October 30, 2015 (Ersatz Halloween, thanks to the Mayor)

Dear Hildie:

 

The yard is almost all set up for the little buggers with all my spooky props. But I’m worn out! The office would be a better place to have it, because I could route the crowds through the backyard and alongside the side of the house and have things jump out at them. But everybody’s used to our house and if it were all dark they wouldn’t know what to do.

Oh, well, just remember:

EVEN A MAN WHO IS PURE IN HEART AND SAYS HIS PRAYERS BY NIGHT

MAY BECOME A WOLF WHEN THE WOLFBANE BLOOMS AND THE AUTUMN MOON IS BRIGHT.

You’re a botanical expert—Where can we get some wolfbane?

“More wolfbane?” (Dracula)

“Even more potent than that, Count.” (van Helsing)

 

Take care and Boooooooo!

Love,

M

 

 

Nov. 29, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

I finished my scanning marathon. Now I just have to go back at some point and correct all the gobbeldygook , since scanning is at best an imperfect process, especially with old pages with faded type.

 

I went to the haunted house downtown last night. I’m getting too old for that, I’m afraid. I was worn out by the time it was over. It was well-done but, alas, the spooks have lost their spookiness for me. I’ll just stick to watching politics. At this point, if I had to predict, I’d say Rubio will be the GOP nominee. He’s personable and articulate and can command minority votes. But a lot can happen between now and then.

 

Take care.

Love,

M

 

 

October 28, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

I hope you’re not drownded, as they used to say in my old neighborhood. Looks like Halloween may be a wash-out. Damn two of the last three years! But, then, the weathermen are seldom right.

 

I had an amusing dream the other night that Dr. Haag was taking me along to where Mary Manhein had a body on her table—that of a college guy who’d died because he stretched his body (yawning? Not sure) and dislocated his neck and died. Haag was being consulted because he knew everything about physical anthropology and I was flattered to be asked to accompany him. First we were going to her office in the old Geology building but somehow it mutated into an underground morgue, with all these workers of hers sleeping on cots in a hallway to the morgue and waiting for the next shift (she was awfully busy!). Everybody but me picked up a green surgical blouse and gloves and when we got to the door of the morgue I realized I’d have to get these, too, so I went back to where they were being issued. People sleeping or half asleep kept offering me the gloves but there were no more blouses. So I went outside to try to find one. Outside, I was in the streets of Paris, looking down at the morgue through an iron grill. I decided to c all MM and tell her I’d be a little late but I didn’t know if my cell phone worked there. Then I woke up.

 

Murders in the Rue Morgue? Who knows!

 

Take care, Love,

M

October 27, 2015

Dear Hildie:

Thanks for the Doggie Halloween card. I have it on my shelf here, though it looks like Halloween may be a washout.

I still feel a bit under the weather. I’m still trying to finish scanning old manuscript—over 600 pages of it!

Take care.

Love,

M

October 26, 2015

Dear Hildie:

What terrible rain. Sure messed up my plans to hook up my Halloween animatronics. Every year I struggle with what cord goes where and which goes to what power strip, etc. Of course, after a few seasons a lot of the gadgets don’t work anyway–Hurrah for China!

For two days I’ve been scanning pages of an old (1979) manuscript I always liked, but the pages are all messed up and out of order and the ink is faded, so that means a lot of corrections when the scan is complete. Also, I used to think (back then) I was a decent writer. Now, with 30 years’ hind sight, I see how sloppy I really was. So many cliches and unnecessary word, and too damned many adverbs!

Well, I hope you’ve dried out by now. Take care.

Love,

M

 

Oct. 23, 2015

Dear Hildie:

That business about your son Murphy’s old tax bill sucks. It’s ridiculous to send people stuff that’s that old, unless they’ve been pursuing it with letters, etc., all along. It’s like the letter sent by OMV to 2.5 million people last week. As naked a grab for money as I’ve ever seen, by state officials weho’ve spent all the money in their budgets

I never said Hillary would be the nominee. I think she’s got a great chance but we all know the election is a long way off. My point is that anything can happen, as it did with Christie. By the way, I see a land-line poll (which probably disproportionately sampled older voters) says that in Saturday’s state gubernatorial election J. B. Edwards is No. 1, with 34%, Vitter No. 2 with 19%, and Dardenne and Angelle each with 16%.

