Coaching Bob and My Sister, Gene

Susan and I stopped at the clubhouse to vote during our walk.  I wanted to be sure to vote for Steve Shaffer for school board; Steve was "Tony" in Tony and the Heiress and is a Latin teacher at Pinelands High.  He's a neat guy, too.
Brought Aline to my place at 11:00 and Bob arrived shortly thereafter.  I'm always sensitive to his feelings when I coach him and try to as kind and careful as I can.  However, it's frustrating to point out over and over that, although he's reading, he isn't supposed to sound as if he is.  I suggest certain ways to deliver a line, he repeats it reasonably well, then when we go over it again, he reverts back to his plodding, word-by-word rendition.  I noticed that it's natural to him to point at each word with a pen as he says it--like second grade, I guess--and I think that encourages the artificiality of his delivery.  Asked him to try it without the pointing and he actually improved a bit.  Soon, though, he went back to the pointy thing, and in fact, to exactly the way he said the lines before.
So--the hell with it.  He'll do as well as he can and I'm just glad he has a small part.
A. and I then went to Olive Garden for lunch (and I got a free one because my Blue Moon was so late in getting to me), then to Wal-Mart for a few items. We also went to Sleepy's, where I looked at mattresses; however, I was so turned off by the snotty salesman--not to mention the sky-high prices--that I intend to look elsewhere.
Took A. to her clubhouse to vote and didn't get home until 5:00.
Yesterday was my big sister's birthday.  She was the oldest of us and would have been ninety.  She suffered some tragedies; the horror of having her two oldest sons die in accidents within a span of three years can hardly be imagined.  Her marriage was not entirely happy, especially as the years rolled on.  She was never a light-hearted person, except perhaps when she was a pretty, petite cheerleader at Holy Spirit High School and all the boys were crazy about her.  We were good friends for a little chunk of time and I wish she was still here.