Daily Archives: April 15, 2023

Letter to parents from Pittsburgh: October 1981

Family, Writing, ,

This letter was written two months after moving to Pittsburgh. I must have sent this with something else because the front of the envelope has no address or stamp — just a note to my brother’s dog, Tanner: “Tanner — Give this to Mom, Dad, and Kevin, Please! :-)”

October 13, 1981

Hi!

Got my Pennsylvania [teaching] certification today. I still have to take a class for my special ed certification though, but I can still sub which I should be doing next week.

Not much has happened otherwise, since I last spoke with you. We got a battery at Sears for the Hornet. Luckily it was on sale.

I got a strange phone call the other night. It was from a friend from the Manor — he used to give me rides home when I worked late. We had everyone convinced he was my older brother. The strange thing was that I haven’t seen him since before I went to England. I was really surprised. He said that he got my phone number from you…?

Dean and I went to a zoo last Sunday. It was ok, but I don’t really like zoos. After the zoo Dean drove the wrong way home and stopped at a park. He had a picnic all planned in the trunk. It was wonderful! A great surprise. ☺️ We ate on an outcrop of stone that formed a large area. Similar to things at Wisconsin Dells.

We picked up some acorns for our friendly squirrel. I put them on the windowsill inside the bedroom. This morning I heard a noise and saw the squirrel scratching at the window, trying to get the nuts. I put some outside but he hasn’t taken them yet. Cinder is keeping watch though.

The people downstairs have a huge Siamese cat who climbs the fire escape and stars in our kitchen window. This upsets Cinder as you can imagine!

My fingers haven’t turned blue or felt numb since I’ve been on the new medication.

Saturday

Dean is studying in the other room. Every so often I hear a string of cuss words come from that direction. I guess he’s having a hard time with a problem

We bought a roasting chicken last time we went to the store. We decided to have it today. I’ve no idea how to roast it, but I’m sure we’ll manage. I’ve discovered that cookbooks are actually helpful.

The squirrel I mentioned earlier has really gotten bold. Today when He saw me open up the window he came right up to me. I got scared and dropped the acorn, though. But I think he’d take it from me.

Dean thinks he may not go to his Wednesday classes the day before Thanksgiving and therefore be free on Monday evening. We are driving the Chevelle home and leaving it at Dean’s folks’. We will then take a train back here, or a bus.

We saw Private Benjamin last night. It was pretty silly. Her wedding dress at the end was pretty though.

Is Grandma still there? Hi, if she is.

Well — keep well,

Love,
Dona

P.S. City life is great! Three weeks ago there was a murder a mile or so from here and last week a man held up an electric store two blocks away — two doors down from where we do laundry! One man got shot there! 😲

Letter to parents: Chetek — August 1973

Family, Memories, Writing,

After my grandfather died in July of 1973 my parents thought I should stay with my grandmother for a few weeks — to keep her company and help her out. Here’s a letter I wrote home on August 15, 1973.

I was almost 16 and entering my junior year of high school that fall.

Interesting thoughts on Five Smooth Stones, both here and in my journal. Not that I wrote a lot about it, but what I wrote was what I felt. It remains one of the few books that changed the way I looked at the world.

$70 a month from Social Security doesn’t seem like much — but maybe it was in 1973. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator $70 in 1973 has the same buying power as $368.09 today.

I write a lot about being depressed. I don’t think I was actually depressed — certainly hormonal — but I wonder if I were almost 16 now and wrote that to modern parents if they would send me to a therapist.

August 15, 1973

Dear Mom, Dad, and Kevin,

I’m eating lunch right now. I just took a walk to the Baptist Resort and on the way back I stopped and talked to the horses. There is a pure white medium size horse. I think it is a male. It is nice outside — the wind is chilly though.

Lori sent me a letter. I received it today. I wrote to her on Sunday — two pages. Then on Monday I tried to write to Cindy but couldn’t think of anything to say. I finally finished it last night — a brief one-page note. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t seem to tell her the same thinks I told Lori. Then I wrote a page to Carol in ten minutes. Oh well.

