Monday, October 15, 2012

A Dalmation and News From Catonsville



Wednesday, Oct. 15.

Dear Andrew and John,

Here's another I hope you never receive unless you're on the way back. You each actually received a piece of mail, forwarded from Catonsville. Ann opened one (they're both alike from outward appearances) and it's a wedding invitation from someone in Philadelphia; very fancy and even embossed paper. I forgot to look at the date and can't remember the name other than it being Italian sounding. Maybe I should have sent one to you but we thought and still hope you might be on your way.

Just got finished wrassling with Metropolitan Life Insurance. They cancelled policies on Ann, Mike, Stephen and Kathy because their office reported they hadn't been paid for September and October. I had been worrying them every few days since the last of August and they kept saying wait, that they had a collector out in our area. We waited and waited but he never showed up so last week I called the head office and they advised me to pay by check to them which I did including an extra month to keep us ahead. Now I find we had to or rather have to send everything by mail but they can't find the check I sent last Monday a week.

Streett Baldwin is still hanging on by a thread and Ann was over next door in the back yard taking the clothes down for them yesterday and had taken Stevie with her. They have a full sized sliding board for their kids and Ann says she was reaching for a clothes pin and saw something flash by out of the corner of her eye and it was Stevie head-first. She dropped everything to go to him but he had somersaulted and was halfway up the ladder again, this time to come down the conventional may. She said in five minutes he had worn himself out and that was his first experience with such a contraption.

One of Arlene's relatives 'phoned her that if permission was granted, they had a dalmatian puppy as a gift. I kept my big mouth shut and Ann gave with a hesitant OK. We had to go to Peterson's store for bread and while there an animal that just came to my belt-line walked out of the back storeroom and Ann asked Mrs. Peterson if it was hers. She said Oh yes it was their six month old dalmatian puppy. Ann just looked at me with her mouth open and I continued to say nothing. Now Ann is busy talking Arlene out of it. At breakfast she said we'd have to keep it outside and down the cellar and putting out food and water would be a big complication for you-know-who Stevie would toss the critter for the food every time, gentle lad.

Ann's letter from Mrs. Bellis was a nice long one. She has been trying to get out our way with Ruth but Clyde has been using the car. Mary has managed to get a pass to see Francis, her husband, at Bainbridge; and a group of her classmates from last year gave her a huge shower, with another one coming up next week.

I saw no TV Monday or Tuesday so I have nothing to report there but I picked up a News this noontime and am enclosing several articles from it. I thought Louella had retired when her husband died but you can read her column in one of these letters.

More tomorrow or Friday.

END OF LETTER

Editor's notes:
The Bellis' were next door neighbors back in Catonsville. Mrs. Bellis' daughter Mary married Francis in August.

Next Posting: October 17, 1952

Copyright 2012 Stephen A Conner

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