January 19, 1977 (Letter from Yolanda)

Paul it was real nice to receive your letter today in the mail, because I have been home sick for weeks with teh flu or what ever you want to call it.  I think I had a sinus infection, aches, pain, fever, upset stomach, back ache, sore muscles.  You name it I had it.  Brother I would not wish this on my worst enemy.  I am much better, although I am still on medication.  I'm hoping to to back to work on Mon.  The doctor claimed I had bronchitis.  I better get real well soon because I have to get ready for that new baby & I don't want to be sick or have any germs so that any baby else gets t his because it's just terrible & when you get older it gets harder to fight.  I have not even seen my mother since all this. My brothers & kids & neighbors have been real great by bringing things into me because I have not been able to stick my head outside in this cold weather.  

The weather has just been sub-freezing for so long.  Today it was up as high as 21 which is good. Heat wave!  Lately is has been zero & below for so long.  Look at Miami, Fl.  They even had snow today. That is getting bad, especially all those people that go down for that good old sunshine.  That is bad for the citrus crops.  Even up in Springfield, & all over the mid-west & south.  Can you imagine the Mississippi River freezing.

Paul I really enjoyed that lovely dinner you and Renee cooked up at Mardi's.  I could eat some right now because I have hardly eaten during my sickness.  I had lost my sense of taste & smell for three days, but it's all back now & I even lost 5 lbs, so food sound good about now.

Thanks a lot for Mike's address & phone no.  I shall drop him a few lines, too.

I hope & pray the rest of this year is better.  It has started out bad as far as weather & sickness is concerned.  Maybe the rest will be better.  Take good care of yourself & stay warm & maybe by the 4th of July we'll celebrate & have a good time. Thanks again.

February 7, 1975 (Letter from Grayce)

This is the closest I could get to Sweden.  I just don't like to see such nice pictures go to waste and we get so many of them at the library.  Be prepared!  You just never know what may turn up next....

I think I have reached (although I never thought it possible) a new level of boredom.  I am sick, again!  I don't understand it, at all.  I usually get sick once a year, right before Xmas and I've already done that this year.

Brook was very sick at New Year's and I was rather pleased with myself that I never got what he had -- until now, anyway.  I have exactly the same symptoms and they have appeared in exactly the same sequence.  We figure that this bug must have a month of more incubation time.

On Wednesday, I got up early and went to the bank and all of a sudden when I got home I felt terrible but I was still going to work.  But by 2:30 when I started to get ready, I knew I would never make it up the hill.  So I called in sick and I've been in bed ever since.  On Wednesday night I had a very high fever (102) and had terrible dreams.  I can't remember them but I remember that they were frightening.  Now the fever is gone, but my throat is really raw and I have a cough.

I've read 2 books (long ones) and I'm being subjected to daytime TV (yech!)  Pgh doesn't show old movies in the afternoons the way Philly does.  So I watched "Rolling for Dollars", "Hollywood Squares" and the 12 o'clock news (a little bit of reality, you understand).

Now "Split Second" is on -- it's not so bad because the questions are pretty interesting.  Of course, the commercial are great.  I've just been told how to cope with "The Naked Hamburger". Actually, all of this would not be so bad, if only I felt like doing something.  I just have no energy or strength.

I think on the news last night that it was -11 in Montana.  A warm spell, huh?

9 February 1975 - Well, here I am, again!  I feel much better today.  Yesterday I thought I would go mad.  It was Saturday and the first day I didn't feel like death warmed over and Brook was home to keep me company and things were starting to look up.  (For awhile, anyway!)  Brook and I decided to play Scrabble.  (This is one of the few games I am really competitive about.)  Now, Brook doesn't like "words" in the same way that I don't like "numbers" so it involves considerable sacrifice for him to play Scrabble.  But he's very good at it (he plays "strategically" if you can believe that!) and I really have to think hard to keep up with him.  Anyway, w hen Brook got a 64! point word yesterday!!!I got so excited I tried to jump up and being in a semi-lotus pose I pulled a muscle in my side.  I really saw stars.  I couldn't stand up straight for almost an hour.  Actually,l this wasn't very funny,  but it seemed so hysterical at the time.  I seem to be ok now (knock wood).  I've just never had so many things wrong with me at one time.  I'm such a klutz!  Brook said I have to be the only person on earth to hurt herself playing Scrabble.

