April 8, 1952
Dear Andrew and John,
It's Easter Week and the traditional touch of illness is plaguing 25 Bloomsbury. Ann started in the wee hours last Friday morning--violent nausea with no temperature. I came in to the office for the mail and went right home at nine a.m. Kathy and Ann pitched their all Friday and eased up Saturday and Ann was still woosy till this morning. Michael and Stephen lay around but held their own until yesterday - Monday. When I called at 5 p.m, last evening everything seemed OK but when I arrived home from school at ten Ann was stretched out exhausted. Starting at 5:30 Michael and Stephen had alternated and she had changed Mike's bed three times in three hours and half the kitchen was filled with soiled laundry. At noontime Ann informed me Arlene is now in bed with this bug and on her way to the store, Ann dropped in at the Bellis' to suggest that Mrs. B. keep the kids away and was advised six of them were taken ill last night while watching TV. I passed up lunch today and Miss Hodges made me a cup of her tea which I hope will keep things under control while I starve it out.
We received your pictures several weeks ago, Andrew, and John's arrived last Wednesday or Thursday. As I've said before, your letters really travel this way. When you consider 10,000 miles and the fact they lay around the post office for some time and we still get them on the seventh day, that's averaging 60 miles an hour for each and every hour of the entire week in transit.
Sunday afternoon Ann thought a little ride would do everyone good if we took it easy so we loaded down with plenty of diapers and catchalls and went as far as the Burns'. We passed through Rosedale on the way down and had read in the morning's paper that a tornado had swept a patch about a mile wide on Saturday afternoon. We had plenty of wind in Catonsville but little rain. Down there we saw one three story house completely collapsed and a number with roofs missing and lesser damage. Sam and Pud were up in Cecil county for the day where they're having a lot of trouble with rabied foxes or however you say it--biting dogs, cats and humans.
Saturday night I didn't see much TV, but part of Show of Shows and Ann was pretty rested and wanted to see the Gunther English movie. It was another very good show called "Hideout" with Valerie Hobson (third time we've seen her) and Howard Keel--no, it's Kreel, isn't it? She was in a newspaper item the other day when she, at 31 I believe, married some old English boy of 72. For the first time we left it on at The End and, after a commercial, they put on a complete four or five minute Preview of this Saturday's offering. I was almost asleep but remember Michael Wilding. Last night (Monday) with only two interruptions while Mike threw up, I got home in time to view Pontius Pilate on Studio One. I told Ann I wasn't going to watch it but I'm certainly glad I did. Worthington Miner is back, by the way, and the sets were Madison Square Gardenish. I'm sure the story wasn't all truth but well padded; what I enjoyed so much was the backscene stuff. Geraldine Fitzgerald was Pilate's wife and the story goes on how she bucked his condemning Jesus and how she leaves him after the crucifixion and becomes a Christian, to appear before him fifteen years later to be condemned to death herself and he pardons her at the last minute and kills himself. Most of the action depicted his struggle with himself and the power he might have and would lose by releasing Our Lord. Francis L. Sullivan, the fat slob, was Herod and a good one. I'm sure it doesn't sound appealing from these few lines but I don't usually go for anything in which I think I know the plot. After the opening commercial an announcement was made that the program would not be interrupted for the remainder of the hour. Just one boy was, I am sure, sent to the salt mines this morning if not sooner. Right in the middle of a dramatic scene with Pilate, his second wife and a friend, a technician in jacket and slacks executed a ballet tip toe directly through the set like you see the big bad wolf do with the trees.
The weather surprised us Sunday night with snow and below freezing temperatures for the past two mornings but warming to the fifties by afternoon.
For two days I have been meaning to bring in the Kodachromes. The pictures are clear and some of the poses not at all bad but my criticism is that most of them have a yellowish tinge which I ascribe, to the flash bulbs not being dipped long enough. I got the same effect once when I took a picture of Arlene without using a blue bulb.
Happy Easter!
END OF LETTER
Editor's notes:
The Bellis' are next door neighbors at 23 Bloomsbury.
The Burns' are Ann's Uncle Lawrence and Aunt Alice.
Sam and Pud "Puddy" were recently married. Pud is Ann's cousin.
Some of the Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
Next posting: April 14, 1952
Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner
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