Dear Andrew and John,
Ann read John's letter of Monday, the 14th, over the 'phone this noontime. If you got in on time today, you must be experiencing weather as bad as ours is good. I see where Pittsburgh is about 49 miles from San Francisco and, if the map is right, is to the eastward. We have had three days of 60 degree and above temperature and clear, moonlit nights; a Bermuda high, they call it.
I am in no hurry about filing your income tax reports which means you owe. The table for your total calls for $68 due while, if I can remember correctly, they withheld $61.40. What I shall do is file and indicate "overseas". We'll also file one for the State but with the allowance they make, no tax will be due.
We know that Sam French received John's play. A letter came today enclosing the clippings, stating that the play would be read and reported on and closed with "good luck". I will send the original. I also took the precaution of including a large stamped envelope so we shall get the play back in the event it will have to be submitted to someone else. But they sound like a nice outfit and let's hope....
Took Stephen to the doctor's on Saturday and sat around home all rainy Sunday. The transit strike is still on and Sunday I drove Mr. Bellis to Riverside at 10 p.m. Monday night was school and right after supper last evening Ann suggested visiting Ellen and Gerry Bures. She had a home-grown plant and an aged pillow case left over from Michael for the new house and baby respectively. They live on Whitlock Road which is the second row of new houses with entrance on the Edmondson highway at the big oak tree in front of or rather across from St. Agnes' church. When I drove off the highway and part way down the first street we saw it was impassable for cars. The curbs are in and people living in about 150 houses and that's all. I later found out that even the milk men refused to deliver. We got out and tried to walk but gave up. I backed the car for half a block, turned around and headed for tracks in the ground I saw made by other cars. However, those grooves were made before the thaw and, less than 20 feet from Edmondson highway, we sank. To give you an idea how far, I couldn't even open the car door on my side for the mud. Some good hearted soul, a fellow about my age who had just bought one of the homes, was on his way for ice cream about ten minutes later, and offered to take Ann and the kids home and drop me by a towing station. This we immediately took him up on and a little over an hour later a tow truck sucked me free. Another funny thing, by the time I got back with the tow man, another fellow was mired wheel deep about 20 feet away from me and already had a truck working on him. I believe the total for this particular plot now stands at 25 vehicles in three days. What a mess. I arose at 5:30 this morning, brought the car round back, and scraped and washed so you can see out of the windows and operate the doors. I found what was left of the plant on the back seat and the pillow case was caught in the door hinge.
We will be writing now, whether we hear from you or not, because I don't know how many weeks it will be before you get this. I hope the weather calms down for sailing if it is keeping to schedule.
END OF LETTER
Editor's notes:
The cities of Pittsburgh and San Francisco were code names for areas in Korea.
"Monday night school" concerns the nights Charles is required to teach at the Baltimore Institute.
Sam French: Samuel French Publishing published Playbills in New York. John was an amateur play writer
Mr. Bellis: a next door neighbor
Ellen and Gerry Bures: friends of the family since WW II.
Next posting: 21 January 2012
Copyright © 2007-2012 Stephen A Conner
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