January 29, 1975 (Letter from Barb N)

Live version of title cut from the January 1975 release Sunday's Child

Hello.  I'm sitting here with nothing to do so I thought I'd drop you a line.  How is everything going for you?

The weather here has been beautiful for the past few days.  We are getting a warm front from up north so it will bring the temp down in the 50's.  (maybe even lower)  But the weather has been surprisingly nice for January.

If you start thinking about all the signs in the Bible about the end of the world you can detect them happening now.  It's something to think about.  It's quite a controversial subject without any answers.  Who is right?  Maybe God does exist...maybe he doesn't.  It's matter of faith.  I had a long talk with Larry at Christmas about his beliefs.  He felt better because he could express to me all of his thoughts   I don't know what to believe.  I'll have to form my faith through my experiences. God's plan was to give us hope of a better place than the evil world.  No matter how hard we try to improve the world the other side is  trying just as hard to corrupt it.

I like my job at the Master Chiefs office, but I just stuck my foot in my mouth.  I wanted to talk to my OS detailer so the Master Chief asked me if I wanted to change over to Yeoman and I told him no.  So now I might get transferred back to LP-1.  I really hope not.  I didn't care to work there.  I went to see my detailer and he was at another part of the base so I couldn't talk to him.  I want to transfer to Iceland this summer.

I have been talking to some people who have been to Iceland and they enjoyed it.  I would like to move around in the Navy.  That's one of the reasons why I joined.  I will be here in Norfolk a year this June and that is long enough for me.  At first I wanted to stay here this summer and go to Va. Beach a lot and just live it up.  I'd probably waste more money going to bars, etc. etc.  I'd be looking for something that wasn't there.  I also had made plans with a few friends to go more places, but I'm sure a lot of it is hot air.

31 Jan -- Hello again.  I'll finish your letter and I am going to start another letter to Dale.  I wrote him a long letter hoping to influence him in some way.  At this stage in life I believe Dale needs someone to guide him instead of hassle him.  Give him comfort instead of tell him he's a fool.  Dale still needs to discipline himself, but we shouldn't turn him off.  Dale is a good boy and a professing young man but he needs to snap out of it.I had a date last night for the first time in awhile.  John is a pretty nice guy.  We went out to dinner at a Ramada Inn and went to a club afterwards.  I don't care to go to fancy restaurants to eat.  I don't  like to put on an act just to eat dinner. Anyways...homecooked food is better.  But Norfolk probably has the worst selection of restaurants.

I started my knitting again.  I am knitting a lavender sweater.  It is a lacey pattern more or less a sweater for spring.  I almost have the back finished.  I bought some yarn for Larry and I am going to knit him a regular button style sweater. I want to make all my Xmas presents this year so I"ll start early.  (Really early if I expect to make something for everybody.)

I've been writing to Mom and Dad more regularly.  Mom wrote back a letter saying she appreciated hearing from me so regularly.

I haven't heard from you in awhile?  How do you like your yogurt maker?  I wanted to get you some sort of present for Xmas because money to me is so impersonal.  I didn't want  you to feel bad sitting out there in the middle of nowhere getting money from your sister for Xmas.

I should write a letter to Ed and Gen, and Edna.  I imagine they would enjoy hearing form me.

Well I'll end here for now.

January 27, 1975 (Letter from Grayce)

Enclosed, pleased find 7 (1-cent) stamps which you have received as a prize for out-witting the U.S. Postal Service!  (Actually, only 6, since one was partially canceled out and I did not notice it until now.)  I suggest Elmer's glue for these, or clear rubber cement.  Notice -- there is a $300 fine for doing this (I doubt that it's ever been enforced, though.)

Enclosed, also, please find a sweet little bird which made me think of you, Tweet.  I just loved the muted tones and colors and thought you might, too.  Sorry I had to fold him up, but if you want, you can iron him (very lightly).

The idea of talking to you seems a very exciting prospect but I must, in good conscience  dissuade you from such an un-Spartan-like use of your sheckels!  Now that my conscience has been assuaged... Actually, I'm afraid to have you spend all that money money when I will not have anything worthwhile to say.  (like last time!)

