November 1, 1969 (Letter from Kathy)

First of all, what was the exclamation mark after the 18th for?  I couldn't figure that out for sure.

Second, glad to hear from you.  Actually, I was gonna write to you at your home address t his weekend because I was unsure as to whether you were living in the same place as last year.

You speak of your summer as a worthwhile experience, well, I'm getting mine now.  Living in an apartment is really what I needed, except it's (of course) much more work than living in the dorm.  It's kinda hard for me because I have 32 hours of classes with my 20 hours of clinic.

Glad to hear your car is taking good care of you.

I too have had little testing until this past week -- had 3 midterms and a few quizzes.  Naturally, all at one time!

You wouldn't believe how great our apartment looks.  If you ever feel like getting away for a 7 hour drive, come to Boston.  I'm sure we could find something of interest to do!

I got a job in an International House of Pancakes.  The turnover in the place is really fast.  On a Friday night I can make as much as $35, but on a Thurs I usually make about $10.  Only work Thurs and Fri -- sometimes either Sat or Sun -- those are the two nights I'm on call.  It really helps with the expenses.  I really hadn't planned on getting a job with that much money, so I'm ahead on my budget.  Have even been able to save some.

You should have seen me trying to paint my ceiling the first day I was here.  I had to fill the cracks in, sandpaper, and then paint by jumping on and off a bookshelf!  It's been really a lot of fun though.  We have 8 rooms; 4 bedrooms, bath, kitchen, living room, and a real small room that we keep the bar in.  We have wall-to-wall carpets and the landlord paid for paint for all the rooms.  We only have the living room left.  We were all so concerned about getting our own rooms finished first.

I just got a rug for my room today -- gold, orange, and green.  My room is gold, white ceiling and trim (have three windows, 3 doors, and built in shelves and drawers) with orange accessories.  I'm getting a paper chandelier that I saw in "George's Folly" -- it's orange and gold of course!!

Did you get your drug store job?

My clinical assignments t his quarter are all over the city!  Really.  I had to go to Brighton the first half of the quarter, a home for unwed mothers and a crippled children's home.  This half I'm in Cambridge schools and at a boys technical school.  We have ideal conditions -- straight back chairs, a desk or table instead of a unit, and either flashlights or lamps!!  Loads of fun!  If there is ever an electric strike or blackout, the girls from Forsyth (my dental school) will be the only people that will continue to work.  I can see where it can be good experience, but we certainly aren't practicing the good posture they preach when we have to stand on our heads to see in a patient's mouth!!  It's really fun though! (!!??)

Sue Smith came up with me at the beginning of the year.  She would be so shocked if she could see the difference now.  It's actually getting to be a nice place.  She was looking for a job.

The pancake house I work in is open until 2:00 on Fri and Sat, and I got abrasion of my eye from contacts for wearing them such long hours.  A guy here told me the contacts were all wrong for my eyes and I was really shook up.  I did manage to live.

Acquired a bicycle to get around on.  One of my roommates does have a car.  One of from Long Island and the other two are from Providence, R.I.

A guy 70 yrs old ran into Gary's Triumph and it ran into Rick Nasman's car -- completely demolishing it.  It was considered totaled and Gary got a pretty good price for it plus he got to keep the car.  I thought the insurance company usually took the car.  Mike Lundberg might try and fix up the car for racing.

Gary is seriously thinking of enlisting in the army in December.

I went home for Columbus Day because I had that Monday off and Wed for the Moratorium.  Gary was having homecoming, and, lo and behold, he had a date.  That was a surprise for both of us, however, all is well -- we both date -- it was just a little uncomfortable for Mary Lou (Dody DeLong's old girlfriend).

Well, take care -- let me know what you're up to.

October 17, 1968 (Letter from Mark)

Just thought I'd get a letter out before I went home tomorrow.  We've got a three day weekend so I'm taking the bus tomorrow afternoon home.  Really looking forward to it though.  The confusion and especially all the work really gets to you after awhile.

I've got an ulcer now.  I went over to my cousins in Rochester Saturday and all Sunday and Saturday night I had an ulcer rupture and it was bad.  Threw up blood all night and had to go to the hospital.  They took x-rays and put me on a really strict diet.  No pizza, pop, chocolate, potato chips, all the good food I can't eat anymore.  Really bad though cause when you eat in the cafeteria you don't really have to much food to choose from.  Oh well guess I'll just have to make the best of it, like everything else here.

The work has got me so bogged down.  I don't believe all of the projects they give us and they are terrifically hard.  Really hard sometimes to think of ideas especially when everything has to be creative.  A project I would like to spend three weeks on I've got only three days to do it.  It's no wonder all the art majors are crazy the way they push us for creativity in all our stuff.  We've got graded on our first two weeks -- so far I've got a 3.5 average -- which is a B+ so it's not too bad, the rate I'm going, I don't think I'll be able to stand it by the end of the quarter.  I'm living on pep pills to keep me awake.   I've only got about 4 hours sleep for this past week a night.

My roommates have to be the biggest bastards on campus.  They're such sucks that I can't even stand to walk in the room at all.  They never do a thing, go to bed at 8:30 cause they're just too tired to stay up.  They hate modern music, they hate to have the radio on, they hate girls, they hate modern art, they're religious fanatics, don't drink, don't care about frats, turn lights out at 7:30.  They're such pricks I can't stand them.  I'm always working in the girls dorm.  That's where Melissa always works so I usually work with her.  But it is really bad trying to go to your room and do something you just can't do it.  I've always got to leave and go someplace else to work.  There is only about three weeks left till they move us and I put my name in for a single, or an art major.  If I can't have an art major then I want a single.  After these bastards I want a single.

