September 1976 (Letters from Ken)

Darn man, it was really beautiful to get your letter.  Like yourself, I hardly know where to begin, to be specific, general or in between!  But first I just want to emphasize how happy I was to hear from you!

I guess what would seem most obvious of importance from my perspective is what time of day it is. What I'm referring to sis my potential "get out".  The 19th of this month I will have been down 24 months.  It has been a long time but most fulfilling.  I have 16 months or less to go.  Not bad and I still have a lot left to do within these hallowed walls of myself and the joint.  Like you I have been widening my horizons in much the same direction and yet in much of a different direction.  Your truth-seeking seems to cover the intellectual ground and self awareness spectrum.  Other than studying transactional analysis, chess, & bridge, those have been the limits of my intellectual development.  However, I have become top-rate in all three of the aforementioned fields.

The remainder of my development has been toward God, Christ, self, Bible prophecy, cosmic awareness, use of power, etc. all leading toward spiritual enlightenment and freedom & peace. You might find this strange, but even in prison, I look forward to each day and find so much happiness.  Of course, the big drawback is not having a woman physically, but perhaps some darkness is necessary to give contrast to the light.  I thank God every day & night for bringing the great truths that he has in my darkness through life.  I could go on & on with what I've learned and I'm sure you can too.  I hope we can do this in future letters.  I know we can. You & I don't have to play the game "I know more than you do".  In other words, it won't be an ego or vanity race, but rather a constructive exchange of truths & knowledge. How's that sound to you old' buddy?

You know, I can't help but tell you that my writing to you was the result of a spiritual urge and therefore, there being a reason for everything, it must really be important.

Before I forget, I have a super favor to ask of you that will fall right in your alley.  The Romans gave the first & original pope a certain title which translated mean "vice christ".  The title is three words long.  The first word is vicar or vicer or something like that.  Being the researcher that you are, could you find out what the title was.  I know that all 3 words are spelled with Roman numerals.  It is very, very important to me.  I have exhausted my resources which are of course limited.  You will keep running into "vicar of Christ" in your research but it is the original roman title that I need.  The significance is great.  I really hate to be a prick, but please make it a hurry-up issue as there are a couple of dozen of us that will be waiting for your reply on this matter.  When you do find the title, add up the roman numerals -- you will be amazed.  After that I can fill you in on the rest of what goes with it.

Say, do you know you live in the state I was born?  Yep.  I was born in Boston at 4:21 am Feb 12. That makes me 31 tomorrow!  I didn't realize it till just now.  Well my writing is starting to get scribbly, so will break for a while and go to show.

Back for a while.  What dictionary publisher do you work for?  Actually it sounds like a decent gig what with you having time for personal projects.  I don't mind telling you, I'm in about the same position.  I have the best job in the joint and only work an average of 10 minutes a day whereas everyone else work about 7 1/2 -8 hours.  Personal projects do seem so rewarding.  Right now my mind is racing so fast I'm having a hard time keeping up with my pen.  When you do see your break-away point, what will it be?  I'm not quite sure what you want in life.  In fact, I only recently figured out what I want in life in a total sense.

Five to six miles each morning is really super.  I envy you.  Actually all I've been able to do is keep my weight down.  Decided to wait until the last 7 or 8 months to take care of my physical development, but it is all part of my agenda plan.  I even have my schedule laid out to fix my physique -- cutting out again for a while.  Someone just called me to Colombia, so I'll be in nice head shape when I return.   --later. Hi -- back again.  Thought I was going to Colombia but found myself in the poorest section of Mexico.  Bums me out.

Say, when you run, do you fill your moth with water?  It's an old Indian trick and it works fantastic. Makes you break thru your nose hence expanding your lungs more.  Also keeps your saliva glands cool.  Try it -- you'll like it.  Kool-aid works good or something with flavor.  You'll have to tell me more about your experience with yoga.  Don't hesitate to be specific.  I don't' think I could ever get into cause I've always got a sprained something or other.  Like even now, I'm wearing an ace bandage on my right foot.  I played on the all-store team (softball -- 2nd base) this last summer. On the last out of the season, I threw my arm out, going home with the ball for the force play.  We won as the throw was hard enough for a double play.  This summer I will be a player coach.  If I do say so myself, I play softball real good.

