The CCZCC remains at zero due to an incorrect zip code on this envelope.
Dear Mother and Mike,
It was really good to get a letter from you yesterday. I had told Dave that morning that nobody loved us any more. Mrs. Jennings has been pretty busy with her job, also, and hasn't had time to write either.
As for flying home Christmas - impossible. Dave only gets Tuesday off from work. I didn't even know that until last night. Dave never tells me any bad news unless he just has to. Of course, he said David Wayne and I could go without him, but I don't think that's a good idea, do you? Our place is with him - especially since he feels so guilty about us not being home for Christmas.[More evidence that our not being back in Texas for Christmas came as a big shock to my parents.]
Don't worry about sending me and Dave any Christmas presents. We know how much trouble mailing packages is - too much for a working Mama! Dave, laughingly, told me to write you that he wears a size 32 in underwear. Seriously, the only thing he could or does need is a sweater (button in front type) to wear at night. He left his in Carrollton. I guess he would wear about a 38-40 size, whatever that means. I could use a maternity slip (size 34?) If time runs short on you, just wait until we get home (what a sweet word!) and we can celebrate then - Christmas in February, March, April? David Wayne would love the service station. He has the following cars: cattle truck (#37), ice cream truck (#47), car transportation set (#G-2). He would love to have the greyhound bus from Knucklehead - he still talks about Mike riding one. And I bet Wayne would love to pick out some of the antique Matchbox cars for him. The only trouble with that is that he would play with them so much, Linda Kay would have to sneak them away from him to get them mailed. The antique cars are more expensive than the others, too.
Personally, I'm having a ball shopping for all of you out here. I'm trying to get everyone something from California - different like. I really enjoy picking out things for people - it's just that when I get home I get depressed, knowing I won't be there to see you open them up. Next week I'm going to Knott's to see if I can find anything for Wayne. That should be fun. I'm going to try and get matching kimonos for Judy and Tracey.[Mom did enjoy watching people open their Christmas gifts, that's for sure.]
I got the food warmer for Linda and Wayne's baby. I will mail it today. If she already has one it won't be any problem. She can keep it there for our baby and I'll send her my green stamps to get what she needs. No problem at all with two babies on the way - right?[Ah yes, S & H Green Stamps. I vividly remember my mother and especially my grandmother accumulating those in books. I liked how there were different denominations of green stamps (like coins), such that you had to use a little math to fill up a page in the book correctly. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article for you youngsters or citizens of the future: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps]
Speaking of babies, I went to the doctor yesterday. I had gained half a pound in over two weeks - good, eh? I had eaten pizza the night before, too. My blood test is fine - said he would give me some iron pills later maybe. He had me get some vitamin pills with calcium because he said some "damn dentist will blame me for cavities later on if I don't." I asked him about traveling in case we have to go home during the 7th or 8th month and he said it would be okay - just don't drive several hours at a stretch without stopping and stretching my legs. He said that the "no riding in a car" was just for some patients who got sick easily. He told me that I could go anywhere I wanted to go. The real blow was when I said I might have the baby here and he told me he wouldn't be the one to deliver it if that happened. It seems that he must have heart trouble or something and he can't do any night work so he cut out delivering babies. He said that a young doctor - a specialist in that field - does that for him. And I won't even repeat the price he quoted me. That's some bad news I'll save for Dave - two can play that game. I'll tell you this much - for the price he told me I could have twins by caesarian section and complete blood transfusion in Texas![It sounds like we're still unsure as to where this baby's going to be born. We'll see if Dad gets his way and Mom is back home to Texas in time to avoid having a foreigner in the family.]
I wish you could have seen David Wayne getting his flu shot. He was really a little man about it. He walked right in and rolled up his shirt sleeve for the nurse. Everyone in the office just died laughing at him because when the nurse finished David Wayne said, "Ha ha! I'm through with my shots and Daddy still has to get one." The nurse went through her purse and gave him a toy because she said he was her favorite patient and the bravest little boy she knew. Even the doctor comments on how well-behaved he is and he talks to David Wayne more than he does to me. It seems that when other children come in the office, the nurse spends all her time keeping the medicine away from the kids. From what I've seen of the way parents control their kids - Jungleland, etc. - I would hate to teach here.
Speaking of Jungleland . . . I read in the paper this morning that the president or owner of that place got his foot snatched off by one of the lions. He had put his foot close to one of the cages to tie his shoe and the lion's paw went through a bar and just clawed his foot off and part of his leg, too. He was showing the animals to prospective customers - bet he didn't make a sale that day.[Wow, Jungleland really did have some serious safety issues, didn't it?]
I laughed about you and Fran at the show. I still haven't seen that show. I thought David Wayne and I could go to see it here, but I found out from Barbara Hansen that decent people just don't go to the show in the afternoons here - that's when the sex perverts, hippies, and nuts go. It would be kind of dangerous - especially a woman and a little boy. We are going to Grauman's Chinese Theater (it is expensive enough to be safe) to see "Jungle Book." This afternoon would be a good time to go, too, since our neighbors upstairs are still hammering and banging furniture. They are driving me nuts, they're so loud.[Fran was my grandmother's longtime friend Fran Dolcater (sp?). She would sometimes visit my grandmother when we were up there visiting. All I remember about Fran was that she smoked cigarettes non-stop, which filled up my grandmother's tiny living room with smoke. I guess my grandmother just learned to tolerate that since she didn't smoke.]
["The Jungle Book" was released on October 18, 1967, and I do vaguely recall going to see it when we lived in Los Angeles. I recall being a little confused about how they got all those elephants in the building. I guess when I was watching shows on TV I knew it wasn't real because we were in our apartment, looking at a box in the room. But when we went somewhere else (a movie theater in this case), that line between reality and fiction became a little blurry.]
I'm sorry Mike's grades aren't better. (Dave thought they were great and he couldn't understand why we were upset.) I know Mike could make better, but I also know that at his age you couldn't tell him anything. I hate to see him out so late at night - I know he's behaving, but it just doesn't look good and it isn't good for his health. I sound like an old mother hen, don't I?[Uncle Mike's late nights out while in high school were simply training for his future life as a musician. I'll withhold comment on whether or not he was behaving.]
David Wayne laughed about not being able to get Mike out of bed. He said he could have gotten him up - and I bet he could, too. Just out of the clear blue sky this morning, David Wayne said, "You know, that was good of Nana to spend all that money on buying me things when she was here. Anything I wanted and you two wouldn't buy me, she got it for me." He's pretty observant.[Grandmothers are awesome, aren't they?]
Thanks for the cake recipe. It got here just in time for Dave's diet. I better wait awhile before I cook it.[This was my grandmother's infamous chocolate cake recipe Mom requested in the letter postmarked October 6, 1967.]
I will close for now. If the smog clears up, I may go to Farmer's Market and then the show. Probably, I'll just stay home and listen to the people upstairs.
Love,
Linda
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