Friday night went to a pot party.  Wasn't really that bad.  I thought most of the kids were very disgusting and very immature.  Especially the way they acted.  But a reefer has the greatest smell especially when the whole room is filled with smoke.  It's almost as though the whole place is filled with incense.  I didn't smoke any though.  It isn't harmful, but some of the effects aren't anything like alcohol.  It's like a great high feeling, but there's no sickness or vomiting.  Right now I don't think I want to and I hope I stick with it.  There is really a lot of that that goes on up here especially with the art majors, but there is one thing I know I never want to get on dope, or anything like that ever.

Heard from Mardi last week.  She likes school a lot and she has a job, but I think it is really a hard adjustment for her in Minneapolis.

Still haven't heard from Mike, but I could really give a damn.  Don't need any more friends like him.  That's one thing I learnt up here is how to pick friends and if I don't like someone don't even speak to them, or I tell them what I think of them.  I'm not about to take any shit like I had to take sometimes last year.

How would you like to come up for a weekend sometime?  It only costs about $2.50 by bus.  I have some really beautiful girls in art & design that would really like to go out with you.  They wanted to see my senior pictures so I was showing them all and they saw yours.  I described you to them and they really want me to have you up so they can go out with you.  The one girl who really wants to go out with you is in art.  She has blond hair (natural whitish), blue eyes, she is really beautiful -- she was a debutante and she comes from a very well-to-do family but you would have a great time with her.  She's Melissa's roommate.  So just write and tell me when you want to come if you do, but wait till I get my permanent room.  But I know you'd really like her.

Mary Jane Miller is going to transfer.  She really can't stand this place so she's going to leave.  Really can't blame her.  This mess is really getting to much.  They keep having pickets all the time for these problems and stuff we're supposed to have but don't have.  We're going to get a 30% refund though for all this confusion.  We still don't have any heat and most of the places still no hot water.  Just about all the conveniences you would like aren't ready.

Sounds as though you're really bogged down.  Probably worse than me.  I'm really glad I don't have to sit and study math and chemistry and all that stuff.  You've really picked a ruff course as far as studying and testing and all that stuff.  Sure hope you keep the grades up and not flunk out, so do I.

Well, I guess I better go to bed before my sucking roommates start yelling at me to turn out my light.  Wouldn't want them to get made or anything.  Well write soon.

P.S.  My roommates masturbate every night.  You can hear and see them bouncing up and down as though they were laying on a girl and they breathe really deep as though they're fucking the pillow.  They must think I'm blind as a bat if they think I can't see them, or hear them.  I sit over in bed and have to hold my nose to keep from laughing out loud.  How's that for a couple of dillies?

October 3, 1968 (Letter from Mark)

Sounds like you're having a great time at school.  I really do like school now.  Now that I've met hundreds of kids and we've all sort of formed our own groups and we have the greatest times.  This past weekend I went to the American Breed concert and the Friend & Love.  Next week Simon & Garfunkel are coming and the Union Gap on Oct 19.  I hope to get a chance to see them.

I'm dating Melissa Beard now.  She is in art & design.  She has eyes like Liz Taylor and hair about 4 ft. long.  It is really beautiful.  She has an apartment in Greenwich Village.  Her parents invited me to come to New York City the first weekend in November.  I'd really like to go.  Her parents are very well off and she's gone to a private girl school all her life.  We think so much alike we could almost be twins the way we think.  She's smoked pot and all that, but she isn't anything like a hippy.  She's a yippy - that's what they call a hippy that dresses nice.  She is really sharp though.  You'd really like her.

I've had two chances to smoke pot, but I haven't yet and I don't think I will.  I'll have to learn more about it.

Guess what?  I've learnt to like beer finally.  I went to a party Friday and all they had was beer.  I drank it and it didn't really taste bad.  Saturday after the concert I went to a beer blast.  It was pretty good.  I don't know why I've hated it all this time, it's really isn't' that bad.

Melissa and I are going drinking Friday and Saturday to a beer party.  They finally got buses going into town every hour so it really isn't that bad trying to get into town.

My bank book is getting low from all the art supplies I have to buy:  $250 for one quarter.  I don't believe all the stuff I have to carry around.  It is really bad it must weigh at least 70 pounds.  The homework is ruff.  The problems they give us are really tuff to figure out and I spent about 12 hours a day in classes, or in my work working on art.  If I can make it through this course I know I shouldn't have too much trouble finding a job.  Sure keeps me bogged down though.  This weekend I have to do a precision drawing of a parking lot full of cars, a precision drawing of a Victorian house form life, I have to build a sculpture of geometric shape and do a name composition.  They all have to be very precise and in good composition.  I'll probably spend all day Sat and Sun trying to get it all done.  If you get one project behind you're sunk.  The competition is really ruff.  Some of the kids are in art scholarship from N. Y. City, and Philadelphia and they're fabulous artists.  It's surprising that I even got in.  My art professors told me that everything I've done so far has been done as though it will be a masterpiece, which was a compliment and did give me a little boost.  Don't think I'll be able to get home till Thanksgiving cause I'll be so busy.

My new roommates are real dudes.  I'm never in my room so I don't have to spend much time with them at all.  I'm always at the girls dorm, or everyone else's.  They go to bed at 8 o'clock, don't drink, hate girls, religious fanatics.  They had a big fight because I don't go to mass and I'm not even Catholic.  The one stinks and the other reads his Catholic book before going to bed.  Real bad.  The two are here permanent, but I should be moved out real soon I hope.  I only have 4 or 5 weeks left in this room.  The one I call pencil sharpener and the other Father Enos.  One smells like a stinky old pencil.  They are clean and tidy, but I don't like them at all.  I all ready have my next roommate picked out.  He's in art & design and we should really get along great.

Have you heard from Mike lately?  He's the only one I haven't heard from since I got here.  Oh well, don't really care if he doesn't I guess.