\r\nMay 10<\/p>\r\n
end of a long day<\/p>\r\n
Wull, hi.<\/p>\r\n
What a pleasure it's been reading your
x<\/strike> letters, Grandpa.. Seems terrible not to reply right awayx<\/strike> to such gems, but I guess they had to sink in for a while so we'd fully appreciate them...... One thing, you can no longer accuse me of writing all kinds of lovely letters and (back to single space, hurray) how impressive they are and all that without me saying \"Same to you, Grandpa.\" or, as the kids insist on having it: \"I'm glue and you're rubber; anything you sayx<\/strike> bounces off you and sticks to me!\"<\/p>\r\nWhile on that lovely subject, here are th latest what-I-wanna-be-when...\"s.... Jed is determinged to be the string quartet and play Peter in the music of Peter and the Wolf... We finally communicated that that's four people ; so now he's willing to be the viola. He sure has stuck with this idea of playing in an orchestra for a long time; I guess it's about time to start thinking about a ripe piano or some such thing..Before that he was going to be a Fire-fighting Forest Ranger; that lasted till Paul came with the story (which
xxx<\/strike> I'd heard but censored as I knew it would break Jed's heart) of the new forest service scheme of controlled burning, which he's doubtless explained to you. Jed was very interested but switched to orchestral aspirations around that time.......Joaquin will be in the orchestra too, after he's finished being a refrigerator truck. (\"No, No, Joaquin, you mean frigerator truck driver<\/u>!\"...\"Oh\"..) Then<\/u> he'll be in the or-sess-ter.. \"What are you going to play in the or-sess-ter, Joaquin?\" \"We all live in a yellow submarine.\"<\/p>\r\nThey had a marvelous time with Paul; played all afternoon and all enjouyed each other immensely. Quin is still not at all clear that he has more than one uncle...whom he used to refer
x<\/strike> to as Johndavid; now it's even more so, as he reallyx<\/strike>mmeans Paul, as in \"When is Uncle David going to come see us again?\" We had a lovely time together too; ended up watching the Chinese Acrobatic troupe as a fitting finale to a lovely day.<\/p>\r\nAs usual, we're up to our ears.....for instace, this typewriter, rented for a month to send out resumes, of which Peter generally gets from a few
xxx<\/strike> to several off each night. So far, he's hadone<\/strike> two places interested enough to send an application and invite him to be interviewed, several say that they've enjoyed his approach but have no openings; a few have been nkce enough to return his resume. Which is very considerate, as they cost a bit. No reply from most others, though. Well, it's their loss.<\/p>\r\nHandwritten by Peter between paragraphs:<\/span> I very much enjoyed the human-zoo tour you took us on, Dad....<\/p>\r\n
The job proceeds a-dragging-pace. In your wonderful letter about Cascadia, Grandpa,
x<\/strike> you said that it was working and being with the kids that saved the job for you--- well, it would for Peter, too, if there were any....but the only ones that come in almost at all are only wanting tox<\/strike> play cards or pingpong, don't even come to groups or hardly any sort of counseling....there are s some rewards, though.......Such as one hot afternoon when everyone was sitting outxxx<\/strike> on the porch, and along comes this man who had evidently been connected with the Sun as some sort of interested member of the community about a year ago. He was very down and out; in fact, so far thatit appeared to Peter that<\/strike> he wasabout to bexxx<\/strike> considering<\/strike> threatening suicide. No one else (of the whole staff) was interested in even talking to thexxx<\/strike> guy, but Peter just couldn't let him gox<\/strike> off after asking for help so clearly....So they went for a walk...Charlie told about his life, which for the past year has been spent holx<\/strike>ed-up in a tiny apartment, going out at 2 a.m.. to the local all night liquox<\/strike>r store for books and obviously limited foodstuffs. He had been an alcololic, had gonexxx<\/strike> through A..A.'s.program and given up alcoholxxx<\/strike> successfully abut two years' ago (forgive my excessive punctuation; this machine has a will of its own) but there was nothing to fill the blank in his life that alcohol had formerly covered up.....He's a former railroad man; ex-wife and two sons living in a nearby town, really alone in the world. Peter channelled Johrei to him for about fifteen minutes, and at the end of that time Charlie was a changed man; reborn and renewed and ready to come back into the world. It was beautiful and miraculous, and a lasting change, too. Peter went to his house next day, cleared away a years worth ofxxx<\/strike> old newspapers, whisked enough laundry off to fill twelve (12) (!!!!!!) washers at the laundromat; the next day went back for a load of magazines and old books.... By this time (about two weeks later) Charlie has recieved Johrei several times, has cleared out his apartment, completely cleaning and renewing it, given away all of his extraneous possessions (quite a lot) visited his sons in Manteca (whom he hadn't seen for overx<\/strike> a year; the are 9 and 11, I believe) and is ready to pop on a bus for New York to care for his aged mother who was just about to sell her home and go into a nursing home. (he leaves tomorrow.) What a pleasure it is to be around him...Such a conscious person; politically and socially more aware than most people twenty years his junior, completely lovely with the kids, and in all ways a fine and exciting and stimulating persom..... Incidentally, Grandma, I passed on to him that lovely prayer of St. Francis that you sent me.xxx<\/strike> It is one of my favorite meditations, and it virtually leaped off the desk and grabbed me inx<\/strike> the eye when Ixxx<\/strike> was thinking about Charlie one morning, so I knew it was time for it to go to him. He thanks you, too.