Letter postmarked January 4, 1968 (Part 2):
This part of the January 4 letter covers Saturday, December 30, 1967.
Saturday we all went to Universal Studios. The three of us had just as good a time as the first time we went. That night - thank goodness! - we ate out at an Italian restaurant called Little Joe's. The food was delicious and we all stuffed ourselves. We tried to drive around some after eating, but traffic was terrible this Rose Bowl weekend.
[Little Joe's was a historic Italian restaurant in Chinatown. It closed in 1998.]
[The Rose Bowl that year was between the #1 USC Trojans and the #4 Indiana Hoosiers. USC won 14-3 (OJ Simpson scored two touchdowns) and became national champions.]
[Although this was our second trip to Universal City Studios this month, there are still several good pictures from this trip. First up is a picture of Mom with someone made up to look like Herman Munster. At the bottom of this picture you can see the top of my head and some of my fingers. If you look closely you may be able to see Herman Munster's hand on the back of Mom's neck.]
[Next is Dad and Cliff in the same monkey cage you saw me in during our previous trip here.]
[Next is me and Ginger (Cliff's stepdaughter) pulling on a pair of giant scissors used as a prop in one of my favorite movies, "The Incredible Shrinking Man" from 1957.]
[Next, as promised in the December 4 post, is a picture of me in the elevator from "Thoroughly Modern Millie."]
[Next are pictures of me and Dad after being thrown in a combination of the pillory and stocks. I wonder how many people realized there were two left feet depicted in these stocks?]
[That concludes Part 2 of the January 4 letter. Part 3 will cover New Year's Eve. It was . . . interesting.]
Letter postmarked January 4, 1968 (Part 1):
The CCZCC starts the year off right by extending its streak to 14.
Much like the Thanksgiving and Christmas letters, the January 4 letter covers several days, some of which are more than worthy of their own post, so I'm breaking it up into sections. Today is Part 1, covering through Friday, December 29, 1968.
Dear Mother and Mike,
I got your letter and Christmas card today. I surely was glad to hear from you, although I haven't even had time to be homesick for the last two weeks. I believe in my last letter I told you all about puppy trouble, parties, and late hours of the week preceding Christmas. Christmas itself was wild, then the week after Christmas was parties every night until Cliff, wife and two teenage daughters visited us Friday night - arrival 7 PM. From then on there was no rest and even today, after spending all morning asleep, I'm still worn out.
Oh, yes, and there is this "little trouble" of being anemic. After four shots I feel no better, but hopefully, I can rest now. Dave has been wonderful. He came home from work at noon Friday and spent all afternoon vacuuming, scrubbing, and taking me to buy groceries. When Cliff came, Dave helped me get a quick supper on the table and he did all the work of fixing beds for everyone. I certainly received no help from the two teenage girls. They couldn't make beds, clean out a tub, wash dishes, set table, etc. -- nothing, and their mother doesn't make them. We ran out of clean towels and washrags, so Dave washed for me while they were here and Cliff was a jewel about fixing extra coffee and washing dishes. Poor Cliff - he can't do a thing with these girls and Mary just doesn't try or even back Cliff up when he does get on to them. I received a dirty look from Mary when I told the girls I'd whip them if they didn't quit jumping on my bed. I know you shouldn't talk to houseguests that way, but enough is enough. Dave had his fill of them, too - he told the youngest girl that she could sit on the floor if she didn't sit right in our weak dining chairs - she was just rocking back and forth in it.
[Ok, this weekend of company is getting off to a great start. We have a one-bedroom apartment with three residents and four guests for the weekend. Two of those guests are teenagers who don't help and are out of control. This should be good. It might even better than a puppy.]
Letter postmarked December 28, 1967 (Part 5):
Here is the 5th and final part the letter Mom started writing the day after Christmas in 1967. She started writing this part of the letter the afternoon of Wednesday, December 27.
