{"id":1763,"date":"1975-03-07T00:01:54","date_gmt":"1975-03-07T07:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/?p=1763"},"modified":"2022-08-28T15:52:15","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T22:52:15","slug":"1975-march-7-letter-from-marcy-to-gh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/1975\/03\/07\/1975-march-7-letter-from-marcy-to-gh\/","title":{"rendered":"1975, March 7: Letter from Marcy to G&H"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Ten-page handwritten letter on lined three-hole-punched paper.<\/p>\r\n

Content warning for a bit of self-fat-shaming.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

Note written at top of page by Helen:<\/span> Beautiful letter<\/p>\r\n

Note written at top of page by Marcy:<\/span> intrasubstantiary<\/u> is the word Jed is currently asking about - it\u2019s in a book called Bedknob & Broomstick<\/u> . . . . .<\/p>\r\n

7 March 1975<\/p>\r\n

Dear Grandma & Grandpa<\/p>\r\n

What a huge gorgeous amount of stuff<\/u> has come from you of recency. We are overwhelmed and stuffed<\/u> - and wiped out! and as pleased as can be. Also delighted. Also impressed with all the work - xxx<\/strike> acquiring, washing, folding, packing, & sending. A new Christmas! And couldn\u2019t have come at a better time. Both boys were home with the discomforts.... not bad enough to stay in bed, but not good enough to go to school. Turned into German Measles (George had brought \u2019em home) by the next day. What a mess. Fortunately faded by now, at least their faces are clear. True to form, Joaquin got sick first & heavier and lasting longer, higher fever and more helplessness. Jed has been very good until today - he has the grouchy grumps because he feels okay - he says so why can\u2019t he go to school.... Quin was so sad & funny - he knew he\u2019d get a rash on his face but was appalled when he found it on hisx<\/strike> belly Rest of sentence redacted by Jed<\/span>. There\u2019s a croupy cough that goes with these measles, especially at night. So I\u2019ve been getting up to administer vitamins and cough-mix tea and Johrei, and was getting a little tired of it. So last night, when the wind woke me, banging the vent fan in the bathroom, I was deeply grateful that the boys were getting a good night\u2019s sleep, finally. Got up & closed the bathroom door, just dropping back to sleep when I heard a crash and much yelling from their bedroom. The window had blown in!!! I struggled & struggled, but finally Peter had to get up (4 a.m.) and go out and nail a piece of plywood over their window. Then we wedged boards in to hold it from inside. It was still drafty and they ended up in our bed. They\u2019ll be ready to go back to school tomorrow - but it\u2019s Saturday!!!<\/p>\r\n

Too bad about the plywood, too. because the house has just been painted, a lovely white with avocolive (avocado or olive, depending on your eyes) on the bottom, trim, shutters, etc. The painting was done by Jack Simons, our neighbor 2 doors xxx<\/strike> toward Llano road, who is buying the house for an old peoples home. He has also xxx<\/strike> moved the door of our bathroom into the hall, and opened the original archway between the living room and the \u201cbedroom\u201d off the kichen. We moved the TV in there, hurray! So now we can enjoy the fireplace without benefit of commercials. He\u2019s building a deck in back, planning glass doors off living room, \u201cfamily room\u201d, and our bedroom. Mrs. Simons will be able to retire from her job as head nurse at San Quentin Prison, and he has just retired from his as Highway Patrol Officer (Sgt??), so they can enjoy their heated swimming pool (even during the energy crisis!) and several vehicles and have their work two houses away and keep Mrs Simons\u2019 84-year-old mother, besides. What good fortune for them! Besides, they met our price.<\/p>\r\n

We had a big to-do with some other people who wanted the house, too, for a foster home. They were ready to bid each other up, but we weren\u2019t willing to do that. Seems like it would be tainted, somehow. It\u2019s okay for auctions, but not when you get into the thousands of dollars. But the other people wouldn\u2019t take no<\/u> for an answer. They kept calling and begging and sob-story-ing. Peter and Jim, our agent, were nearly driven to distraction (lucky for me I was in school that day.) After many pleas, and much guilty feeling on our part (tho we knew we had decided right) they went and bought another house the<\/u> next<\/u> day<\/u>!! Added in Peter\u2019s handwriting:<\/span> (That they had had on the line all the time...!!)<\/p>\r\n

