{"id":2070,"date":"1977-05-13T00:01:57","date_gmt":"1977-05-13T07:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/?p=2070"},"modified":"2022-11-06T11:30:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-06T19:30:18","slug":"1977-may-13-letter-from-marcy-and-peter-to-gh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kith.org\/pmjj\/1977\/05\/13\/1977-may-13-letter-from-marcy-and-peter-to-gh\/","title":{"rendered":"1977, May 13: Letter from Marcy and Peter to G&H"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Eight-page handwritten letter\u20146+ pages from Marcy, 2ish from Peter\u2014on 3-hole-punched lined notebook paper.<\/p>\r\n

Not sure whether postmark says May 16<\/i> or May 18<\/i>, but either way, it was started on \u201cFriday night,\u201d which I\u2019m guessing means May 13.<\/p>\r\n

\u2026I very rarely redact more than a word or two from these letters, but this time I\u2019ve decided to redact a few paragraphs near the beginning of the letter. Marcy was responding to something that George had said about Japanese people, and she gave a well-intentioned but deeply unfortunate and weird discussion of various things about Japanese people and World War II, including several things that were factually incorrect. Rather than try to refute and rebut and clarify and elaborate on her assertions here, I think it\u2019s better to just remove those paragraphs.<\/p>\r\n

Content warning for brief self-fat-shaming.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

Friday night<\/p>\r\n

What grand grand Grandparents!<\/p>\r\n

The Stuff jus\u2019 keeps on flowin\u2019 in \u2014 letters, a check, a huge box \u2014 I am feeling so rich & \u201cfat\u201d I want to call my secretary & dictate<\/u> this letter. Whoops! not that rich yet..... but fat, that\u2019s another story.... (not very, actually)<\/p>\r\n

The check was totally unexpected & entirely welcome; the letter a delight. I\u2019d answer it more directly if I could find it. Six paragraphs of weird and wrong stuff about Japanese people redacted here.<\/span>\r\n

I\u2019ll just leave the last line of that discussion, about Japanese American members of our church:<\/span> 99% of the Japanese members in the US are American citizens.<\/p>\r\n

Well folks, would you believe this started out to be a thank-you letter!<\/p>\r\n

The tupperware is great \u2014 haven\u2019t found uses for all of it yet, but it\u2019s coming along. I love the two big containers, square & rectangle.<\/p>\r\n

(There\u2019s a new (10-yrs old?) grain called triticale (rice, wheat & rye) that\u2019s supposed to be very high in protein \u2014 I\u2019m eating the grains rolled, like oatmeal, raw. very<\/u> satisfying with nuts & currants.)<\/p>\r\n

The spool caddy is really neat, and the thread always welcome. Bobbins, too, tho I\u2019m not sure if they fit. looks like they may be a bit too big. The cups were welcome, but the white one & the measuring cups didn\u2019t make the trip, alas. The clothes were a delight \u2014 everything so neat and well done and looking so sparky & ready to wear. Just wonderful, Grandma! Someday I\u2019ll do mending for your great grandchildren, to pass it on.<\/p>\r\n

I really enjoy the rubber band game. Don\u2019t know how the kids like it yet (we\u2019ve barely been home since the pkg came) Oh, and the rope \u2014 great<\/u>! We\u2019ll try it out for jumping today.<\/p>\r\n

Peter is hungry for sashimi (raw fish with hot mustard,\u2014no xxx<\/strike> it\u2019s actually horseradish) sliced real thin & served w\/shredded daikon (the long white radish) so we\u2019re planning a trip out to Bodega Bay to buy some fresh fish. The kids get to go to the ocean about once a month with the school, so they\u2019re not real excited about it. They had a great coming trip at Bodega Dunes state part, all of \u2019em spent 2 days digging in & rolling down the sand dunes.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n

Anyway, here is a huge<\/p>\r\n

THANK YOU<\/p>\r\n

for all of it, from the check to the church bulletin w\/the Bible story, and all between.<\/p>\r\n

Here\u2019s a Cotati story: There\u2019s a woman lives down the street called the cat lady \u2019cos she has billions of cats & she & her house smell like it. On a windless day you can smell her house nearly a block away. She\u2019s not real popular with her nearest neighbors, you can imagine, but I think its neat: a real character in this impersonal age. She\u2019s small & slight & has grey hair & a weathered, horsy face, but moves very springily & I suspect is much younger than she looks. You see her walking a little grey poodle all over Cotati.<\/p>\r\n

Well, she\u2019s been coming over to use our phone, & little by little we get her story: lonely & childish, living in a house belonging to her sister (who lives in Berkeley), any tiny accident to one of her cats is a dire emergency... she lives in a sad, paranoid world, with people always teasing her & talking about her (how much of this is objectively true I have no idea, but probably not much. She asked me why I\u2019d said something that I never said, or even said anything at that moment, or<\/u> thought it.)<\/p>\r\n