More bad news - I went to the doctor this morning. He took one look at my pale cheeks and eyes and then gave me a hemoglobin test - I am anemic! If you could see me, you'd laugh, but I guess the test doesn't lie. I knew I was tired but I thought it was just from spending Christmas with a five-year-old. Anyway, I have to take iron shots twice a week at least for three weeks.
That's not all - he had me bring in David Wayne. He thinks he might also be low on iron but he will send his test off to a lab. Then he poked and prodded around on David Wayne, gave him a tubercular scratch test, took a urine specimen, weighed him, etc. I don't know whether the good ol' doc needs to pay his Christmas bills or what but he said something about checking the urine for kidney trouble (scared me after the way he looked at his eyes.) If I know my husband, he'll be so upset that he'll send us back to Texas.
[More medical drama for both me and Mom. That's just what she needs on top of being pregnant.]
[The remainder of the letter was written Thursday morning, December 28.]
I am closing this letter quickly so Dave can mail it for me. It's turning into a diary!
This has been and will continue to be a busy time for us until next week sometime - 'tis the season to be jolly! Last night we were invited to Dave's boss' house, tonight we're going to the Hansen's, and Friday Cliff, wife and two daughters are coming for the weekend. My house looks like a tornado hit it, we have no clean clothes or linens, and our dead Christmas tree is falling down all by itself! And it is an effort for me to put one foot in front of the other - all I want to do is sleep.
[It looks like the busy holiday season for Mom and Dad continues through New Year's Day, and Mom has to deal with anemia on top of all that. Well, at least things aren't as boring as they were a few months ago.]
I will try to call you soon if I get the chance - probably next week. I hope you and Mike enjoyed Christmas. We're going to have copies made of pictures, so you'll get those later. By the way, did Mike get his money stocking in time?
Love,
Linda
P. S. Save the best for last - my favorite gift was the story you wrote about "Rowdy." I read it out loud to David Wayne and he thoroughly enjoyed it. I've also loaned it out to Barbara - I don't think Suzie would appreciate it. Thank you so much for sending it.
[I'll let you read the story of Rowdy after the letter covering New Year's Day.]
Letter postmarked December 28, 1967 (dated December 26) (Part 4):
Here's Part 4 of the letter Mom started writing the day after Christmas in 1967. Today we'll cover Tuesday, December 26. Mom indicated in the letter that she wrote this part Wednesday morning.
I got worn out writing about the pup trouble yesterday, so I went back to bed. When I woke up at noon, David Wayne was still asleep and he had spit up in bed. I just let him sleep and guess what - he slept until 2 PM.
[Good grief I must have been exhausted from that late night trip to the airport. Mom apparently was, too.]
Barbara Hansen came by a little while after he woke up and I was so glad to see her. She nearly cried when I told her about the dress. As we were sitting calmly talking and admiring David Wayne's toys, a knock at the door and guess who - Suzie with the puppy! It was just like another child coming to see David Wayne's loot and they played - loudly and rambunctiously. Finally, Barbara and I gave up trying to talk and she left.
[It seems as though Suzie is a bit clueless about certain things, like whether or not Mom really wanted to see the puppy that ruined her dress the day before. I'm sure Mom was thrilled.]
Suzie also announced that it was Gene's birthday and that they were coming over Tuesday night for a party!
[In addition to clueless, let's add insensitive, inconsiderate, and unaware of social norms.]
David Wayne was delighted, I had that sinking feeling, and when Dave came home and heard the party news . . . well, I won't tell you his reaction because, really, Mother, I am married to a nice feller.
[I'm sure after getting home after midnight Monday night and getting up early for work Tuesday morning, Dad was absolutely thrilled to find out he was hosting a birthday party Tuesday night. I can probably guess the first two words out of his mouth and exactly how he said them.]
