Dave makes a run to Albany with his mother and Claude and gets a flat tire. He is there to gather items needed for raising chicks. He continues to worry about unemployment, but has made some money by providing taxi service. He’s purchased dancing lessons for Ruth, but she continues to skip them. She reports that Mrs. Finkelstein continues to improve and enjoys talking with her.
March 18, 1935
Middleburg, N.Y.
Dear Ruth,
Yeah, here I is at my usual Monday evening task trying to fill up a few pages with some dry reading, but as long as you can continue to take it, I’ll dish it out.
I just arrived back from the big city of Albany and am waiting for the call to the evening meal. It seems I have a vacant spot somewhere in my midsection and come to think of it, I haven’t had anything to eat except a piece of pie and a cup of coffee since 7 a.m. breakfast.
Had to come to Albany and purchase a few incidentals necessary to the rearing of a few baby chicks. Brought my mother in as she wanted a new pair of shoes and Claude came along to keep me from running into telephone poles in case I should fall asleep or go to gaping at street signs.
Didja happen to hear or feel any atmospheric disturbances about 2:30 p.m.? If you did, I can assure you it was nothing to be alarmed over because it was only yours truly the “Deacon” with a flat tire up in Menands. You should have been there. It was a swell opportunity for you to add a few novel words to your already abundant vocabulary.
Whoa, hold everything. I’ll continue after supper.
There, I feel much better now and if I can keep awake long enough now, I think I’ll be able to finish this. It was just 4 a.m. this morning when I tumbled into bed. Even at that we did leave a little earlier than the Sunday before. It just seems impossible to let you go any sooner and I don’t think I’ll make any special efforts to do so. Inasmuch as it is only once a week, why not make the most of it.
Not only that, but there is nothing certain as to how long I can continue these trips with no work in sight. Fran only expects to come in twice more and then he will be tied up at the station. I guess the program is for me to come into the city and get you and Lydia and bring you out to P.H. for the evening. So you are apt to be seeing quite a lot of this wild and wooly country in the near future and I suppose I’ll be in for a nice lot of kidding. Well, let it come, I can take it.
The close of this letter reads: “How is this for filling up the page. I hate to see paper go to waste.”
How about the dancing lessons? Are you taking one this week? If you don’t hurry up and use that card, I’ll ask Lydia to take it away from you and use it herself. Besides you must watch your girlish figure you know and dancing is a swell way to keep it trim.
By the way, how did you like the dance Friday night? Had a fine time I thought.
I’m thinking some of putting on a hog calling contest out here in the sticks. Can I plan on you as one of the callers?
Sleep is beginning to get the best of me and I can’t think of anything more to write except that I would much rather be in Albany with you than here writing this letter.
Well, Stubby, I’m going to sign off here even though this is rather short. Probably the next one I write will be entirely in blank verse as you express it. How would you like to receive one like that?
Goodnite.
D A V E
March 18, 1935
70 Jay Street
Albany, N.Y.
Greetings Deacon,
Well, angel, I suppose you arrived home safely after you left me this morning as usual or sompin’.
I don’t owe you a letter but you say I do so I guess what you say goes, and then they tell about a woman having the last word.
I am awfully sorry that I didn’t introduce you to Macbeth. I can’t see how you ever missed hearing it when Lydia held it out the window. When I hear it mornings, it seems like it might be heard fifty miles away. However, it gets me up mornings and that’s a lot. This morning it didn’t do a very thorough job I fear as I am not completely awake yet this morning. At 6:50 Macbeth announced that it was time for a certain Miss Parker to arise. I felt like letting my friend fly out the window and going back to sleep, but upon second thought I decided it wasn’t right to make a poor innocent little clock suffer for something you were to blame for.
I hope by next Sunday that you three hoodlums have your pig call perfected so I won’t have to be bothered listening to you practice.
Tonight I didn’t take a dancing lesson because I have such a looking mug. I stopped at the drug store tonight and got some stuff for it. While I was in there, I had me a soda and I guess it went to my head. Anyhow something affected the contents of my cranial cavity. If you will promise never to tell Lydia, I will tell you. Okay remember it’s a secret! While walking down Lark Street, I was suddenly taken with the desire to possess another song sheet, so I bought one. It was a swell buy and has all the latest songs in it. I already have about ninety-nine of the darned things around here now. Lydia says I’m a nut, but I don’t mind much. She always looks at them after I get them. So what?
Mrs. What’s It had a very good day and stayed up in a chair for an hour and a half.
Will you pul-ease pardon me because I can’t keep my eyes open or my mouth shut. I bet you didn’t even think of getting up until noon today. (Sleepy head.)
I have to wind Macbeth and open the window, then I can go me to bed.
So long, and I don’t O.U.
Ruth
P.S. Just because this is short, you don’t need to write a short one. I will try and do better next time.
March 20, 1935
70 Jay Street
Albany, N.Y.
Dear Dave,
What a girl I turned out to be, here I am answering your letter before I get it. However, if you keep your word and don’t write because I said I didn’t get your last letter, I won’t bother sending this until Friday at least and maybe never.
I am writing this on duty so I probably won’t get far. The reason I started it is because I am going to be busy tonight unless I run into someone who will support their end of a conversation.
So you would insinuate that nurses bury their mistakes. Well, my advice to you is just be careful that you aren’t a “Nurse’s Mistake”. Many more wise cracks from you directed at me and you are apt to be. If you get what I mean!
Some time later.
Here I is back in my room and I will do my best to finish this letter before the Sand Man calls.
