This is a ten-page letter, handwritten on lined three-hole-punch paper.<\/p>\r\n
I was rather startled to see Marcy refer to Peter \u201cbabysitting\u201d in this\u2014as far as I know, they were not the sort of couple who considered men taking care of their own kids to be babysitting.<\/p>\r\n
Content warning for an ethnic slur that was not as widely considered problematic in those days; I\u2019ve elided most of the word, but figured worth noting upfront anyway.<\/p>\r\n
Also for a reference (I think?) to her body getting fatter; and descriptions of hoarding-like behavior and other possible mental health issues; and criticism of a messy house.<\/p>\r\n
\r\nDear Grandma & Grandpa<\/p>\r\n
To begin with, we want to thank you again & again for everything, all your kindnesses, big & small.<\/p>\r\n
\u2014And perhaps the most useful thing of all (for the trip, anyway) was leaving all<\/u> that<\/u> extraneous junk behind. It was so easy all the rest of the way\u2014everything<\/u> was accessible. We were still working on making things\u2014& routines\u2014smaller & tighter, keeping the day\u2019s crumbs out of the bed, etc. Not having to hunt for Laurel\u2019s groundcloth for 10 minutes each night at the brink of exhaustion, & like that.<\/p>\r\n
Also, I\u2019m working on the great expansion that came to me while traveling. Lost weight, but gained inches\u2026<\/p>\r\n
The trip was quite lovely. Wyoming was an
xxx<\/strike> extremely nice state. One town, Buffalo, had a free<\/u> campground, with running water, fireplaces, a fishing creek, poison ivy, free swimming pool, and<\/u> museum (full of war relics and a few bearskins, and some nice rocks) (The rocks at Ginko Petrified Forest in Washington were well worth the stop, too) Wyoming also had Buffalo Bill Dam (1910 & 1922), a truly magnificent sight. (Grand Coulee was an engineering marvel but an esthetic zero)<\/p>\r\nAll along, even outside the Passion Play in S. Dakota (we thought about going to see it, but it looked to be so pure & sterile, Jesus following the Script & the whole thing not a living document so much as a lifeless enactment.<\/p>\r\n
Later discussions with townspeople corroborated
xxx<\/strike> this impression we\u2019d recieved from the program and advtsments. Tho it still must be a sight to behold.) all along there were playgrounds, parks, picnic tables, brooks & streams, even Idyllic ones in Indiana, friendly peoplex<\/strike> (VW repairs outside of Hammond Indiana by Yr Friendly VW Agency\u2014cos no onex<\/strike> else cld tell what was wrong with itx<\/strike> cost us $20 for about twice that amt of repairs, counting welding of hole in muffler thatx<\/strike> we\u2019d suffered with since Yellowstone\u2013) until<\/u> Ohio<\/u>! Scenery got sparse & bare & cold, & people too. Laurel got rousted (= hassled, I guess) by a Trooper for sleeping out \u201clike a G\u2014.\u201d Word elided by Jed.<\/span><\/p>\r\nTwo days later:<\/p>\r\n
My newspaper horoscope said today is the day I should write letters\u2026<\/p>\r\n
The pictures were just lovely. We really appreciate all Paul went through to get them done, & your sending them so fast, too. He\u2019s getting better & better. When he gets settled & has access to a lab, we\u2019d like to put in an order for a few more prints, or at least the negatives to send to a drugstore.<\/p>\r\n
Your tupperware has been magnificent, Grandma. It really is worth its weight in coaldust. (which plastic is made of, gosh, ain\u2019t she clever!) We lost a fork in the tall honey container, tho\u2014it was days before we had the fortitude to pull it out & lick it off.<\/p>\r\n
My mother is in really good shape, all things considered. She\u2019s very glad to have us, of course, & that helps\u2014but generally she can at least walk to the local stores by herself, & manages the house somewhat\u2014tho her kitchen would drive you bats\u2014it drives me<\/u> bats, and I\u2019m (
xxx<\/strike> censored) not even very organized. And she still refuses to part with anything<\/u>, even newspapers, and still tells stories verbatim 3 or 4 times a day, but still she is becoming much more confident & capable & easier to be with. And she doesn\u2019t take depressants any more (a pill that was supposed to keep her blood pressure down, which had the major side effect of severe psychic depression, & the dr. prescribed it for years<\/u>!) which has made her feel a lot better about herself. And she watches the news on TV, and is getting interested in the world aroundxxx<\/strike> her, so I have great hopes for her.<\/p>\r\nNow, about this check: We told you that we thought the insurance we\u2019d got in Calif would not take effect \u2019cos we didn\u2019t have our tail light fixed\u2026 Well, when we got here, we found that it was in effect, so the check we wrote them for $54 got cashed. We\u2019ll take care of cancelling one or the other policy, but
