Now I'm ready to write you a good letter. My letter-writing was put on hold about 2 months ago as the end of the school year drew near and my creative energy faded away. My exams were no big thing, but I find law school and the particular social relationships I've developed (or not developed) to be rather stifling. My response to that is to move into an apartment by myself next year and work hard first semester and then have only Tuesday and Thursday classes my second and last semester So much for the distant future.
Actually the character of events I was involved in in Berkeley was on the upbeat, but my mind set was such that I was not responding as fully as I would like.
I'm now into my annual summer coasting period, this year the place is Walla Walla, Washington. I'm working with Prison Legal Services in the maximum security prison. Let me back up a bit so you can grasp the fortuity of the events which led me to Walla Walla. Before I do that, I'll back up a bit more and tell you about the visit of Michael and Liz.
Just about a month ago I was rushing through my studying as I could be done on the Wednesday before my exams started because that was then M & L were to come. I had substantially completed my reading when they showed up. It was really good to see Michael. His cheerfulness is infectious. It wasn't quite as good to see Liz. Although she came across as being friendlier this time than at any other time I have been around here, she still has the knack of making people feel uneasy far too often.
I'm not sure if it's just that she is so incredibly jealous about Michael and anyone else or if she is always this way, even when she and Michael are alone. I'm more and more convinced that she's always the abrupt, petulant little girl trying to be so serious and often stepping on the toes, unnecessarily, of those around her.
What puzzles me somewhat is why Michael is attracted to her. Actually I can think of a number of reasons but none of them seem sufficient.
I'm firmly of the opinion that Michael should not marry her, that Liz has been and continues to be the major driving force behind their plans to get married, and her compulsion derives somehow from her Catholic upbringing.
While they were out here, they went to Sausalito to go shopping. Liz's idea. They went to a jewelry store to look at rings. Liz's idea. There was a $150 ring that fit Michael, although they had previously "decided" not to spend money on wedding rings, it was Liz's idea that Michael buy the ring. Michael agonized all afternoon, going into the store, walking back to the car, hitting his head again the steering wheel, and then repeating the cycle. In the end Liz won out and Michael bought the ring.
I feel sorry for Michael on their wedding day. I'm sure her parents are going to press for a major affair.
Michael can bring much happiness to those around him, he deserves someone better suited to his needs than Liz. Well, I got a little carried away there. I am still not sure what I should do, I'm tempted to write Michael a letter and explain why I don't think he should get married to Liz. But that may only offend him, and would surely offend her and the chances of it accomplishing anything are quite slim. But I think I must, as a friend.
Now then, on to cheerier things. At lunch one day during exams Bill Chang, a friend and fellow law student, mentioned that he was driving to Seattle because he had a summer job there and he was looking for someone to come along because it's a long ride. (20 hours by car.) I like the idea of seeing Oregon and Washington so I said I'd like to. We left on June 2, and had a very fine drive up.
For all my time in California I have been bothered by the weather, the rain and fog and cold in the winter and the lack of rain during the summer were just too unlike Buffalo and Colden for me to appreciate. One day I asked Molly, a woman who lived in the same house I was living in, how she could stand the grass dying and the hills turning brown in the summer. She looked surprised and said "I always thought they turned golden." Oh wow.
Anyway, on my way up north I finally was able to take in the beauty of the hills and the dark green oak greets and the clear blue sky. It certainly is what's "natural" there even if it didn't meet my expectations.
We drove up near the coast through Oregon and Washington. The Coastal range reminded me of the Appalachians back East. Extremely pretty, green tree-covered, gentle hills and mountains.
It was raining when we drove into Seattle. And it continued for the next two days. Bill was a big glum about moving to a city where he knew no one and he was a bit apprehensive about his job. I decided that Seattle might be a decent place to live for a summer and I knew I would enjoy living with Bill.
I went to the placement office at the Univ of Wash law school and could find only one interesting sounding job, with Prison Legal Services. I was eligible for work-study and they wanted someone on work study. So I called them up, they said come in this afternoon for an interview and I did and they said you've got a job if you want it but the first part of the summer you'll have to go to Walla Walla. I thought about that overnight. Bill went to work that day and found the job to be quite easy with several very nice people working there. And we had found him a fine studio apartment. That plus the fact that Walla Walla sounded like it was quite different from any place I've ever lived led me to accept the job. I was to fly to Walla Walla the next day with one of the attorneys coming to Walla Walla for some big thing.
That evening Bill and I went up the space needle just before sunset. Mt. Rainier, even though it was 90 miles away, was huge and snow-covered. The Olympic Mountains, quite substantial ones to my surprise, were between Seattle and the ocean and it was over them that the sun set. It was just tremendous.
The next morning I flew from Seattle on Cascade Airlines. Cascade is smaller than Mohawk was. It schedules no flights on Saturday 0. Walla Walla has been very pleasant and relaxing. It's well irrigated and has trees but not much in the way of excitement. I flew back to Oakland to get my clothes etc. While I was there I scoured all the used book stores in Berkeley and bought 4 of the books you recommended. So far I've read A Cool Million and What I'm Going to Do I Think. I liked the early chapters of A Cool Million, it got to be a bit too much after that. The second book I enjoyed very much. He was able to capture many of the emotions I've felt but never have heard described. The other two are At Play in the Fields of the Lord and The Journal of Albion Moonlight. I'll be working here until Aug 10th or so, then head back to Colden, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Albany, Boston, and New York. I'm thinking of getting an Ameripass from Greyhound, I could travel by bus for 1 month. It costs $189 and would get me back and forth and all around. Let me know when you graduate and where you'll be between Aug 10th and Sept 1. See you soon.
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