Feb. 8, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

Yeah! No more football for a while! I good friend of mine said once, “When L (his wife) and I were in college, we went to one football game. It was so stupid we got up in the middle of it and went back to my place and made love. We haven’t been to one since.” I’m so tired of hearing about football players’ concussions—It’s the damned business they’re in.

We’ll see what Bernie can do. But calling himself a socialist was a bad idea. I like him but I hope he isn’t a socialist—I don’t think we need real socialism–just some balances on capitalism, a la Teddy Roosevelt. And, at his age, one has to feel whoever he selects as vice president to run with him would be very important.

 

Take care. Happy Mardi Gras.

 

Love,

M

Feb. 5, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

I got two letters from you in one day after two days of no letters. I think the post office is holding them until they have enough to deliver!

 

$506 for a new fuel pump for the Jeep!  Jesus! Must be made out of gold.

 

By the way, can you tell what these pink flowers are in the picture? The place is Canterbury, England. Thanks.

 

Happy Mardi Gras!

 

 

Take care.

Love,

M

 

Feb. 4, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

How I dread reading the newspaper! One more obit I recognized. Hadn’t heard anything about this fellow for 60 years! A couple of years older than I was and a BAD dude—roamed the old neighborhood on his Schwinn Tiger with a pair of saddlebags each containing a BB pistol! Actually, he wasn’t that bad—Never did anything to me. I wonder what he made of his life? Obituary only gave his name, death date, age and arrangements.

 

Something is driving the children crazy. Pierre has been demanding entry into the space under the heating unit but when I let him in he doesn’t find anything. Then he races back and forth and into the backyard barking in his high pitched way while Squirrel punctuates it with a bass WOOF.  MM says she hears something big (coon sized) in the attic. Want to come relocate somebody to your yard?

 

My classmate who arranges all the reunions asked didn’t I want to come to this one—I would be the “star”. What hyperbole. As Groucho once said, somebody ought to vaccinate her with a polygraph needle! I told her reunions weren’t my thing.

 

Take care. Keep warm.

 

Love,

M

Feb. 3, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

Now maybe some cool weather for a change.  I’m trying to get five pages a day written. I realize that if I do much more than that I run out of ideas—One of the best pieces of advice I ever read on writing was to always leave a scene unfinished when you quit because it means the next day you don’t have to sit there thinking what to say. The other best piece of advice was not to start at the beginning but AFTER the beginning, and use flashbacks to incorporate the beginning into the text.

 

Have to go now. Client wants something in a hurry.

 

Take care.

 

Love,

M

Feb. 2, 2016

 

Dear Hildie

 

Everyone here denies knowing how the stapler got into the freezer. I have some very interesting workers! No, there were no new nose rings or piercings—that I could see.

 

Well, the Iowa Caucuses are over—Thank God! Now New Hampshire, etc. One of the people on the Sunday news said the attention given to all this amounted to media malpractice. I agree. In my opinion, Christie is finished, as is Bush—though things can happen to change all that. I also think Rubio is likely, at this point, to be the Republican nominee because nobody in the leadership likes Cruz. Rubio has the photogenic ability and articulateness to give them the best chance of beating Hillary.  I don’t know what Fiorina was doing in the thing to begin with–maybe looking for a job.

 

On with the show!

 

Take care.

Love,

M

 

 

Feb 1, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

It was good visiting with you. And thanks for the nuts. And, again, for the beautiful vase.

 

The crew is in the field. I am waiting for a 10:30 conference call on a project.

 

There was a lot I wanted to say but I forgot, of course.

 

Take care.

Love,

M

January 29, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

We went to sunny Tickfaw the day before yesterday. I really got tired out watching the young folks dig holes!

 

I’m reading Christopher Buckley’s THE RELIC HUNTER now. It’s very funny. His father was the late William Buckley, one of the shallowest intellects of the 20^th century, but the son is fun to read.

 

 

Take care. Keep warm.

 

Love,

 

M

January 27, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

Spent my whole morning working on a part of a proposal for a job we won’t get.

 

I’m still puzzling over BOVARY. You really insisted on my education in literature back then and I was sure you’d read the books you were recommending. I can’t imagine doing that on my own!

 

I just finished THE UNIVERSAL BASEBALL ASSOCIATION, J. HENRY WAUGH, PROPRIETOR, by Robert Coover. Enjoyable, and written as if he was on meth or something, it has such a mad-cap flow. I was touched by the poor soul who’d had the book before me (I bought it used). Obviously a student, because here and there throughout he’d written sophomoric comments about the symbolism such as, “…like Jesus” and “maybe Henry is crazy” and “this is about life.” And then I finally came to one that was so endearing I just broke up laughing: “I’m hopelessly confused.”

 

Aren’t we all?

 

Take care.

Love,

M

 

January 26, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

I thought you’d already read Bovary. I read it back in 1966-67, when we were corresponding, and you were sending me lists of books to read. I read that, THE RED AND THE BLACK, and WAR AND PEACE, plus a lot of Faulkner—all that your urging!

 

Right now I’m reading Robert Coover’s THE UNIVERSAL BASEBALL ASSOCIATION, J. HENRY WAUGH, PROPRIETOR, a 1968 absurdist novel which is quite enjoyable. Ever heard of it? It has a wonderfully original premise.

 

Have to go now and get a haircut in the rain.

 

Take care,

Love,

M

January 22, 2016

 

Dear Hildie:

 

A flurry of activity at the office has kept me from working much on my latest writing effort. It’s the world of multi-tasking we seem to live in. But I guess multi-tasking has been with us forever, even if it was hunting and also scavenging for berries and nuts.

 

Take care. Keep warm!

 

Love,

M