The bad things yesterday were offset by the arrival of packages from you. We had Christmas all over again! They came in the early afternoon, but David Wayne really surprised me by saying he wanted to wait for his Daddy before opening them up. How about that? Now, Dave just got one foot in the door before David Wayne started tearing paper off, but he did wait.
[Wow, that is surprising for a five-year-old. That must have been a phase I grew out of shortly afterwards.]
Thank you so much for my maternity underwear as it was much needed.
[Between the bras, mini-skirts, and underwear, we're covering Mom's wardrobe pretty well. Yay.]
And the money doll was adorable - I can't bring myself to "undress" it yet because it's so cute. We're going to a buffet at the Hansen's Thursday night, so I'll get a new dress for that. But I won't wear it around that damn puppy, for sure!
Dave was so pleased with his sweater, but when he tried it on it was too large. The sleeves just hung. Do you think Mike could exchange it if I sent it back? He really needs it badly and he just really did like it. Both Davids were pleased with the pajamas. They wanted to put them on last night and have me take a picture of them, but with company (boarders!) coming we decided against it.
And David Wayne - I wish he had given us time to get out the camera when he opened his. That alligator soap holder was the cutest thing I've ever seen and he just had a fit over it. And the stocking with bubble bath is adorable - I told him to use the stocking as a washcloth and he could hardly wait to get into the tub. Avon must have the cutest line of things this year - the gold ornament with bubble bath is just beautiful. Dave said that our bathroom looked so good now, he was going to take visitors in there. Dave fixed up the dunking bird last night and David Wayne just can't get over how it works.
[I don't remember having this dunking bird in Los Angeles, but I know my grandmother had one at some point and I'm pretty sure we had another one a few years later. Here's the link to the Wikipedia article ("Drinking Bird") if you need a reminder of what those toys were or if you're curious how they worked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_bird]
The beetle bug has crawled all over our house by now and thank goodness it's a wind up toy instead of battery powered - we'll be spending a fortune on batteries this year. Now, he didn't jump up and down for joy over the clothes, but Dave and I thank you. The puzzle, books and mostly the Matchbox cars and carrying case were the big deal in his eyes. We are going to the beauty shop this afternoon and the Matchbox cars and case are going with us.
Thank you so much from all of us!
[This concludes Part 4 of this letter. Tomorrow we'll probably have the fifth and final part of this letter.]
Letter postmarked December 28, 1967 (dated December 26) (Part 3):
Here's Part 3 of the letter Mom started writing the day after Christmas in 1967. Today we'll cover late Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Hartford left early Sunday night so we could put David Wayne to bed and get started on our construction work. We let David Wayne open one gift before going to bed and he chose the Disneyland game. We played it with him and then sent him and the pup to the bedroom - we got no static and he fell asleep quickly. Dave and I leisurely drank coffee, rested, and talked before we began fixing the toys. We got to bed at 3 AM Christmas Eve - talk about tired . . . but neither of us could sleep as we were just too excited. Actually, the toys were not hard to put together, but Dave played with the Johnny Lunar set until I just knew the batteries would go out. We had more fun playing with the toys than David Wayne did the next day.
[Here's a picture of Dad playing with my Johnny Astro Space Control Center very early on Christmas morning.]
[Yes, Dad is smoking a cigar in that picture. Also note that Mom got a picture of the balloon in flight.]
[Also, since I haven't posted it on the blog yet (but I have posted it on Facebook), here is a picture of the Christmas tree ornament that's a picture of me on Santa's lap taken at Santa's Village in October. This is the photo I mentioned in the discussion of the October 17, 1967 letter. It's mounted on a piece of particle board.]
We were all up about 7 o'clock Christmas morning and David Wayne just couldn't have been more thrilled and excited. He opened his stocking first and it was jammed full of little toys. I even had a little net stocking for the puppy with a rubber ball in it. We took as many pictures as we could get David Wayne still for, and we plan on sending some to everyone if we can bear to part with them. It would take me three letters to list all the things he got and I couldn't describe in three letters his happiness (or ours either!)
