Long Days Hard Nights

While Connie loves her mother, and does not want her in a nursing home, while her four other sisters do, there are days when her mother, Laura, is not the friendliest of people and an already pushed Connie will vent. "I'm the kind of person who tells it like it is, whether it is my son, mother or whoever. Sometimes, she can be in a mood and sometimes she doesn't seem to understand how lucky she is," Connie said

Surrounded by photos of brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, grandchildren and great-children and bathed in an orange tungsten light, Connie Johnson runs through the nightly process of putting an arthritis ointment on her mother's, Laura's, limbs, giving her a foot massage, and giving her a breathing treatment before putting her to be

Surrounded by photos of brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, grandchildren and great-children and bathed in an orange tungsten light, Connie Johnson runs through the nightly process of putting an arthritis ointment on her mother's, Laura's, limbs, giving her a foot massage, and giving her a breathing treatment before putting her to bed

In quiet moments before sunrise, Gary Wilson, a regular at Connie's Restaurant, talks with owner Connie Johnson, left. They share memories of loved ones who served in the Vietnam War, problems they fear facing with the Social Security system, and medical miseries they have in common.EDIT OK FINAL - L

As the week wears onto Saturday morning, one of the slower mornings of the week, Connie rests her eyes during the morning lull. Connie has arthritis in her back, and rheumatoid arthritis in her fingers and toes which are slowly stiffening. Sooner rather than later, Connie will need a rod in her back and when that happens, she will not be to stand and cook during the long hours at the restaurant like she use to. Jerome, unsure about the future, thinks they will probably have to stop running the store

Connie shows photos of her first great-grandchild, Landon, to Mary Gruerrant, right, and Mary Rall, left. While she has 5 grandchildren and now little Landon, practically every child who enters her restaurant, Connie treats as one of her own. Connie and Jerome are called "Nana" and "Papa" by many of the young children in the town. Most of the time a child can walk into a store, grab something they like, say "Thanks Nana and Papa" and walk out without paying. The Johnsons dont do a thing about it. They love kid

"I am told I need to move to keep myself from becoming stiff. So, I move. I move as much as I can," Connie said. As rheumatoid arthritis attempts to break her down physically, Connie fights to keep herself going as long as she can, if only to be able to provide care for her mother. "I say if I have to crawl up that hill to take care of her, I will," she said

"We have the real potatoes here. We have the real stuff," Connie said. Connie's mashed potatoes are a favored dish by the patrons of her restaurant. Every week, Connie and her husband Jerome, order and prepare 75 pounds of potatoes. Sometimes the demand is so high for the mashed potatoes, they run out early in the week

Every morning Jerome Johnson wakes around 4:30 in the morning to get all the equipment and supplies ready for the day's cooking and serving, Connie joins him about 30 minutes later. As the minutes countdown to opening time, Jerome keeps checking the clock until it hits 5:59 am and begins his routine of opening up by turning on lights, opening the window shutters and blinds and unlocking the from door

"She [Laura] doesn't talk too much because she can't get her head out of the TV. She loves her TV.," said Connie. Laura's world mostly consists of the living room of Connie's house. Wrapped in blankets and sitting in the recliner, Laura spends her days watch classic shows like "I Love Lucy" and "The Waltons" as well as a local station featuring TV pastors. Right next to her is her bed and bathroom chair since she struggles to walk span of the living room