Now we are waiting for the money to get together so we can look for a place to rent, while we decide about going to Japan - which, if we do, will be as students - Peter will write you about that - We\u2019ll be taking George & Ivan to our next house, provided it\u2019s approved by the Dept of Mental Hygiene... we\u2019ll let you know when that\u2019s happening, of course.<\/p>\r\n

School is wonderful. I\u2019m behind, of course, but catching up. It always seems to be something urgent on days I\u2019ve set up to study. This German Measles has been real trying.<\/p>\r\n

And now for the presents - first, before I forget, the potholders. How do you always know when I\u2019ve burned up the last of the last batch of potholders? Your timing has been perfect about 3 times so far! Jed & Joaquin were just delighted with the clothes - the pants were a little too big for Joaquin, but Jed\u2019s were perfect. Needed, too. I\u2019m not sure yet how they\u2019x<\/strike>ll fit when he gets his normal pot belly back after this measles siege, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019s lost more than 2 or 3 pounds. Anyway, they are full to the brim on button-down shirts (they recieved another batch a few days after yours, from a boy who grew out of 10 at one time, and like J&J also has doting grandparents with impeccable taste), so they\u2019re well shirted for the next 6-8 months. Pants, particularly jeans, go faster and are harder to mend. And socks are always handy. (or footy)! (ouch)<\/p>\r\n

Margin note from Helen next to the line about button-down shirts:<\/span> No more buttondown shirts<\/p>\r\n

Margin note from Helen next to the line about grandparents with impeccable taste:<\/span> So nice!<\/p>\r\n

There there\u2019s pajamas. I love pajamas, and so do they, but when it comes to wearing any - well, we all sleep in our shirts and underwear. Just as well, less laundry to do. And no, it really doesn\u2019t get the shirts any dirtier. They actually prefer putting a clean shirt on at night and getting it \u201ccomfortable\u201d before going to school in it. Of course, not button shirts, but pullovers.<\/p>\r\n

(We\u2019ve had another subtraction in personnel - Mark has give to live with another foster family in Sebastopol - they charge less than we do, and are much more appropriate for him - interested in sports, located in town. He\u2019s pretty happy, tho the details of living with them are harder. He has to eat whatever they do, and keep his hair short, and they insist on a lot more neatness than we do. Having just George and Ivan is pretty neat, tho a bit impoverishing.)<\/p>\r\n

Ivan got the deck of cards - probably went out and won some money with it. He bitched a little about why nobody ever sends him nice stuff, and we explained about writing thank you letters (for the ninetieth time) but he\u2019d rather complain than write a letter any day. If you do run into things, Ivan wears size 16 boys shirt and 29-30<\/strike> - or is it 30-29 ^^yes!^^ pants. George wears size 20 boys\u2019 shirt and can\u2019t remember the pants, but they\u2019re in the mens\u2019 department (automatic $200<\/u><\/sup> price rise over the same in boys\u2019.) I think its 29-32, but not sure. They both like those awful large-plaid numbers, and jeans, and cords. Ivan always splits his at the crotch - I\u2019ve become an expert crotch-patcher, and George does in the zippers a lot, which is a drag because I don\u2019t have a zipper foot and have to fake it, and by the time I get to it he\u2019s generally outgrown the pants. He also gets knee holes quite a bit; I\u2019m lazy about those, too, especially in xxx<\/strike> strong jeans with double seams, because you have to sew xxx<\/strike> through so many thicknesses to xxx<\/strike> put the legs back together that I break needles and get very impatient. I guess I need to get leather needles, if there are any that will fit this machine.<\/p>\r\n

