Peter, Marcy, Jed, and Jay

A thank-you note after visiting George and Helen. “thank-you very much for putting us up/putting up with us”

Jay describes what he’s been up to and what his plans are for the impending school year, which will be his first year of high school. “I have been doing four to five paper routes, and I’ve been making a lot of money, so I’ve decided to start saving for a car.”

Jay writes to George about football and the impending Super Bowl. “Stanford Stadium is just down the street, and a few friends and I are going to hang around the stadium on Super Sunday.”

A thank-you note from Jay, plus more about sports. “My friends and I are going to go to the pizza parlor today, get a couple of large pizzas, and see the Niners and the Giants game.”

A thank-you note from Jay. “I ran a 5:11 mile in the time trials, which is pretty good for a preseason time, especially since I’m only a freshman.”

A thank-you-and-what-I’m-up-to note from Jay, age 15. “I am training very hard for the San Jose Marathon[…] It will be my first marathon and my only goal is to run the whole way.”

A thank-you-and-life-update letter from Jay. “I will definitely put the stopwatch to good use—at track meets, when I am not running, the coaches always need extra people to be timers.”

A thank-you-and-sports-update note from Jay, in his senior year of high school. “Thank you very much for the cookies, brownies, and ‘blackberry spread’—I like it much better than normal jelly or jam.”

A thank-you note from Jay about a birthday present. “On my birthday, about 12 friends had a suprise party for me, which was pretty exciting. Now I have to register to vote and for the draft.”