10 February - I guess this is another bits and pieces effort.  It's really cold (for here).  I don't know firsthand since I can't go out, but on the news they said that parts of western Pa had -20 weather last night.  It was only -3 in Pgh -- but that's not too common here, either.

I haven't been to GSLIS since before Christmas.  I hope Kate isn't really bad.  I'll call her today. She's awfully hard to reach by phone, though.

You dream sounds pretty scary.  My grandmother says when you have a dream about death it means good luck!  And if you dream about a baby then death is involved.  I don't know. My grandmother definitely is psychic.  This is just one instance.  When I was in a car accident, she was at this resort at the shore she goes to for a month each year.  There is no phone and no one called her because she didn't know and they didn't want her to worry.  The next morning she was at Bryn Mawr hospital to see me!  (Bryn Mawr is near Villanova and at least 15 miles from where my parents live and even if she knew I was in a hospital, she would never know which one. When I told my parents she had come, they were astounded!  When I asked her how she knew, she just smiled her queer little smile and said "I knew">  Whew!  My father said she almost always knew everything when they were little, too.  Remind me sometime to tell you about her silverware set.

I think your philosophy of work is great.  I mean, why should a fight increase someone's sentence when if they had a scuffle on the street someone would just break it up and everyone would go home and no trouble  right?  Don't worry -- who would I tell?

How is Sue?  What's she doing? Wasn't Forsman's contract dropped?  That's the only thing I heard.  I never really cared anyway.  I think Forsman has more problems than someone who is trying to "change things" should have.

Well -- another letter.  By the way, I get home around 11:00 on Wednesday nighits.

P.S.  I finally broke down and bought a loom!  I'm so excited I can hardly see straight!  It's small (20") and it's primitive but it was dirt cheap ($20).  Spendo the magnificent lives!

December 12, 1968 (Letter from Mardi)

I was glad to get your letter.  It sounds exactly like what I've been doing here.  No one really cares about school or studies, right now I just want to go home.  I'm so tired to studies.  I'll actually be home in less than a week.  I'm planning on what I'm going to eat when I get there.  I don't think I'll make it to the 20th.  All we're having are finals next week too.  I got a letter from Dody and I guess he's been sick with the flu.  I guess he's missed a lot of school.  I really hope I don't get sick.  There are a lot of kids out here because of the flu.

Not too much happening.  Friday night we went to see Andy Williams and the concert was absolutely fantastic.  We even like Roger Miller.  We sat about 15 ft away.  We took quite a few pictures and I have to pick them up tonight.  I hope they turned out.  The performance lasted almost three and a half hours.  It was something to see.

Saturday Wendy and I went to a party at 1 AM.  We had a riot the whole 45 minutes we were there.  Sunday I slept all day and wen to the Art Institute with Nancy and took some pictures.

The weather has been cold but sunny and clear.  Today it's drizzly and dark out and I'm afraid it might decide to snow.  I hear Jamestown had a bad storm and Erie had thousands of dollars of damage.  The Peninsula was blown away.

I'm really hurtin', I haven't had more than two hours sleep each night.  Monday we had to clean our entire apartment for room inspection Tuesday -- blaah!  Last night we decided we weren't going to buy a Christmas tree but that we were going to find one and chop it down.  We looked all over and nobody had a decent pine tree to take.  We looked at apt building too while we were clonking around.  One was $208 -- without utilities.  Blaah!  I may never have an apt.

Dec 13 - Friday.  I'm casually relaxing in the apt., feeling blase.  It's the flu.  I'm just washing out a few shirts and blouses -- finally getting ready to pack.

My mother was in the hospital.  I tried to call Wednesday and Thursday and I couldn't get a hold of  her and I started to get worried.  The operators actually began calling me by my name.  This one was really nice.  So I called my aunt and she told me everything was fine and my mother came home today.  The doctor put her in the hospital to rest and for shots.  I talked to her today at noon and she sounded terrible but she said she was feeling better but weak.  She said she might be home all week 16-20.  I hope she gets much better for Christmas.  Watch me get sick all vacation.  Dody went over to see her and Mike called her.  You kids are so thoughtful.  She really love ya all, you know.

We had a snow storm last night but we weren't hit that hard.  Up north they were hit with 14 to 15 in of snow.  We don't have too much.  Planes have been taking off anyway.  I got some pictures of our jet coming out here, finally.  Please take care handsome.  SEE YOU IN TWO AND A HALF DAYS!!!!