Carthage House
\nChatham, Massachusetts
\nSeptember 20, 1996<\/p>\n
My Dearest Jimmy,<\/p>\n
Now that my teaching days are well past, this is my favorite season.\u00a0 It\u2019s warm enough during the day to still enjoy our yard and a walk on the beach; but now the summer people<\/i> are gone.\u00a0 And to think that two decades ago Saul and I were summer people!\u00a0 But even back then Saul and I tried to steal<\/i> at least two September weekends (as long as the High Holidays didn\u2019t interfere) to enjoy the quiet.<\/p>\n
Our favorite time of the day was the evening.\u00a0 We would put on light sweaters, go out back and watch the moon rise over the sea.\u00a0 It was our time<\/i>.\u00a0 In my last few years with Saul, after we had both retired, these times were even more precious. We would sit in our Adirondack chairs down by the pair of Chinese Red Maples.\u00a0 We had a clear view of the water and the heavens.<\/p>\n
We would stay until our sweaters were insufficient against the early autumn air. Then Saul would take one long last look at the moon, slap his knees and say, \u201cWell ol\u2019 girl, it looks like its high tide in the Sea of Copernicus, time to bring the dory ashore!\u201d And we would go in.<\/p>\n
I am enclosing two letters that I think might be of interest to you.\u00a0 I was putting together a carton of books to donate to the ChathamElementary School\u2019s Book Sale, and I stumbled upon them tucked in a Civil War Atlas.\u00a0 One is written in your hand, and the other is a typed carbon copy from Saul.\u00a0 Both were neatly folded and pressed between two maps of the Battle of Chickamauga.\u00a0 If Saul had mentioned the correspondence to me back then, I had long since forgotten its contents.<\/p>\n
Thinking of those days — it was a difficult time for the country.\u00a0 Upsetting in so many ways.\u00a0 I know that from the time that you were a little boy you loved Saul; and it warms me to think that when you became a young adult you held his views in such high regard. Jimmy, know that Saul treasured you \u2013 he loved your sense of humor.\u00a0 He always said that there was a spark of life in your brown eyes!<\/p>\n
I am sitting at my desk looking out to the yard and to a three quarter moon suspended over the water.\u00a0 The night is mostly clear with just a few wispy clouds tracing a path below the moon.\u00a0 I think of you, I think of your Mother & Father, and of course I think of my Saul.\u00a0 I do believe that the tide is high in the Sea of Copernicus.<\/p>\n
Love, Always. —————-<\/p>\n Union College I am writing to you for your good advice and counsel.<\/p>\n The election is looming ahead.\u00a0 Where are we to go?\u00a0 Who are we to support? I don\u2019t like our choices.\u00a0 It makes me sick to think of where our Country is going.\u00a0 The divisiveness is horrible.\u00a0 Generation against generation.\u00a0 Father against son.\u00a0 Those that served and sacrificed their lives in WWII set against those that are unwilling to do the same in the stink-hole of Viet Nam.<\/p>\n Viet Nam will go down as the tragedy of my generation.\u00a0 And now we will have to choose between Nixon and Humprhey?<\/p>\n I ask again, \u201cWhere are we to go?\u201d<\/p>\n Sorry to trouble you.\u00a0 Please give my love to Aunt Meggie.\u00a0 Remind her that she can send oatmeal raisin cookies to me via parcel post at any time!\u00a0 Particularly during Finals!<\/p>\n I hope this finds you well.<\/p>\n Love, ————–<\/p>\n Kings House Dear Jimmy,<\/p>\n I feel your concern, and I too am deeply troubled by our Country\u2019s course.<\/p>\n My short answer would be support Humphrey.\u00a0 He is a good man.\u00a0 He has solid liberal credentials that have been obscured by his attachment to the Johnson Administration.\u00a0 I believe, given the opportunity, he will establish his independence; and separate from the present Foreign Policy that has us mired in Viet Nam.<\/p>\n Remember this \u2013 regardless of who wins in the general election, we vote for the top 1000 appointments that the President makes.\u00a0 These people are recruited from the \u201ctalent pool\u201d from each of the Parties.\u00a0 It is through these appointments that information is evaluated, policies are formed and policies implemented.<\/p>\n Even if Humphrey loses, we have seen the mess the Democrats have given us.\u00a0 Maybe the bright guys on the Republican side have a better solution?<\/p>\n Something I have learned \u2013 no President, regardless of Party affiliation, is as good or as bad as he first appears.\u00a0 Being a President is a real tough job, and it takes decades for history to weigh in with its judgment as to success or failure.<\/p>\n I have passed your cookie request to Meggie.\u00a0 I can\u2019t promise that her response will result in a \u201ccare package\u201d; but I do detect warm fragrances emanating from the interior of our kitchen!<\/p>\n Stay well, study hard, keep your smile and never doubt whether tomorrow will be a fine day.<\/p>\n Love,<\/p>\n …. Carthage House Chatham, Massachusetts September 20, 1996 My Dearest Jimmy, Now that my teaching days are well past, this is my favorite season.\u00a0 It\u2019s warm enough during the day to still enjoy our yard and a walk on the beach; … Continue reading
\nAunt Meggie<\/em><\/p>\n
\nOctober 7, 1968
\nDear Uncle Saul,<\/p>\n
\nJim<\/em><\/p>\n
\nWoodbury, Connecticut
\nOctober 17, 1968<\/p>\n
\nn.b.\u00a0<\/strong> Saul loved \u201cnaming\u201d his residences.\u00a0 He felt it lent a gentrified English<\/span> tone to a home and it gave Saul a sense of remaining \u201cconnected\u201d.\u00a0 Homes were named for street locations\u2026 The Woodbury house followed his childhood home on Kings Highway, Brooklyn\u2026 and the Chatham home for the Woodbury home on Carthage Road. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"