Someone's on the phone..excuse...It was Brook's mom.  She wants me to go with her to the bank and deposit $50 in our savings account so she can get another free silverware serving.  So, first I have to get a $50 check cashed.  Myeer!  I'll be back in about 2 hrs.

Hello, again!  Here I am, back from my jaunt.

Anyhow -- if you do decide to call, I suppose you should know when I won't be home.  So these are my hours.  I work every other weekend (Sat 9-4 and Sun 1-10) and on these days am away from home (Sat 7:30-6:00, Sunday 11:15 to 11:00).  On weekends when I work, I have the Friday and Monday around them off.  I work every Tues, Wed, and Thurs.  My Thurs hours are the same as when I work on Saturdays and on Tues I work from 1-10 (out from 11:15 to 11:00) on Wednesday (praise the Lord!) I don't have to be in until 3:40 so I leave at 3 o'clock.

Now that you have absolutely no idea of what I'm talking about, I suppose I'll stop.  Out of this entire nonsense paragraph, I feel that since you are off on Wed that would be a good day to call. Let me know if and when you decide to so I will be here and not at Murphy's or something.

I agree with you about being able to concentrate on things that you want to happen.  It seems just a matter of mind and will.  I have done that a few times, but I usually do it only for things that I feel are extremely important -- i.e., will affect my life completely -- all facets.  Maybe you'll think I'm crazy, but I feel that this type of relationship between mind and will is one of the rep-requisites for gaining perfection in prayer.  I never could believe that if God were God as we know Him -- that this all-perfect force in the Universe, could be used as a pawn merely by our imperfect and feeble intercessions.  What a disappointment I would feel if He were like that!

Rather, I feel that He (if a force can be personal) "wants" us to meditate in order to direct all of our potential energy towards what we need to become.  Our concentration in such matters serves to motivate us -- even if only in attitude and expectancy -- to do that which we want.  I believe in man's total free will but of course, since I also believe in fate, I think that the "love" of this force guides us into situations where we can be most useful.  And, if we don't make the best of them, then we are unhappy within ourselves.  I know that there are many external causes of unhappiness but I attribute them to a lack in others, which is re-directed back to the people around then, i.e., someones hates an ex-con because he fears him.  This fear produces the hate because the person lacks -- not only an assurance within himself that someone guides the Universe (for better or worse) and maybe puts him here for a reason but he also lacks the will and the spiritual resources to cope with a situation which may be difficult for anyone, but especially difficult for the person of impoverished ideas.  He lacks every desire to take up his responsibility for the rest of men and if the whole of mankind doesn't cooperate in this enterprise -- the eternal unhappiness increases in proportion to the decrease of men willing to be truly free and responsible.  The internal happiness or unhappiness we feel, then is inherently attached to the external and one must always affect the other in some respect.  -(depending on how much the person wishes to admit that they are connected).  Most people won't.  They think they are separate and can exist freely separately.  This seems ludicrous to me.

Of course, Grayce is very good in the talk department, but she doesn't always cut the mustard in deed.  Actually, I'm trying to reconcile the philosophies of Kierkegaard and Sartre, and to come up with a livable ethical code which will also allow for me to believe in a God -- of some kind, anyway, -- this is very nearly impossible, but never let it be said that I did no try!

Wake up!  Paulie!  I promise to come down now.  I think I actually miss having a philosophy course or two to push my thoughts around.  You should be very grateful that I also write to Rich Miller and that he gets the bulk of this, because if it weren't  for him I'd be assembling all this stuff on you!  (I daren't write to many people about this because my sanity is none too well thought of and I wouldn't like to risk having to be committed!)  At least, Rich writes his mutterings back to me and we share equally the burden of boredom.

Now -- to go from the sublime to the ridiculous -- the weather her has been absolutely mad!  One day it's 70 and the next day it snows.  I may start believing that the end is near pretty soon if some rhyme or reason does not show its face.

Unfortunately, I had to work the Sunday of the Super Bowl and you can be certain that here was no orgy at Seton Hill!

Well, I guess this is enough torture for one letter for you.  Take care.