I recieved a bunch of clothes at once, too - the ones you sent and several pairs of jeans from a friend. I really love the pants you send, Grandma, just plain smooth line elastic top - but this last pair was (were?) just too small to get into. I was mad atx<\/strike> them, too, \u2019cos they were just what I needed, and they had to be just too tight. They even had lovely hems in the legs, but the essential adjustment wasn\u2019t possible. I think I\u2019m a bit bigger than you think I am - the stuff in this box was in general a bit tight on me. But what doesn\u2019t fit is always good for trading - several friends and I always keep each other in mind. You could watch out for long skirts for me, and full-length dresses particularly - no, no particularly, except not very heavy ones, as I\u2019m xxx<\/strike> already thick enough. There\u2019s a place in Sebastopol that x<\/strike> recycles blue jeans into fantastic vests, jackets, shirts, pants, and skirts - the skirts of two styles. one, they cut the inseams of legs, then attach panels in the middle, with different shades of denim in the panels. The other is a wrap-around effect, with gores of different colored denim. Extremely<\/u> pretty. The first style is pretty but very unflattering to a round-belly like me. The second I haven\u2019t tried on yet. But of course the prices are absurd. Can\u2019t imagine who would pay over $20 for a skirt to just wear around-? They\u2019re just not for dressing up! But lots of people do. You\u2019d never catch me doing errands in a $23 dollar skirt! I think they\u2019re mostly for rich teenagers to wear to school - and plenty of \u2019em do! I\u2019m glad the people who make \u2019em are doing so - they buy used denim by the ton<\/u>, sort it and sell what they can as is (after laundering) so their store is filled with piles of neatly stacked and labeled blue jeans - for $3 and $4 a pair (that is what they used to cost new - try to get \u2019em now for under $1100<\/sup>!) Not as cheap as Goodwill but a lot more reliable in quality.<\/p>\r\n

Helen crossed out the entire writeup about the recycled jeans, with two big Xs across the text. In the margin, she wrote the following:<\/span> I don\u2019t like these one lil bit so not interested<\/p>\r\n

As for Peter\u2019s stuff - it was really neat. He\u2019s going to wear the jacket to church tomorrow, and those green pants fit perfectly. In fact, all the pants fit. The tennis shoes were great but, alas, too big for anyone. George will probably fit them soon. Peter wears 11 or 11½ shoes. I wear 7. (no \u201cheels\u201d) (I have one nice neutral beige pair, and haven\u2019t worn \u2019em in over a year!)<\/p>\r\n

I enjoyed reading the prayers you sent. as for reaction - well, the whole worth and sense of a prayer is in the minds and hearts of the pray-ers. The finest sentiments can be lost in a saccharine gush or hypocrisy. So I think the only way you can evaluate that kind of prayer is to hear it and pray it and see if it rings true, and feel the energy of the people praying it. If everyone is reacting positively and strongly, you can feel that it\u2019s just right - I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve experienced this often, I guess it\u2019s what keeps a lot of people coming back to church.<\/p>\r\n

Enjoyed hearing about your adventures. Must have been fun climbing in the window. We used to get hauls like that occasionally, living in xxx<\/strike> Albany, but nothing of that scope. (No one had room for that much.)<\/p>\r\n

Joaquin had a lovely birthday. He decided to have a few friends and go out to pizza and home for cake instead of a big party. It was a big success, in spite of German measles the next day. His teacher gave him a leather pouch with a shell and an ancient Indian-chipped rock, added in Peter\u2019s handwriting: & a Mexican coin,<\/span> and he got a book of African stories and some beautiful old Japanese paints, and lots of motorcycles (a BMW t-shirt, and a motorcycle coloring book, and a picture of one from George, and now that he\u2019s over the measles he\u2019s picking a wind-up motorcycle and track as his present from my mother. He loved the puppet book - it was the first thing he wanted to do when he felt like doing anything again. He made a lovely potato head yesterday, all by himself, then gave it to Peter to eat x<\/strike> for breakfast. Now he\u2019s wanting an omelet so he can have the shell. He can\u2019t have eggs or milk till he\u2019s all over the measle-sniffles, as they cause mucous, So he\u2019s being patient. Jed is counting the days till his big moment.<\/p>\r\n

Helen underlined \u201cgo out to pizza and home for cake,\u201d and wrote in the margin: \u201cWell!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The valentines were great. The dollars went into respective banks, xxx<\/strike> (They have their own savings accounts now) and they loved the activities. \u201cDoing dots\u201d is Joaquin\u2019s \u201cfave rave\u201d at the moment, and the racing set is still popular.<\/p>\r\n

Oh, and Aggravation. It was just the thing, because I often don\u2019t have time for Parcheesi, and this one is so much easier to win. (for the boys.) They\u2019ve played it every day.<\/p>\r\n

So a great huge multi-faceted thank-you on all fronts. Hope you get to thank us before long - the long-awaited packages are always pushed aside by catastrophes from measles to moneylessness, and everything between. It was really once Peter\u2019s job, but he has been doing the whole domestic deal while I\u2019m in school and studying. Take good care of yourselfs. Much love, Marcy.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

Amusing Google Docs OCR errors:<\/p>\r\n