[Here are some pictures from Christmas Day. First is me and Dad standing with our stockings. I remember helping Mom put our names on those stockings with glue and glitter.]
[Here is me giving Dad the gift I made for him with Suzie Dirr's assistance.]
[That gift was a box for knickknacks made from a cigar box covered with a collage of colored paper and pictures cut out of magazines. Dad kept it in his desk at home until he died, and Mom kept it in that desk until she died. I have it now in a larger box of keepsakes of Dad's. Here's a picture with the lid propped open.]
[Here is me giving Mom the gift I made for her. It was a candle centerpiece. I don't have a great picture of it, although it can be seen in a picture of me and Dad eating leftovers on Christmas Day. Sadly, the candle centerpiece is long gone as far as I know.]
[Finally, here's a picture of me with my Johnny Astro Space Control Center and some other Christmas gifts.]
Christmas morning and early afternoon were just great, but were we tired early that night. All of us needed to get to bed and David Wayne was even willing, but . . . we had to stay up so we could play taxi cab for the Dirrs again. David Wayne was cross and fussy and he just cried from being worn out, and David and I weren't much better. Dave pleaded with me to go on to bed, but I had found a shorter (about half the time) way to the airport that he didn't know. And, of course, I couldn't remember street names so I could explain the way to him. So at 10 o'clock we loaded into the car and fought traffic, drunk drivers (only 1000 DWI tickets in L. A. on Monday night), a fussy little boy, and a wiggly puppy.
[This sounds awesome, leaving for the airport at 10 PM with an exhausted five-year-old kid and a puppy that isn't housebroken. What could go wrong?]
NOW! Here was the real blow . . . Gene had told us not once, but several times that his airplane got in at 10:33 PM. On arriving at the airport, we discovered that the damn nut had told us wrong and it wasn't due until 11:33 PM. We literally sat there and fumed for one _long_ solid hour. We didn't want to take the puppy to the airport, but we wanted to get rid of it (more about that later) and them as quickly as possible. If the airplane had gotten there at the time Gene had said it would, the pup wouldn't have been in the car more than 5 minutes, but as it turned out, well, if that puppy had chewed up or wet on anything, Dave would have gone berserk! David Wayne went to sleep on the way home from the airport, but Dave and I were so mad when we got home, we couldn't go to sleep even as tired as we were.
Now, to fill you in on the puppy trouble. Firstly, the puppy isn't housebroken and we now have little circles all over our rug. Putting paper down didn't help and she didn't even have the courtesy of having a "special" place - just everywhere. Secondly, we did try to take her outside for her big business, but the apartment owners up and down the street are raising cain about all the dogs using their LAWNS. (You remember those 2 x 2 splotches of green that you saw occasionally out here.) So when I did catch her in time and took her outside, I had to carry paper towels with me, pick the mess up, and then deposit it in the trash cans. but that did not happen often as I usually couldn't get her outside in time. Thirdly, we had to let her sleep in bed with David Wayne because she whined and scratched on the bathroom door all night. Then she would wake him up _early_ every morning and he just flat missed a lot of sleep. Fourthly, she is going through the chewing stage - we have one living room chair with the corner chewed, the underneath side of the divan will have to be replaced, and she even enjoyed chewing up pieces of the rug. I can't recall how many messes of chewed up bits and pieces of things I had to clean after.
[When Mom wrote that we'd be keeping this puppy while the Dirrs were gone I was hoping she would give us a full report of how bad it turned out. She did not disappoint. It was even worse than I was expecting. But wait, there's more!]
The poor little pup was nearly killed Christmas night. The Jennings sent me a beautiful dress for Christmas. When I tried it on, it was too long. Dave just loved the dress and I pinned up the hem to show him that I could take it up. As I walked out of the bedroom, the puppy jumped up and one of her toenails caught in the dress - a big hole right in the front of the dress and no way in the world to fix it as it is one of those no-iron jersey dresses. I just cried and Dave just lost control. Thank goodness David Wayne thought Daddy was playing chase with the puppy. You know, Dave and I both are dog lovers, but we had just had too much trouble and a ruined Christmas dress is nothing to laugh about.