x<\/strike> meantime we had that much less in the bank. But so far no statements have been forwarded to us, so we have no idea whatever<\/u> of whether anything has bounced, or whether your check cleared & the rent check bounced ^^another<\/u> $5 fee^^, or we may be okay\u2014who knows? Will you let us know if the one we wrote to you has bounced? We want to get it straight right away, if possible.<\/p>\r\nSo far we\u2019ve done
x<\/strike> virtually nothing. The end of the trip was pretty hard, and a heat wave started the day before we got here, so we\u2019ve been sitting around talking a lot, and shopping, and searching for carrots to juice ($8.75<\/u><\/sup> for 25#, imported from (los angeles) California) (eeek! We pay 425<\/u><\/sup> at most, generally 250<\/u><\/sup>) (but I think we can find some local ones.) and showing off the kids to the relatives, and talking with my cousin, who\u2019s 20 or 21 and left this morning to cross the country hitchhiking. He\u2019s really lovely\u2014his path may cross David\u2019sx<\/strike> if they get to our Apt in Albany.<\/p>\r\nJed is currently trying on a baseball glove \u201cclub\u201d belonging to one of the \u201cbig\u201d kids up the street \u201cIt doesn\u2019t quite<\/u> reach\u201d he says. He wore his baseball suit about half the way across the country. Hasn\u2019t had it on here yet as it\u2019s been too hot, but today is cooler so he\u2019ll get to put it
x<\/strike> on, possibly to go out to dinner tonight. His aunt & uncle got him a new trike (a big one with a 20\" wheel)xxx<\/strike> which we can disassemble and take back with us, and Joaquin has a borrowed one from neighbors who keep it for their grandchildren. He can\u2019t reach the pedals yet, butx<\/strike> you should see him move that trike by wiggling & shaking and turning the spokes with his toes! He\u2019s had a talking spurt\u2014he seems to talk for my mother more than for us\u2014he actually said something recogniziable as \u201cgrandmom\u201d which made her terribly happy. And \u201cbu\u201d for bus<\/u> and truck<\/u> (his new love is trucks, they go past in view of the house & he bounces with joy) and \u201ccar\u201d\u2014also a whooshing noise for car. And of course Jed is just a grandparent\u2019s delight, as you both well know. She sits & watches Sesame Street with him every day, it\u2019s allxxx<\/strike> very nice & bucolic \u2013<\/p>\r\npage nine, time to stop\u2014peter\u2019s been babysitting for a long long time.<\/p>\r\n
Oh yes, thanks for the folding lesson, Grandma. it
x<\/strike> was invaluable.<\/p>\r\nHope you are having a good vacation (have had by now?) (it seems so long since we were there.) Have you heard from P & L? Did Linda get that job? (in the TV studio?) Give our regards to John (how was his camping trip?) and David (dreamed about him last night) and Paul & Linda and yourselves.<\/p>\r\n
(Grandma, we had a fantasy about importing you to clean this house. Figured with someone to wash the wall & ceilings, the kitchen would take about a week (after about 48
xxx<\/strike> hours of initial dismay)xxx<\/strike> mostly spent finding the space to put things. Of course the really<\/u> hard thing would be the job of holding my mother off. Enough of such fantasy. We\u2019re doing our best to make it better without horrifying her.)<\/p>\r\nWell, hope you have been able to read most of this. Take care, love,<\/p>\r\n
Us.<\/p>\r\n
p.s. my mother says she\u2019d like to see a picture of you<\/p>\r\n
Sorry to be so long in mailing this\u2014each of us thought the other had mailed it<\/p>\r\n
We got the package, for which many thanks. Still working on learning to fold so neatly. Discovered you\u2019re right about ironed things staying clean longer\u2014WHY?<\/p>\r\n
Love<\/p>\r\n
Us<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
The cousin who Marcy mentions was presumably her cousin Alan. I don\u2019t know who she meant when she referred to my aunt and uncle; possibly she meant her<\/em> Aunt Betty and Uncle Iz<\/a>, seen there in a glamorous photo from the 1930s. (Photos linked from this post are on FB, but visible to non-FB users.)<\/p>\r\n
I don\u2019t know what she meant by \u201cbaseball glove \u2018club.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n