Nope, I haven’t taken any dancing lessons this week and goodness knows when I will take them. So you think there is danger of me becoming obese. Well it is just like this, Lester tells me that men prefer plump ladies so he loaded my plate up and made me eat it. Of course they had to park me beside him at the table. He sure gets a big kick out of bothering me. Now go ahead and rave, I know you like to hear about Lester. Oh yeah, I think I’m also making a hit with Julius. We even have our breakfast together. His sister told me to ask him to go on an errand tonight as he would do it for me sooner than he would for her. How is that for having pull?
Mrs. Fink was up in a chair for two hours today and then I had to make her go back to bed. I can see that she is improving and every improvement I notice I am as tickled as a boy with a new top or sompin’. The doctor is coming tomorrow and I hope he says to postpone the insulin. Every time she sees me coming with the hypo, she starts expostulating. I don’t mind giving them, only she makes an awful fuss and they don’t hurt her at all. Last night she informed me that I had given her altogether too much medicine for one day and that she absolutely refused to take any today. I simply said, we will argue about that tomorrow. She took her medicine today and never said a word. I usually laugh at her and by the time she gets done rambling on she is laughing, too, and the medicine is gone.
Today I saw a robin and lifted Mrs. Fink up in bed so she could see it. She says spring is sure enough coming. I certainly hope she is right. Since she has gotten so she can talk I like her a lot, but if she ever gets mad enough about the medicine, she will probably tell me in a few words where to go.
I can see a look in your eyes which tell me you are going to say you saw robins in Middleburg a month ago. Well maybe I’ll believe you but there are hundreds who wouldn’t.
So you think I would have been able to learn some swearing from you if I had been in Menands Monday. I don’t doubt it. I am of the opinion that you know how to swing them occasionally. Honest and truly I never swear, only when I am with you or Lydia. While I am on duty I am quiet and dignified. It looks like you two “Angels” bring out the worst in me.
Since you are going to have some baby chicks I would like to apply for a position as dietitian. You see I know a lot about it since my big brother is a poultry man. I heard him say something once about giving them cod liver oil. However, if you give them a sun bath every day, they will get their vitamin D through the sun rays. If you want any more information regarding their diet, I will be glad to help you out.
Lydia called tonight and she tells me that Jo and Ralph have a daughter. I says swell, ten to go and they will have a dozen. I should go and see her, but I won’t go in the hospital with my uniform on and I wouldn’t have time to come home and change.
Listen, don’t be telling me that you had pie and coffee for lunch Monday. The very idea, I am ashamed of you. Looks like you forgot what I told you about little boys who eat too much pie. They grow smaller and smaller and finally when they aren’t any more, their poor friend (such as me) has to buy flowers. It would have been much better for you if you had eaten spinach and drank milk or orange juice. Please don’t let me know of you doing such a thing again or I will have to go back on night duty.
Yeah, I had a swell time at the dance last Friday night. It was just the kind I like.
When you decide to put on your hog calling contest, I only ask that you give me a week’s notice so I can be as far away as possible. I suppose next you will start practicing the Tarzan yell. When you do, go up on Brookline Avenue as the boys up there have it swell. I know because they used to practice while I was endeavoring to sleep.
That old gent named Kelly in the room down the hall just took a bath and I guess he thought he hadn’t used enough hot water so he went to bed and left it running. I listened to it until I got sea sick and finally went in and shut it off. He gives me a pain in the neck and I don’t meet him in the hallway either, so there!
By the way, I had a bright thought tonight and remembered to stop and get my laundry.
I guess I’ll call it a day, go in and wash (in cold water), clean my teeth, eat my vitamins, wind Macbeth, put up the window and go to bed. I seem to be awfully sleepy of late and the more sleep I get, the more I want. I guess I have all the symptoms of spring fever. It is now 10:10 p.m. and that means just one more hour and fifty nine minutes to spring (by the calendar).
Nuff said,
“Me”
March 21, 1935
Middleburg, N.Y.
Dear Ruth,
I still insist I don’t owe you and this proves it. Do you dare to contradict me?
Boy, did I get mail yesterday, and how, eight letters and it wasn’t my birthday either. However, six of them were of a business nature and will only require a few lines to answer each of them but even that must wait until this letter is on its way. Just see how important you are. The tough part of getting all those letters was that I didn’t have time to read but one of them until seven p.m. that night. Which one did I read? Well I’ll let you guess.
I have thought for the last month that I was one of the unemployed but it is hard to believe except when I look in my pocketbook. There is more work to be done around here than an army could take care of. For one thing, I seem to be in the taxi business. There were five people here yesterday wanting me to take them to different places. I managed to satisfy three of them and only cleared a dollar and a half at that.
It has been raining here all morning so I decided to white wash a hen house. You should see me now. There is more lime on me than on the building.1
Haven’t seen Fran to talk to this week. Passed him on the road a couple of times but didn’t stop so I’ll have to run down and see him either tonight or tomorrow.
Your excuse for not taking a dancing lesson this week was rather poor. You don’t dance with your face do you? Something will have to be done to get you started.
Just had to stop for fifteen minutes to listen to Honeyboy and Sassafras. I still say they are very good.
So you bought another song sheet. Well bring it along Sunday and warble some tunes for me. Maybe that will take the place of the pig calling.
Well, Stubby, duty is calling me back to work so I’ll have to sign off until Sunday evening.
Gumbye, my dear, ‘til Sunday.
Dave
Footnote
- Whitewash is a common water-soluble covering used in barns or masonry. The hydrated lime not only gave a clean white appearance, but also had some antimicrobial properties.