<\/p>\r\nTalk about thanks, did I ever thank you properly for the huge pot you sent at Christmas? Sure is a fine
xxx<\/strike> fine pot......Easier to clean than cast Iron,x<\/strike> but holds as much as my big kettles. So thank you, arready.<\/p>\r\nApplied this morning for substitute work; should have a day or so thereof before school closes, and plenty all next year if we're s
x<\/strike>till in the area and nothing fux<\/strike>ll time has turned up.<\/p>\r\nWe had a lovely Easter, featuring about ten Easter Egg hunts--your package did come in time (have a feeling I've said this before.), and the eggs and some real hard boiled ones were hiddem over and over and over..found a couple (the real ones, unfortunately) as much as a week later........needless to say, the eggs and their contents were a big hit....<\/p>\r\n
Here's another thank you--it's for that funny apron with the picture of California--I never have
x<\/strike> used an apron much, but this one is real handy with the towel included. Thinking about making some,.even. Parenthetical added in Peter\u2019s handwriting:<\/span> (Marcy bought a Brother sewing machine!) I remember to put it on when I find myself wiping my hands on my dress.<\/p>\r\nNot much is happening in the garden; it's a battle
x<\/strike>every day with the snails andx<\/strike> the cutworms, and I've been devoting all myxxx<\/strike> garden energy to such things as putting ashes all around every plant after every watering (keeps the snails off) and planning to do all the rest of my planting (and some re-planting) in bottomless cans to hopefully eliminate the cutworm problem. Yrs, I know about onions under the roses, but, though there arexxx<\/strike> four huge rose trees on the property I have to admit that I am not overly fond of roses and aside from a dutiful pruning and irregularxxx<\/strike> hosings to knox<\/strike>ck off the aphids I dont dox<\/strike> a whole heck of a lot for them.x<\/strike> I really dislike having to care for a lawnx<\/strike> (if its ever up to me I'd plant chamomile and various other creepers and cover crops that need only bex<\/strike> mowex<\/strike>d once a month or so, and strike deep roots so they don't need to be watered, and love to be sat and walked on--chamomile even gives a bouquet of most enchanting aroma when trodden....for the rest, I'd use flagstones and wood and pebbles and tree rounds---- and NO grass except some ornamental grasses in nooks and crannies to save and dry for permanent bouquets. And lots of rock garden, trees, & flowers in beds rather than rows, and, and, and.....<\/p>\r\nThe Mayday--no, May Day--letter was lovely, and especially for the kids who haven't been exposed to that tradition at all. We tried to do it in Albany last year, but were unable to find many flowers. One neighbor did find some, though, and we all got tiny boquets from her.<\/p>\r\n
I guess I
x<\/strike> 'll close in time to watch the 11pm news.....good to hear about Ellsberg and the house refusal to pay for Nixons further war crimes. Added in margin in Peter\u2019s handwriting: YAY! (I\u2019m not sure which part of this paragraph that applied to.)<\/span> Daniel Berrigan spoke here in stockton last night; I spoke today to some people who heard him (I was planning to go but it didn't happen that way; may go to hear him on Sunday at a folk mass, which I've never been to one of and don't know what to expect. ) They say he was especially down on people who come up to him and say, \"What can I do?\" He said, the only way to work is on the community level--like go on down to the Farmworkers office and do some filing for them...or go out and help them on a food collection drive, or whatever.<\/p>\r\nOff to the news..........<\/p>\r\n
Love<\/p>\r\n
Peter Marcy<\/p>\r\n
Jed & Joaquin<\/p>\r\n
\r\nThe rest of this is handwritten in Peter\u2019s writing on the back of the last page of Marcy\u2019s letter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n
P.S. Now I\u2019m thinking of finding work near Martinez, and enroll in the Graduate Psych course at JFK University: leading to an MA in Psych with Specialization in Family, Marriage & Child Counseling.... It\u2019s fully accredited, it\u2019s fairly cheap (about $600 for the two-year program), there\u2019s a strong emphasis on field work, and it\u2019s all night classes....<\/p>\r\n
Wish me luck\u2014<\/p>\r\n
Peter<\/p>\r\n
P.P.S. Did you know I already have 28 graduate credits?<\/p>\r\n
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