In re: your original work in American History, are you attempting to write a textbook?  You will find in your research that John & Mary Walley came over on the trip to Plymouth Rock and their names show up often in Seward's Diary.  A good place to further your research is the "Boston Genealogical Center"  Say, also you'll find my great-great-great grandfather's name on the plaque of the crew of hte ship "Constitution".  His name was the same as my younger brother -- Harold George Walley.  Up until my goddamned Yugoslavian mother, the Walleys were thoroughbred.  I'm now just a half-breed.

So -- were you trying to tell me that you don't get high on herb anymore?  It's not bad.  I went into the natural high for a while too.  Ten days on water, fruit (not canned) and vegetables (not canned) and you're off.  My tendencies to be carnivorous, though, brought me back to the chasm of sin. The human body isn't even made to digest meat.

In telegram style, let me lay out some news.

Divorce from Denise last year -- Dollar Date Dead -- no pictures of Wendy since 1 yr. old -- lost most "friends" -- doing only God's work now -- 3 stomach operations -- plan to release to Calif (Oakland) -- in process of checking this out -- cut off all ties with all but selected "few".  So look here, I'll get back to ya tomorrow morning.  Tonight, a group of us Christian brothers sit around and rap.  I'm afraid I do most of the rapping.  Till the morning.  Gonna get this in the mailbox right now and continue later.

January 23, 1975 (Letter from Renee)

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles -- sing praises to the Lord -- Hallelujah!  Renee has finally decided to sit down and write to a very good, (provably pretty "pissed at me") friend.  I beg your forgiveness for my poor writing record -- I was pretty busy, and pretty lazy, and not always in the mood to sit down and write a long letter after a hard day at the "factory"!

Well, where do I begin?  I guess by telling you that Morrey and I are both fine and in relatively good spirits   Morrey had a big promotion, and now he is a salesman for the same company which means more money, and lots more work and headaches. He was given a 9 passenger, air-conditioned station wagon for his personal and business use, and an expense account and all the accoutrements (spelling is bad!), so life isn't too bad these days.  We sold one of our VW's and since Morrey is on company gas cards, the only bill we have for gas is about 10.00 per month for my VW which I drive back and forth to school every day.  I'm really proud of Morrey and his new position, and thank God there really is a good future for him as a salesman.  Who knows, maybe someday I can sit around the house on my big ass eating bon-bons and watching all the lovely (???) soap operas that would tear my heart out!  Just joking, of course.  Morrey is happy with his work and that's what counts cause it took him 6 years to get where he wanted to be.  Another neat thing about his job is that his time is his own and he doesn't have to report to anyone at the office.  It is convenient when we want to trek to Pa. early on a Friday afternoon cause now we can do it.   We'll never be millionaires, but at least in a couple of years I can think about quitting my job and doing "my thing".  "My thing" is that I'd sort of like to go back to get my master's degree, and take all the courses I really needed to take as an undergrad, but didn't.  We have no immediate plans for a family -- even though Morrey's Mom is harping the daylights out of us about giving her grandchildren.  I can stand the harping -- but probably couldn't stand the kids at this stage of the game.  I get all I want of kids 8-9 hours a day, and the only saving grace is that I can come home to peace and quiet and a few hours of sanity each night!  Wow, that was a long paragraph -- time to change to a different color!!

Last winter Morrey and I took bridge lessons -- but I didn't do too well with that cause I have very little card sense, and not much in the way of patience to play the game.  My new interest is the piano -- and I am taking piano lessons at O.S.U. one night a week from now till March.  Paul, you'll be the very first to receive an engraved invitation to my virtuoso appearance at Carnegie Hall (in Podunk, Iowa probably).  Seriously, I really do enjoy the lessons, and since I have a brand new piano with no one to play it, I figured that it would be a good idea to learn to play not just the right hand, but also the left!  I am at the point in my teaching career where the demands on my evening hours are very little, and I can't stand to get bored cause I sulk and get moody and depressed and all that crap.  Sometimes I yearn for the days when I was in high school and trying to do 50 things at once -- cause it sure kept me busy and probably full of the devil too!

Our new program called the house plan at school is working out beautifully and we're really working as a team.  We've seen a lot of things happen that couldn't have happened if each of us was closed off in our own classroom doing our own individual thing.  I've learned a lot about history and science and math this year-- and I've also learned a lot about what makes other "teachers tick" through working closely w/ them.  This is my fourth year teaching 8th grade, and frankly I'm a little bored with it since the materials in the curriculum is largely the same from year to year and things can get kind of stale after a while.  I really like my kids, and they don't give me any trouble -- but I'm either going through a stage, or I really need a change of pace.  Our school system failed its third levy which is bad, bad news, and we just got our gas allotment changed so that we now have to cut back 45% of our heat in the building.  Looks like it's going to be a long cold winter head -- and I think my next project after the piano had better be taking knitting lessons so I'll be warm in my room.