I wrote a few pages in my journal this morning. I was feeling depressed. I have bee quite depressed since I finished Five Smooth Stones, I have decided that the white race has little to be proud of. When that madman shot David I felt as if I were losing a loved one. I guess Daddy and Kevin don’t understand this too much.

Grandma is pickling some fish today. She put tons of fish from the freezer into the sink last night and has been cutting them up all morning. she also made some doughnuts yesterday and fried them today.

Mr. Carpenter called yesterday and invited Grandma out do dinner. She told him that we were about to eat. When she hung up she told me that he was “looped”.

Well, how’s Cinder and Franz? Did Ginny like the cat? Does Cinder-binder act like she misses me? (you can lie if you want).

Grandma and I went to town yesterday with Mrs. Lorenz. We have to go to Rice Lake tomorrow for something.

Yesterday we went to the co-op. When Grandma and I went through the check out there was a box and a bag. I helped the boy carry the packages out to the car. Wow!

It is supposed to rain tomorrow. There were a few clouds today.

Mom — did you remember to unplug my nightlight? Maybe my radio should be unplugged too because the light could wear out. Oh well, you don’t have to.

This morning while I was sitting on the dock I heard some noise over by the long water grass. I looked and saw some ducks. Later when I looked again all I saw were some tails sticking out of the water. It reminded me of a poem from Wind in the Willows. I’m feeling depressed again so I think I’ll go and run or something.

August 16, 1973

Hi again,

One more week to be sixteen (sweet?). I don’t have much to write about. We went to Rice Lake today with Mrs. Lorenz. Grandma had to go to the Social Security Office. It seems that she will get money from them — some seventy-odd dollars a month and two hundred something for funeral expenses which she can spend any way.

Mrs. Lorenz and I had a good talk while Grandma was in the S.S. office. Mrs. Lorenz has three kids who had contacts and she is “gung-ho” for contacts. She said that her daughter hasn’t had to have her lenses changed for 10 years. The other one had them changed once for only five dollars a lens. On that word — I’ll say goodbye.

Love ya all,
Dona

P.S. I think I may need more money. I have to buy school supplies and shoes and socks and maybe more. Thank you, Love Dona

Two other interesting things about this letter — I spelled my middle name “Leigh” instead of “Lee” on the return address and partway through the letter I started writing oddly, printing backhand with slanted crosses on my “t”s and slanted lines on my “e”s.

Old Writing Series: The Dancer

Series, Writing,

Weirdly, this is not in my handwriting — or any handwriting I remember. So perhaps I didn’t write this after all — or perhaps it was a long-forgotten collaboration with a long-forgotten colleague. It looks like it might have been a school assignment. Hopefully grade school.

If I did indeed write this, I wonder what my obsession was with girls whose parents would not let them attend dancing school.

The Dancer

There was once a young girl. Her name was Jennifer. Her parents called her Jenny for short; so will we. To begin this story I will start at her house in the morning. Well just after Jenny had gotten dressed she stamped down the steps and into the dining room.

She usually was happy but today, NO! Today there was no dancing lessons. Her parents did now want her to go to dancing lessons in the first place, but Jenny insisted so her mom and dad had to take her. She said that she would run away and she started to pack. But her mom and dad said to STOP! So she did.

She sat down on her chair with a plop. And the glasses trembled as her parents came in. Her mother said that she was a poor sport. Her father just sat down to eat and then there was a silence and it was broken when Jenny’s little sister came in the room and said, “I WANT SOMETHING TO EAT!” So her mother took her and put her on the chair and put a towel around her neck.

Jenny had nothing to do except to read. This was a Saturday that flew like it was not even in there. No dancing, no dancing, no dancing kept floating in her mind and she was almost crying. But she did not know what to do about her mom and dad.

So she decided to leave so she did. She went to dancing school and lived there for a little while. But she got lonesome for her parents.

So she went home and her parents sent her up to her room. Her sister’s dog licked her in the face and hands.

She had learned to dance. So her parents let her be in the play and that was all.