87.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:02am PDT

Mom kept working hard to build a better life for our family. She was trying to talk "R" into taking a job in Venezuela for three years. It was good pay, especially for 1982, and would have gotten us out of Hermiston, a place Mom was beginning to really dislike. She spent a lot of time with one of her friends, helping her take care of her three kids and chauffering her places because she enjoyed it. Talking about her friend made her think of the future and how neat it would be to have "Visual Telephones" to talk to each other. "R" had some issues with his employer not laying him off the right way, so he couldn't get onto the union hire list. Both of us boys were doing well in school. There was also a chance that "R" might get a job at the Army Depot next to Hermiston as a Fireman. Years later Phillip worked there in Security guarding chemical weapons. There was also a chance of getting a gas station to run, possibly on the Oregon Coast.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_86.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Phillip made up rules to his new Superman II game and we watched a Rudolph special on TV. Mom wasn't feeling good about life and "R" was being a jerk about money so Mom decided to try and get us back on a budget. Mom and "R" were still adjusting to married life, it had its ups and downs but they planned on working things out as they went. Mom worked late, a lot. We had a trip from hell getting our Christmas tree but we got to open our presents a day early. Mom thought we had the measles but it ended up being rubella. Mat had his 6th birthday and Grandma Joyce had her 47th.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_85.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

Mom's schedule was really busy around this time. She was helping in Phillip's class once a week, working her job, dealing with household stuff, keeping miscellaneous appointments and a few other things. All of it was making her feel a bit overwhelmed and sick. Mat was doing great in kindergarten with an "all smiley face" report card. Mom mentions seeing the movie about Joan Crawford, "Mommy Dearest". Phillip has his 7th birthday and gets a boardgame based on Superman II. Mom mentions looking for a new job because she didn't feel like Burnham's was giving her enough hours. And, Mom talks about getting pissed at another woman and the way she was speaking to her kids.

Direct download: Kendras_Journal_Podcast_84.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

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