Real money problems she has \u2014 gas company gives her a hard time, she \u201cborrows\u201d for vet bills, & animal control is a constant threat to her. From Kathy I learned that they often come & take away all her cats except 3, & they multiply again & get taken again. Don\u2019t know how x<\/strike> true this is, either \u2014 you know neighborhood xxx<\/strike> gossip.<\/p>\r\n

Anyway, one of the women on the street is running for city council. I\u2019m thinking about talking to her about organizing the neighbors to go & clean her house & build her a cat pen outside so the smell won\u2019t be so terrible. If it\u2019s done like a rabbit hutch with a wired bottom & space below that can be hosed down or swept out, it should be workable. There\u2019s plenty of scrap wood around, & plenty of people with a strong wish to have the neighborhood smell better. Might be a good summer project for kids. But it\u2019s not something I could do alone, or would want to. It would have to be an organized thing. I just hate to see this poor ol\u2019 lady, alone & crazy, feeling like the world is against her, & losing even her cats. Sure xxx<\/strike> are a lot of cats in the world!<\/p>\r\n

School\u2019s out in two weeks! We finished the China project this week, giving reports x<\/strike> out loud next week\u2014but the work is done! Yaay!<\/p>\r\n

Well, off to do the day. Take care of yourselfs!<\/p>\r\n

much love,<\/p>\r\n

Marcy<\/p>\r\n

P.S. no, I haven\u2019t any plans to spend $15000<\/u><\/sup> for a week at Ann Wigmore\u2019s in Boston. I\u2019d rather go to Japan \u2014 and I can do more good to more people with the results of that than by learning what I already know.<\/p>\r\n

Now for the P.S.\u2019s<\/p>\r\n

Just realized I didn\u2019t mention the framed foto (phramed photo?)\u2014It\u2019s great. Who took it? The frame is pretty neat, too. Wish I had one like that of my parents, but they were both camera-shy. I have one of my mother, somewhere\u2014I\u2019ll have to find a frame for it. Anyway, we love it. Not sure if the kids get it or we do.<\/p>\r\n

Found yr letter. A few weeks ago I went thru the mending box & found a lot of junk already \u2014 an old bedspread & some old curtains (just fabric) \u2014 probably will donate to Goodwill. Nothing else except x<\/strike> some jeans Peter wants patched \u2014 if I find anything for the kids, I\u2019ll take you up on it, tho. Many thanks for the offer. (and again for the products thereof)<\/p>\r\n

I\u2019m really not up for visiting Ann Wigmore\u2019s \u201cmansion\u201d\u2014I already know what to do, but being there won\u2019t help me putting it into practice while cooking for the family. That\u2019s the hard spot. That and remembering all the details like watering the wheat, etc. I did recieve Eydie xxx<\/strike> Mae\u2019s book right away \u2014 really glad you got to read it. I do know about her San Diego Branch. That\u2019s where Eydie Mae is from \u2014 I guess there\u2019s a connection.<\/p>\r\n

Please, please Grandma, do send us a painting. A smallish one, you know our walls, but we\u2019d love to have one. Maybe better wait a month or so till we know where we\u2019ll be, though.<\/p>\r\n

I\u2019m going to leave some space for Peter to add a note.<\/p>\r\n

love M.<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

Hi--Marcy\u2019s right, as usual--the picture is really fine--THANK YOU for it & for all the mending...<\/p>\r\n

Job\u2019s going well, I finally got my teleprocessing program working ... we\u2019re getting a resume together & will soon be actively searching for a job...<\/p>\r\n

In preparation, I trimmed the beard last night-- the scissors slipped, it\u2019s one-thousandth of an inch long now ... Went out & bought two disposable razors for 49\u00a2!<\/p>\r\n

Finished \u201cThis Timeless Moment\u201d yesterday, & read a book called \u201cChristian Mythology\u201d last night -- both extremely good (enjoyable) books.<\/p>\r\n

Marcy went to VocRehab, they said she might qualify for re-training (school) -- she mentioned Crim. Justice (parole counselor), they said there were no jobs, that she should go for MSW--Mother, do you know any prestigious schools for MSW?<\/p>\r\n

O--did you get that farm & household hints book to D&K? Have they found a house yet? We pray everyday for them to find just the right house...<\/p>\r\n

Hope you have the plumbing straightened out by now--if not, Mr. Dick (\u201cTricky\u201d) Nixon will be glad to recommend some unemployed \u201cplumbers\u201d...<\/p>\r\n

Love,<\/p>\r\n

P.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

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