[Man, oh, man, I bet Dad did lose control when that happened. It sounds like I almost got to witness some animal cruelty. I bet Mom had to calm him down to keep him from catching and attacking the dog.]
I suppose you're wondering how the Dirrs reacted to all this news - they laughed! I received a not very convincing "I'm sorry" from Suzie and that's all. My calm, easy going, congenial husband has turned into a raving maniac at the mention of their names. By the way, David Wayne was the one who told them about the dress, chair, etc.
[Well, it seems as though recent events have put a bit of a strain on the relationship between these two couples. It will be interesting to see what happens going forward.]
[This concludes Part 3 of this letter.]
Letter postmarked December 28, 1967 (dated December 26) (Part 2):
Here's Part 2 of the letter Mom started writing the day after Christmas in 1967. Today we'll cover the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas Day.
We just rested most of the day Saturday and about 9:30 that night Hartford Jenkins came. Now, Hartford is another Texas examiner - the fat one that Linda Kay and I do not like. He comes to Los Angeles all the time and has many friends here. Since Dave is very fond of Hartford, he invited him to come eat with us Sunday. I was nervous about cooking my first turkey and dressing and I sure hadn't planned on company, but what could I say?
[I remember Hartford from a few times when he came to our house in Texas. He was a really big guy, especially considering what was "normal" in 1967. I'd describe him as the stereotypical jolly, cigar-smoking fat man. Give him a long white beard and a red hat and he's Santa Claus. Here's a picture of him standing next to me and the Santa pinata that night.]
[You can't help but feel a little sorry for Mom for finding out less than 24 hours before her first big holiday meal that there is an extra mouth to feed, it's somebody she doesn't particularly care for (unbeknownst to me until I read this letter), and this person apparently likes to eat. A lot.]
I cooked most of the day Sunday and we ate around five o'clock. My "first dinner" was a gigantic success - please don't think I'm conceited because no one was more surprised than I.
Dave and Hartford both said that it was the best dressing they had ever eaten - what's more they both ate enough to make me believe they meant it! Everything turned out delicious and Dave was so proud of me and Hartford bragged so that I felt like a queen. Here's what we had: Turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, fresh green beans (the kind you start snapping at the break of dawn), fresh corn (cut off the cob), fruit salad with whipped cream dressing, hot sourdough rolls, and for dessert (that no one could eat until the next day), pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Calories! I know it was just beginner's luck, but the turkey was juicy, dressing moist, everything turned out well and I am so proud. David Wayne ate so much turkey that I expected him to "gobble, gobble" and Dave has eaten more dressing than any four men could.
[Here's a picture of Dad carving the turkey while I'm chowing down on the drumstick.]
[Here's a picture of me, Mom and Hartford sitting at the table with the meal Mom prepared. Yes, I'm still working on that drumstick.]
[I'm really glad the meal turned out well for Mom, especially with the last-minute guest. She was obviously a little nervous about it in the weeks leading up to it, based on the previous letters.]
[We'll conclude Part 2 of this letter here. Part 3 will cover the remainder of Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day. And remember these wise words from Donkey in Shrek The Halls: "Christmas ain't Christmas till somebody cries!"]
Letter postmarked December 28, 1967 (dated December 26) (Part 1):
The CCZCC extends its record-breaking streak to 13.
This letter, which Mom started writing on December 26, 1967, covers Christmas Day and a few days on either side of it. Other than the beginning of the letter it's written in chronological order which makes it easy to divide into sections for posting over the next several days.