I had every intention of writing a six page letter but I just finished tutoring tonight and I'm getting kind of tired.  I'll try to get out a "second installment" to this letter next week.  I figure getting something in the mail is better than nothing, and if I waited much longer to write to you I would have to publish it in book form, chapter by chapter.

Until next week, when I promise to faithfully write again I will bid you adieu!  Write if you have a chance-- although I don't blame you at all if you hold out on me cause I was so poor in writing you back.

November 29, 1973 (Letter from Renee)

Thanks so much for your letter, it was delightful to hear from you once again, and I am very glad that we can still keep in touch.  I did receive a letter from you earlier in the fall, but with school starting and all the work that piled up I haven't spent much time in corresponding to anyone.

Everything is fine with us.  I am busy with my teaching and Morrey is working and he's going to finish up his associate (2 year) degree in a few weeks, of which I am very  very proud.  Aside from that we have been taking bridge lessons, but being the klutz that I am I can't seem to play bridge without my 14 pages of class notes -- which leaves room for little else at the bridge table.  We've just finished the beginning bridge course and in February we'll take the advanced course.  Our house is all settled now and my basement is completely finished with carpeting and everything.  It has become "my living room" since I spend all my time down here working at my desk.  Once school started in the fall I had to give up all my grandiose plans for decorating until next summer when I'll have time to burn.

I love teaching and I really feel comfortable in my job now.  I've begun to explore different methods and new lessons to work on since I can't stand to do the same old thing in the same old way year after year.  I have a heavy load of 6 classes with 169 students and it takes me forever to grade any kind of composition work even though I fell that this is an area that needs a great deal of work at the 8th grade level.  The longer I teach the more things I seem to take on and find to do -- but I guess that's what really keeps me going and keeps my mind working.  I am just about ready to decide to go back to grad school this summer to see if I can't pick up some new ideas and materials.  One thing about teaching is that it is never boring and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to complete all the tasks I assign myself.  I am very lucky though Paul, because Morrey and I have very little time together during the week and we really cherish the weekends when we can get reacquainted.  We have a good number of friends here in Columbus now but Morrey and I prefer to be close friends with a very select few and we're not the big party types at all anymore.  I guess I could safely say that I'm very happy with my life as it is right now.  I'm the kind of person that has to set goals for myself and have something to look forward to no matter how small the occasion or how large.  Without the future to look forward to I am lost.  That sounds kind of dumb, but that's the way I am.

We went to Chicago last week to my brother's for Thanksgiving and my parents went with us.  It really bothers me Paul cause I see my parents getting older, and now that my dad is retired I really worry about them, not financially, but I worry cause they seem to me to be kind of "beaten" down by their circumstances.  With my grandfather living with them they have very little social life and they are quite bored -- yet there aren't many choices or options open to them.  They can't just pack up and go exploring places they've always wanted to see because they have a strong obligation to take care of my grandfather.  My parents literally live for the times when they can see us -- yet I can't hep thinking that there has got to be more to life and living than just that itself.  I guess I can't solve the problem for them, but I can really see the effects of all the years with my grandfather working on them, and I really get depressed.

We haven't formalized any plans yet for Xmas vacation.  Morrey will have a long 4 day weekend over Xmas but with the gas shortage and all that I'm not sure whether we'll make the trip to PA.  Aside from being able to see my friends for a little visit at Xmas time there isn't much that Warren has to offer for us, and Morrey and I aren't too anxious to spend 4 days sitting around on our asses with nothing to do but twiddle our thumbs.  So, at this time I'm not too sure about any plans that we'll be making.  Pittsburgh is only a 3 hr ride from Columbus Paul, do you think you could come here for a short while over winter break?  We have an extra, unused bedroom which you'd be welcome to use, and we'd love to have you as our guest.

Well, I'd love to write some more but I've loads of papers sitting in front of me which I've had for 2 weeks and haven't graded yet, so I'm afraid I'll have to close for now.

Be well and take care Paul.  Write soon when you have a chance.  Let's continue to keep in touch.  "Old" friends are the best friends.