Friday all day long today, then football tomorrow. Mary Ann Sternberg wrote a letter to the paper in which she says LSU academics ought to get uniforms and ask for half a million to play the football team, like some of these small-time schools do, then hope for a storm to cancel the game so they can go home and split the money among academic departments. Sounds good to me.

Have plunged back into re-reading last (revised) ms. Oh, the horror!

Take care.

Love,

M

 

 

October 22, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

Well, Oct. 21, 2015, came and went and, contrary to BACK TO THE FUTURE (an amusing little movie) not only are Fax machines passe, but the Cubs lost the playoffs.

 

I was watching the House Select Committee on Benghazi (or whatever they call it) as I ate breakfast. I was nauseated by the sententious, sanctimonious hogwash from Trey Gowdy, the chairman.  All he did was give a speech—the testimony is secondary to these guys’ chance to posture for the cameras. But, as someone who’s testified before one of these committees, I could hardly be surprised. Republican democracy at its finest. No wonder Washington said he’d be damned if he’d ever go down to Congress again.

 

Well, several nice projects in the offing. But the offing doesn’t pay the bills.

 

Take care.

 

Love,

M

Oct 21, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

You mention the egg-head scene in KEEL. Well, it seemed to me it would be interesting to have the crew at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study dither over a poker game. Kurt Godel was a close friend of Einstein in those years and his incompleteness theorem seems appropriate for applying to poker. John (von) Neumann (The von was an affectation), of course, was one of the originators of game theory. He also consulted for the Defense Department, top the disgust of some of his colleagues. And was a notoriously bad driver. But he was an incredible genius. Oppenheimer, in those days, was worn out and somewhat dispirited over trying to herd cats, plus the controversy over building an H-bomb.  Sounded like a merry group to get together.

 

I finished my rewrite of KILLER’S BRIDE and now have to reread it. But it’s wrenching. Rewriting is like diving back down into a murky pool and holding your breath until you can free what’s on the bottom and bring it up. The prospect of another dive into the water unnerves me. But I’ll get around to it.

 

Take care.

Love,

M

Oct. 20, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

The postal service is impossible. I got a call from the SE station manager about my complaint regarding Audubon station—They sent my email to SE station because that was where I had a P.O. Box, even though I clearly specified the complaint was about Audubon Station.  So she had no knowledge of it or a dog in the fight!  And, even so, they’re sending the complaints right back to the people who caused them! Ben Franklin must be turning over in his grave.

 

The rat catcher came early today and caught us by surprise. No, he doesn’t have a candle these days—Just a ladder.

 

Take care.

Love,

M

Oct. 19, 2015

 

Dear Hildie:

 

Well, I got most of the Halloween stuff up. Now to see what still works.  I also watched all my standard favorites this weekend: Dracula, Wolf Man, Mummy’s Ghost. I’d watched Frankenstein last week.

 

I’m always amused/appalled by the sloppiness of the old Mummy movies: In MUMMY’S HAND Wallace Ford has one last name, but when he reappears in MUMMY’S TOMB, his last name is different, as if the writers were in such a hurry they didn’t have time to check!  And how many dried tana leaves would it take to insure the mummy lived for 3,000 years, since the plant is said to now be extinct? Most amazing of all, at the end of MUMMY’S GHOST the mummy disappears under the water of a swamp in Mapleton, Mass.—Mass. Is, of course, known for its swamps!—and in THE MUMMY’S CURSE emerges near Houma! No explanation given.

 

I really sympathized with Lon Chaney, Jr. He was an excellent actor but once he got in to the mummy movies they just wrapped the poor guy in bandages and he never got to say a word. It’s no wonder he was an alcoholic. All they wanted was his name and a monkey could’ve done the honors. But he did memorable jobs of acting in OF MICE AND MEN, THE WOLFMAN, and HIGH NOON.

 

Well, Halloween is next week—Oh, my mistake—It’s the state elections. Oh, well, same difference.

 

Take care.

 

Love,

M