Dear Mother and Mike,
Well, Christmas has come and gone and we are completely worn out. In fact, I'm really too tired to even take pen in hand so please forgive any grammatical errors, misspelled words, etc. , etc.
[Mom left an "m" out of "grammatical" in that sentence.]
We tried to call you on Monday, but every time we dialed the number a little recorded message told us all lines were busy because of the Christmas rush - so sorry, but we did try! I was terribly disappointed that we didn't get to talk to you, be we still had a good Christmas.
["We're sorry. All circuits are busy now. Please try your call again later." I think that was a semi-regular occurrence back then, especially around holidays or Mother's Day. Thankfully the progress of cell phones means it can now happen at seemingly random times.]
I suppose our "celebration" began Friday afternoon as Dave had that part of the day off. Of course, I wasn't able to greet him at the door because I was busily fighting the traffic at the airport. (Remember? I played taxi cab driver for the Dirrs last week.) Anyway, Dave invited four of the men he works with over that afternoon. I enjoyed meeting and talking with them and one of the men had met Wayne in Austin a couple of years ago. Another one of the men - a bridge playing bachelor - was having a party Friday night and we were invited. We didn't have a babysitter so we took David Wayne, planning all the while to just "drop by" for a minute and then come home. As it turned out, we had a wonderful time, met lots of interesting people (including a doctor who said he'd write me a special permit to fly home), and David Wayne behaved beautifully - everyone commented on how nice he acted. We got home pretty late and all three of us were tired on Saturday, but it was a good kind of tired.
[You don't often hear an unmarried adult male referred to as a bachelor these days, and it would certainly be odd to hear one referred to as a "bridge-playing bachelor." Anyway, I don't know if it was this particular party but I have a vague recollection of going to a party at an apartment complex where there were a lot of people and I didn't know anyone there. I recall being very bored since I may have been the only child, and I think I mostly just hung out outside the apartment with the partygoers who were out there.]
[You probably noticed that Mom mentions flying home in that paragraph. Given her due date and the unknown end date for Dad's assignment, they may have been considering having Mom fly home to avoid giving birth to a foreigner.]
[That's the end of Part 1. Part 2 will cover Christmas Adam and Christmas Eve.]
Letter postmarked December 21, 1967:
With this letter the CCZCC sets a new record of 12! Mr. Zip is happy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._ZIP
Dear Mother and Mike,
I finally got your letter and I, too, thought it had been too long since you had written, but I know you've been busy. I couldn't believe you had not done much Christmas shopping and I hope you at least have a start by now. Do you reckon you'll ever learn about ordering from Sears? Don't worry about sending us anything, especially David Wayne as he is getting plenty.
[Hey, wait a minute. You can't tell a grandparent not to send a Christmas present to a grandchild. That's not how it works.]
What is Linda Kay doing about the feeding dish? I hope she isn't using the broken one. They have that dish at the Penney's in Irving, so why don't you just give the money to Linda and let her get it. She is getting out now and I know she has more time, car, etc. Does she know about me asking you to get one?
[My cousin Steven did survive his first year, so I guess he was fed somehow.]
I'm so glad to hear that Mike has a job and I think Craven's is a good place. It won't hurt him to miss out on a few parties and such during Christmas. He maybe will learn that making money is not such a "snap" thing. Tell him I'm really proud of him for getting a job and I hope his broken arm (you did have to really twist his arm, didn't you?) is healing fine.
[Uncle Mike did not actually break his arm, as that was another broken arm joke by Mom. Craven's was a family-owned department store on the square in Denton. They announced in 1990 that they were closing due to declining sales, no doubt in part due to the opening of Golden Triangle Mall ten years prior.]
[Uncle Mike said Craven's was probably just a seasonal job for him. Here's a funny story about Craven's: Before he worked there, Uncle Mike was shopping in the store and a lady came up to him to ask if they had something and he walked her over to what she was looking for. Then another lady and a third lady came to him for help. They all THOUGHT he worked there and was helping them.]
