Graduation Day, A Flat, and A Good-As-New Watch

Monday, June 9 - 95° F.

Dear Andrew and John

I am glad to hear that you were able to pick up an Argus, Andrew, and I hope you were also able to take advantage of a price discount as John did on the razor. At present the C-3 is selling for $70, or rather $69.95 plus tax. I take it the film situation is OK now with you but imagine flash bulbs are still hard to get; so I will try to get some off to each of you. Also, if you can't pick up one of those small adapters for the midget bulbs and intend to try for some flash pictures, let us know. It's a shame you don't have my Weston exposure meter which just lays in the drawer but with or without a meter you couldn't ask for a better example than the shot of John with the trees, blue sky and cloud in the background. I'm anxious to hear who did the finished print. I put a roll of black and white in the Leica last night, that is yesterday evening and got a few shots of Arlene and the graduation. When we got up church, the graduates were lining up on the new school steps for an official photograph so I ran over and got a shot from right beside him. Another fellow came along with a Polaroid and got four beautiful shots. I asked him if he was interested in buying another camera and he knows of someone who is, so I gave my phone number and am siting and hoping for a call for my Polaroid.

The graduation went off very nicely. It was warm - in the ninties - but a beautiful day. The only ones there on our side were Virginia and Arlene's girl friend (a seventh grader) Mary Margaret Tucker with her mother. They live down on the corner of Frederick Road and Overbrook in a big cream colored stucco house and I remember Mrs. Tucker from when she used to come to 7 o'clock Mass every Sunday with her father, a short fellow with handle-bar mustaches. She is maybe a year older than I, dark and very attractive. I'm sure you've both seen her. She has two daughters and Arlene, for this school year, has struck up one of these acquaintances which has her on the phone for hours at a time. We have to pry them off and then one will call back a short time later. The funniest thing Ann and I have found is that in person Mary Margaret, the daughter, doesn't open her mouth. Back to graduation, I didn't go in but stayed with dynamite Stevie and several dogs he always manages to attract. He chased birds on the Sister's lawn and slobbered all over Coach Woysihowitz or whatever he name's little boy, about 10 mo. The Coach had stopped (first time I ever spoke to him) and asked how you two were and knew you were in Korea. About that time Mike came out of church, followed a few minutes later by Kathleen, with Ann, who went back in. She had to bring Kathy out as she had put on Ann's gloves and was pointing them like guns at the surrounding kneelers and going Ptooo. So I had three of them rolling all over the lawn for about a half hour. The exercises were over about 7:45 and we took Virginia home, then went for a short ride before we drove, Mrs. Tuckers back.

Last Thursday I had school as usual at night. The Walcott-Charles fight was scheduled for 10 p.m. and I get off about 9:20. Last summer when they fought, I was home alone that Wednesday night when the yoke went up on the TV and I missed the knockout. On the way home last Thursday, I ran over a broken coke bottle and had a beauty of a flat right in the middle of the colored section on Franklin Street. I had no money in my pockets and by the time I changed the tire myself and got home the fight was well under way; but I saw part of it. Abe and I, a few days before when he was driving his car, had watched the kids breaking soft drink bottles and carefully placing them in the car lanes. The tire that got it was the spare with only a few thousand miles on it which had been put on just about a month ago when I rotated the tires. The fellow at the Esso station showed me the verdict Friday; the tire has a six inch slash right through the inside casing and a hole in the tube as big as your head. It was so bad he advised not trying to have anything done to it and I had to get a new tire and tube.

With grass cutting, trying to get the cellar in shape and then teaching again on Friday night for Mrs. Brown who had some friends on from New York, I didn't see any TV last week till Saturday and then late. There wasn't much choice. American Beer is bringing the Washington Senators baseball games while the Orioles are out of town. Those grinning gargoyles from Arthur Murray's local "Dance Party" are on from 9:30 to 10:30 and after that we turned the set on to Gunther's movie. This time it was the Corsican Brothers with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in a twin brothers role and apparently an American production with J. Carol Nash, H. B. Warner; I can't remember the girl, was it Helen Varrick or something like that. We enjoyed it and if it's very old I certainly wouldn't have known it. It was an Edward Small production, If that means anything. It lasted a full two hours so I didn't wait to see the coming attractions for next week.

Best news of all for me during the past week was that after eight weeks I got my watch back. The price for a new mainspring, cleaning of the rust, adjusting and regulating, was $3 so I just put it on our account and didn't gripe. I have timed it for four days now and in that time it has gained but ten seconds; if that keeps up I am very fortunate. If either of you get a watch or think about one, make it one of those waterproofs, or as they have to say, water repellent; with incabloc construction and antimagnetic. In 17 Jewels stainless steel they are selling all over now for about $12 and are accurate within seconds. Elgin is now working full speed on their new electric watch; smaller than a regular wrist job, it is powered with a wafer thin battery about as big as a nickel which lasts about one year. Another thing I noticed in the papers is that Hamilton has decided to market Swiss watches under the Hamilton name due to competition.

Coming from school on Thursday night also, I had to walk over here around the corner from the office to get the car before the mishap. When I came past the Knights of Columbus I stopped for a minute to listen to the good music. There was a theater-type signboard outside with pictures and headed "June Week". The band then playing was Ray Anthony's (I've heard of him) and scheduled for the next evening was Tex Beneke (they were just arriving when I got out of school Friday and I didn't hear them). I haven't been able to find out from anyone who was having the June Week but it west be one of the schools; not the Naval Academy which holds all their affairs in Annapolis.

I am going to take tomorrow off, or part of the day at least, to register Arlene at Towson Catholic. I hope it's not a foolish move but I told Mrs. Burton was going to do so and she told me to be sure and tell Ann it was the thing to do. But all that doesn't get the people out of the house and it also doesn't sell ours, and if we do sell ours and the other isn't empty, where are we? I dislike bringing those questions out to Ann but you two might throw in a couple of prayers with me, not to get the house out there especially, but to solve immediate problems.

I forgot to mention that Mary Bellis graduated from high school on Friday, the day of the 18th birthday. She's still necking with the same fellow and it may be serious.

END OF LETTER

Editor's Notes:
Arlene graduated 8th grade from the Visitation Academy in Frederick. Charles' employer has promised him the use of a house in the country. He is worried that it won't be ready by the time his present house sells.

Next Posting: June 16, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner