JASON JOEL SNELL     

AUGUST 14, 1976

1976

JASON JOEL IS BORN.

Jennifer’s water broke at 1:15 PM.

Her contractions were every 5 minutes. When she got to the hospital her canal was 5 cm. We were in driving rain. I could hardly see or drive. I kept giving her La Maze commands until we got to the hospital. She had dilated to 9 cm. She went bananas and wanted to give up. So they gave her a block and it was great. Finally, she delivered at 8:25 in the morning. I bawled and was exhausted. Jennie was high.

Some how I got home and Nathan was there. He kept me up and I could not sleep or think until about 6:30. My parents came from Omaha and took Nate. I fell asleep immediately. I was exhausted.

1977

Although it was his birthday, he was too young to understand. We took him to Horrums.

1978

Jason is 2 years old. I’m in Cedar Rapids and he is at the cottage.  I am not sure if he is aware of his birthday.

1979

Jason is 3 years old. We had a little party for him. He got Charlie Brown and Stars Wars stuff. We watched television together.

1980

Jason is 4 years old. I had a good flight to Omaha and it took 60 minutes. It was great to see Jennie and the boys. We had a nice birthday for Jason. We then visited the Snells, Horrums, and Grandma Dode.

1981

Today, we got cable television. Jason is 5 years old. We took him and some friends to Happy Joes.

1982

Jason is 6 years old. We got the house cleaned up and all the guests showed. Jason was pleased. We played some old fashion games and the little boys liked it.  Jason was happy. He acted like a host. He said to one little boy, “I knew that you would be the first one here today.” He is growing up. We took him later to Howard Johnson’s at night.

1983

Jason is 7 years old. We had 5 little boys and took them to “Krull” What a lousy movie! The boys loved it. We had ice cream and cake.

1984

Jason’s birthday went great.

1985

Jason’s birthday was not recorded.* (Jason I believed that you got some battery operated video games.  He liked them very much.)

1986

Birthday was not recorded.* (This may have been the birthday that he got the Atari game. It had Pac man and you played with it for a long time.) (We also got a primitive computer that we put in the basement in the second room before he got into the bedroom. It was in the corner. He spent a lot of time there. Mom also had a room in the basement for her distant learning classes.)

1987

Jason got a boom box for his birthday. It has AM-FM and a cassette player. It is silver and he likes it very much. In the afternoon, Jason and I went to West dale. He had $100 to spend. My job was to keep score of the money and hang onto to his toys. This is a really good year. I have my job back.

1988

For Jason’s birthday, we took him to SEA GALLEY restaurant at West dale.

1989

Jason is a teenager! I drove him around town for his birthday. We drove to his favorite places and areas of the city where he had not been before. We drove to a school that he attended before Hoover. It was called a family school and he took the bus everyday.

1990

Up early! Jason got a lot of baseball cards. It was a very pretty day.

1991

Jason is 15. I bought him a Beatle and Beach boys CDs.

1992.

Jason is 16 and he can drive a car! He seems so young and yet he is growing up. We ate at RED LOBSTER restaurant.

1993

Jason is 17. He went to a MASH and a FEDERATION. We had another bad rain. The house was clean for our youngest.

1994

It was Jason’s birthday. He opened his presents and was very happy. Kim Giddings came to stay for awhile.

1995

Jason’s birthday! This is the last night that the boys will be with us. They will come back but not as our little boys. This is another passage in time.

1996

Jason and Rachel stopped by. Nathan is here. Jason is now 20 years old.

1997

Jason is 21 years old! We went out to eat at OLIVE GARDEN. Jason is moving and no longer likes Rachel as a girl friend. I got another call from NATIONAL ENQUIRER.

1998

Jason no longer lives here. It is his birthday and we talked on the phone. He seemed distant.

1999

Today is Jason’s birthday and he is so far away. He is 23. Rachel is with him and that is bad news. What will Rachel do to him? It’s a rainy night in Georgia.

2000

He is 24 years old. I wrote a long e-mail to him.

2001

I was depressed and then realized that our baby boy is 25. Jason finally called. He liked my card.

2002

Jason was born in 1976 and is now 26 years old. It is a beautiful day and I left the screen door open and the cabana up. He called from outside a Manhattan restaurant. We wished him Happy Birthday and told him about what happened the first day that he was on the planet.

2003

CONEY ISLAND!  Jason’s birthday makes history. A huge electric blackout hit 50 million people in the Middle Atlantic, Great Lakes, and New England. It started at 4:11 PM. Jason and two girl friends walked to a hotel and stayed the night.

2004

Jason is 28. He called from the O’Hare airport. His cell phone than faded out.  I wished him Happy Birthday, but I don’t know if he heard me.

2005

Our guy is 29 years old. He called from Long Island. I think that he is taking care of a dog that eats couches. I wished him well. My mind is on the death of Dr. Helling.

2006

The first 30 years is to grow up and the second 30 is to grow wise. Your body may grow old, but your soul and mind can remain vital and energetic. Thirty is the new 20.

* Dark days of some lost years.

2007-2011

Jason spreads his wings. He lives in New York city most of the time. God bless those meetings. He has been to Denmark. He sees Scandinavia to mix with Grandma Denile’s past.  His cell phone works great. When we talk, it sounds like he is real nearby.

Friends die from that horse on one’s back. He survives. Does America mean growing up and getting through those awful days of wine and roses that melt into slum?

There are some losses. Trips back to Cedar Rapids are created by pretty girls who changed their mind. Then there were the bugs. It is no longer Autumn in New York. The city is growing old or older. The west is calling. Such pretty land is there.

The vita is growing with excellent clients, Los Res, record producing and writing sound tracks. Mom and Dad are getting older too. No one knows was lies ahead.

Billy dies. Jason is respected and honored by Kampfes and friends. Mom and Dad love him too. Mom takes walks with Wilson everyday and Dad no longer has to take heart medications. Things are constantly changing.

And so…Fremont, cottage, Melissa, Alma Dr., Skyline Dr., Iowa City, Minneapolis, San Francisco, New York City, Berkeley, and livin’ in LA.  There are more. BMW’s with an angel behind the wheel. California Dreamin’ on such a windy day.

2013

Jason comes home for the first time in a long time. Dad didn’t take meds for  a year for his heart and it really hurt him. It was a mistake. However, Mom and Dad are still here. Mom is so special. Nate is in Nevada. Dad is at home. Father is 70. Many of the relatives have passed on. It was just yesterday on Alma Drive and Skyline. Jason has become a wise prophet in the body of a young man. He may have a new friend. Things are imperfect and that is the very stuff of life. God bless you and with lots of love from your parents, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

 2014/2015

This is a time of wine and olives. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Olives are good for us./ Pops