I had not heard of any of the violence from Texas - I thought just the weather was bad. And don't worry about me keeping my doors locked - in this city you just don't do otherwise. We have been having a lot of rain too, and even some snow in the mountains around. We've been reading about all the snow storms. If we were coming home now (as we had thought), we'd have to be going through some of the worst parts in New Mexico.
I'm sorry to hear you are having so much worry with Taffy. David Wayne laughs when I read him about what all she's doing, but I know you are having a time with her. If it's just too much trouble and you really get afraid for her, why don't you have Mike ask Daddy to keep her out at the farm? Poor Taffy, I really miss her and when I think about the torture she went though raising David Wayne, I'm afraid she'll run away when she realizes I have another baby.
[Mom got Taffy around the time I was born, and supposedly she helped Mom raise me.]
I know David Wayne will enjoy the cars. He has no idea about the Build-A-Road set and it will be a complete surprise to him. I believe he'll really be happy to see some new cars to go with his road. You are right about presents from people here - the Sivells, Dirrs and Hansens have all gotten him something. For under the tree, I got him a game about Disneyland. This store had six different games - Pirates of the Caribbean, Fantasy Land, Adventure Land, It's a Small World, Monorail, and one other I forgot. I got him the Monorail game - it had the fewest pieces.
[Even after watching this YouTube video of the Monorail game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZLw8zLCrS8) I have zero recollection of ever having it or playing it.]
To celebrate Christmas we are taking David Wayne to the Music Pavilion on Saturday to hear the school children sing Christmas carols. The Sivells were over last night and they told us it was a really good program. When they said it was free, Dave was sold on going. It will be a good chance for us to see the Pavilion also. On Sunday we will attempt to eat my turkey and dressing and if we aren't too sick, we'll open presents Monday morning. Dave gets off Friday at noon and since I won't keep the baby that day, we may do something then.
Speaking of the baby . . . I wish you could see David Wayne with Eric - he just wags him around, watches him, talks to him, plays with him. He does get upset when Eric slobbers on him or tears up his toys, but he might as well get used to that. We had to take Suzie to the airport yesterday (which was bedlam!) and I let David Wayne hold Eric in the lobby while Suzie got checked in. He was so proud and every time another baby appeared, David Wayne would say (and not quietly) "That baby isn't as cute as Eric." Everyone sitting around him just died laughing.
I must be getting very old (being around Suzie makes one feel very old and mature) because David Wayne reminds me of Mike at that age. I can't explain exactly why - it's not that they look alike, and David Wayne certainly isn't as sweet a child as Mike was, but there's something. I've really felt it this week with the baby here. I've had no trouble with David Wayne when the baby has to sleep - he just tiptoes around, turns the TV down, and one day I heard him telling Ginger, the puppy, that he couldn't play with her now because the baby was asleep. He doesn't look like Mike, I said, but he is built like him - tall and thin. No one will recognize David Wayne (except for his brown eyes) when we get home.
[No surprise that Mom said I wasn't a sweet child. I've always heard I was a little hellion.]
The puppy is getting along okay. She has done all her "business" outside so far and only puddles on the floor when company comes (twice with the Sivells). I'm sure I'd enjoy her more if I had offered to keep her instead of being told. Suzie has been most considerate about keeping David Wayne for me, but she has been most inconsiderate in other ways - example: she told me that she had told Gene to come over to our house for supper one night while she was gone. And Gene is one of those people who thinks the world should be proud to have him - example: It's been hard on me this week with a puppy and a baby and it's really hard to drive them to the airport - twice. Dave suggested to Gene that he catch a special bus that takes people out to the airport (it is very cheap). Gene said, "Why? Linda can take us." Also, we have to pick them up about midnight on Christmas day and Dave has to go to work early the next morning. Now again we were just more or less expected to do these things and we never even had a chance to offer! Also, Gene could have taken the 2 o'clock fight so Dave could have driven him (he knew Dave was getting off at noon), but no! He takes off two hours earlier from work and makes reservations for a 12 o'clock flight. If it rains Friday, Dave will have to wait until about 1:30 for me to pick him up. Until this morning I thought I would have the baby on Friday and Gene had told me to pick him up at Eric's nap time and I wouldn't have gotten home until long after his feeding time. I guess they just don't think or care. Please don't think I'm terrible for writing this way.
[No, I don't think you're being terrible. It's pretty obvious they're being a little inconsiderate. Ok, maybe a lot. On the other hand, what's the big deal about a pregnant woman making a quick trip to the airport with a baby, a five-year-old, and a puppy?]
The baby is up from his nap so the chase is on. The puppy licks the baby, the baby loves to pull Ginger's tail, David Wayne goes crazy watching them both, and me - I just laugh. I'm enclosing a couple of pictures, but they don't show the change in David Wayne. We'll be sending more for Christmas.
Love,
Linda
Letter postmarked December 19, 1967 (dated Tuesday):
The CCZCC has now tied the old record of 11. And there was much rejoicing!
Dear Mother,
[You might think Uncle Mike is slighted once again in the salutation, but this envelope was indeed only addressed to my grandmother. You'll see why.]
I am enclosing this little sock and a check for Mike. Would you mind getting this check cashed and then stuffing the money in the sock? Then you can use your imagination on how to present it to him - hang on tree, put in envelope, etc. I hate to ask you to do this, but we are afraid to send money through the mail. Also, please let me know if and when it gets there as I am just hoping it will make it on time. I'm not too happy about giving Mike just money, but under the circumstances we both think this would be more practical. And if he doesn't appreciate the sock, just save it for me - I thought it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.
This is my big week - a baby, a puppy, and a five-year-old that is excited to death. That's not all, either, as I have to make two trips to the airport with all three - once to take Suzie and once to take Gene.
Yesterday was my first day with the baby and it was just too easy - David Wayne did most of the work and I just sat back and watched. He's just wonderful with the baby. I know Linda Kay will want to "borrow" David Wayne so she can get her house cleaned. The little boy, Eric, is a good baby - eats well, goes to sleep with only a minimum of crying, and has a general good disposition.
All hell broke loose last night when they brought the pup over - the pup was excited (just ran around and wet on everything), David Wayne was excited, and Dave and I were just a wee bit peeved with the Dirrs. We had to put the puppy in the bathroom to sleep as he would just love to tear up packages around the Christmas tree. Yes, she whined all night because she's been sleeping in bed with Suzie and Gene.
[Taking care of the Dirr's puppy is getting off to a good start. This should be a good source of drama.]
I've got to close now because Dave has to mail this for me. It's raining so I'll have to take him to work - with a sleepy five-year-old, and a baby (no car seat - that should be fun).
[Car seats? We don't need no stinkin' car seats!]
[Don't worry about us not having a car seat for the baby. We weren't wearing seat belts back then, either.]
[Before the 1960s, the purpose of child seats in cars was to hold the child so an adult (or larger child) didn't have to, and to prop the child up so he or she could see out the window. That was pretty much it. Child safety seats weren't invented until 1962, and the first car seat regulations were implemented in 1971. Those regulations simply required car seats to use a seat belt and a harness, and no crash tests were required until 1981. Children under a certain age weren't even required to ride in a car seat in all 50 states until 1985.]
I have to keep the car because I take Suzie to the airport (I'll be gone during the time Eric is usually taking his nap). I just don't know whether I'll make this week or not. Oh yes, the Sivells are coming over tonight so when I get back from the airport (if I get back) I have refreshments to make, house to clean and deodorize, and all of this while keeping one eye on David Wayne, two eyes on the baby, and I need a dozen eyes to watch the pup!
Love,
Linda
P. S. Did you ever get the other package I sent you - not the broken one?
