September 18, 1971 (Letter from Ralph and Al)

Well I guess you just said to yourself I'm having a good time so fuck everything else, fuck school I'm staying where I am and I'm going to dig and I really hope you still are digging whatever you're doing and I wish you the best of luck in hoping everything goes just great for you.  (Amen)

Right now Ralph, Tom and myself are back into the old swing of school and I myself am not digging it at all but c'est la vie because I don't have the balls to do what you did you sly bastard Nelson.  Anyhow after this year no more school for this kid for awhile.  Maybe a return to Europe which was really a fine trip.

Just to make you feel a little bit nostalgic, I'll describe a few bits about good old Buffalo.  Our apartment is cheap but the landlord sucks and he lives downstairs.  The other day the old buzzard came up and tacked a list of rules on the kitchen wall including no girls overnight then he told us no stereo after 9:00pm and no "niggers": over.  Too fucked up.  School's still the same I don't think it changed a bit since last year.  We found a way to call anywhere in the country for free so send me your phone number if you have one.  Anyhow send me a letter because I'd like to find out if you get this letter and I'd like to hear form you.  If you forget the address is 251 Jewett Avenue.

I'm still a vegetarian freak and Ralph I think is heading that way too.  I still haven't indulged in the evil weed although it might become necessary soon.  I might also proudly say that I haven touched a cigarette either.

What else?  Perhaps a word of advice and wisdom from the great seer and prophet mystical fucked up yogi maharishi, me.  As you ramble through life brother whatever maybe your goal keep your eye upon the donut and not upon the hold, but don't take that too seriously for the donut maybe stale and the hole nice and sweet.  A little abstract thought I felt like adding.  You know symbolic philosophy and anyhow I thought it sounded good.

And now a word from Ralph.

Greetings!  Blind Faith on the grammophone, right now.  Marmul and I sitting around doing next to nothing cause ain't got no car to split for Poverty Hill - remember that tract of land that Student Assn. bought south of here.  Had a good summer at Chautauqua -- good people, good times, and good payola.  In room $ something in 4230 Ridge Lea, there's some dude named Doctor Ono.   You'll never guess his real name.  No hit.  Dr Ono is alive and well in Buffalo.  Was able to register for photography for non-art majors -- I'm finally excited about a course -- after 4 years.  If this weren't' my last year, I would have packed in school.  The two weeks between the end of my summer job and the first day of classes were really soul-searching.  I actually came close to thumbing out West or flying east to Europe. Buffalo's the same old shithole -- just as easy to get into a rut, altho I'm confident that I'll be able to avoid that predicament.  Photography should help -- I have enough equipment to set up a darkroom her e-- so once I learn enough in the course, I'll have a very enjoyable pursuit to keep me going.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Seeing old friends this year has been good.  Many people have changed over the summer but I guess that's only normal.  My summer had the effect on me of making me blase and nonchalant and non-caring about even more, pretty things -- a lot of my uptightness has diminished and disappeared.  Runnin' lo on paper.  Tom isn't here right now (he's in Batavia), but he'll drop you a line soon.  Keep in touch.