Wednesday, 6:40 p.ma. [sic] - March 3
Hi, kids,
Only 6:30, but it seems like the middle of the night. Daddy left before 5:30 to do some errands before Kiwanis. Sam Coppola is going to be the speaker tonight, and Daddy isn't sure that with the Lt. Gov. as the speaker and a Board meeting following he will even be able to stop by to pick up his bowling ball, so he took that along with him. (That
8's especially for your benefit, SE, because we kidded about his "stopping in" on Wednesday nights, on his way from one activity to the other.[)] I had a delicious, solo, supper of corned beef sandwiches, potato chips, dll pickle, and ginger ale. Make you feel hungry? I'm stuffed! Later on I'll have some coffee.Lar, I went to Schenectady Knit Goods today (Manness's) and bought a dozen pairs of shorts for you - size 32. I am wondering, however, i
sf you shouldn't be wearing 34's. I also bought a dozen 34's for Daddy. I think I'll send up both 32's and 34's for you with the Lobel's. Try the 34's. If they're OK, don't open the 32's at all; bring them home at vacation and we'll get Uncle Raymond to take the other unused 32's in at the store. I also bought a dozen medium V-neck t-shirts for Daddy and a dozen pairs of black sox, size 11. I think I will send a few pairs of the socks for you, too. They are all cotton, and could be washed in the machine with your dark clothes - wouldn't have to be washed separately as you do your "fancy" ones. If the size isn't right, just bring them home. Why don't you give the Lobels some of the extra luggage you have around that seems to be in your way. You could put in the cases anything else you want to unload now, and then you wouldn't have so much manipulating at Spring Vacation.Sioux Sue, for the first time in "our" college career, I forgot to give you the chocolate chip cookies I had bought for you - I had bought them before you arrived, and they were in the bread drawer. You never even mentioned the words, and I just forgot about them because I didn't open that drawer for anything. Did you think about them at all afterwards? I couldn't buy a suit bag of the type we wanted for under $7, and that was too expensive. In the meantime, I will keep my eye open when I'm shopping around, and if ever I see what we wanted, I will buy it at the time. I hope you can use the car-pack without any trouble. It's really not too large for what you have to put in it. I'm all excited about the glamorous week-end you have in store for you and hope you are still looking forward to it all and not too snowed down with school work to prevent your enjoying it to the fullest. Have you been reading about Yale picketing on behalf of a professor refused tenure? Similar to the ruckus at Tufts - was it last year? I never did find out how that situation ended.
After you and Daddy left Sunday, SE, I napped for an hour and then worked steadily until he returned at 11:30, so I was well prepared for my classes. I have also read Willa Cather's O Pioneers! this week; not long at all and very enjoyable. A week from Saturday I have to give my 15-oral report on H. L Mencken [sic] and the American Mercury. I expect to work on that this week-end. Then right following that is the paper
won one of the extra books we're supposed to read. I haven't decided yet between Red Badge of Courage and Main Street. RBC is certainly much shorter! School has been busy. Both Monday and today I had meetings on curriculum planning; I seem to be chairman for the new curriculum for the 10th grade - and since that will be the first to be initiated, it's really quite a pressing issue. However, we're making good progress. We're moving the emphasis of American Lit from 11th grade to 10th for next year's better groups. Then as 11th graders they will get the course which emphasizes English Lit; as 12th graders they will have a one-semester course in World Lit and one semester of electives which are as yet not completely determined. But of course, that's two full years away.I think it's a big improvement, since 10th grade right now isn't much of anything so far as focus is concerned. And we are revising our book arrangement. Instead of having the kids buy their grammar books every year and rent the literature books, we are going to have them buy the lit books so they can accumulate a library of good literature. We're using paperback versions, and I'm sure it will be a great improvement on the present set-up. The Reading Lab is still flourishing - much to my happy surprise. Fourteen kids showed up again after school yesterday and worked until almost four. Today one of the boys told me he could see that he was reading from one of his books about twice as fast as he had been - and he was so tickled.
I haven't had a chance to go to the jewelers
yyet, but perhaps tomorrow night Daddy and I will go downtown before we pay our condolence calls. We still want to see Mrs. Weiss and we have to see Ezra Madison, too. (Faye Madison died and was buried Monday, Larry.)Just
ahad a long conversation with Grandma and am full of details about her cleaning activities, her bridge club plans for tomorrow, her plans for painting her closets (dish), and her outside window sills, and a request for the letter from Carol Lynn which she sent Linda with directions that Linda was to pass it on to Larry. Grandma would like to have it back soon because she wants to send it on to Aunt Edy. I want to see her and discuss personally what we spoke about, SE, so that probably won't be until the week-end. I'm sure it will be OK.Time to get this to the mail box because I want it to go out in tonight's pick-up.
Hope you are both well. No doubt after I seal the letter I'll think of several other items I wanted to mention. Well, next time.
Love and kisses,
Mommy [Eleanor F. Friedman]