Letters from Marcy #11: 29 July 1965
Another letter, another matter-of-fact request-for-money-without-quite-asking. (This time it’s about insurance for her contact lenses; more about that in a future letter.) Also another reference to the advisability of kissing men with beards. (And one of the very few references to her father’s father, though it’s not enough of a description to help me figure out whether any of the photos I have are of him.) And a description of skin-diving, and other general natter.
Also her first mention of her penchant for getting guys to buy her dinner, which will come up again in later letters.
thursday
[pencil: 7/29/65]
'Allo!
Fear not, you are about the last letter to be writ on this
nearly-illegible typewriter ribbon, as I'm on xx my way to
the bookstore to get a new one.
I generally type on thinner paper, on which you really can't
read anything unless it's very black.
I was kind of upset by your letter--glad everything's okay.
Do take a picture if you can; I'd dearly love to see Daddy
with a full beard. Bet it itches like hell. At least, now
Mom can make the ACID TEST--no, no, don't use acid. but
you'll find out, my dear, it really is like an egg without
salt. Hmm, wonder what it's like from the inside....say, is
it straight, like your father's was, or curly? I can see you
with a little ol' tailored goatee and a prayer shawl. If you
let your hair grow you can be a prophet, maybe.
What happens when the liquid goes out? where does it go? how
do you get it back?
while we're on the topic of eyes, you have to pay for
insurance before you get it, you know. I'm sure it's
deductible--send check to me or make it out to Robert G.
Englefield.
keep on making new friends this quarter, which is really
exciting. I'm going out with some frequency with an
ex-boyfriend of Carolyn's, name of Sandy, who took me skin
diving last week. It was quite exciting--I couldn't do too
much in the way of depth, but used a mask and fins for the
first time, and a snorkel (breathing tube) when I finally
got the hang of it. The mask is great; I could leave my
lenses in and really see under water. all them fishes! when
you keep very still they nibble you. This was at a fairly
large artificial lake about ten miles east of here, in a
little town called Cedarville, seat of Cedarville College,
tremendously religious place. Yellow Springs is a bit too
commie for them, and they never come here--all [handwritten
insertion: us] beatnik commie red [handwritten insertion:
dirty] homosexuals.
(my stationery this week is partly (like this one) extra
pages from Rabbit's (Richard) history thesis, which is very
boring. he got an A for it......)
Carolyn is working for the Poverty Program, Project
Headstart, nursery schools for underpriveleged (rural in
this case) kids. Her nursery school is south of Xenia in a
very pretty area. The teacher is a real bitch, but at least
she doesn't do anything worse than think her kids are
stupid. Went with her on Monday morning and had a wonderful
time...can't wait to get back to teaching.
Other new friends, and long-lost ones, keep on appearing. My
room is warm and sunny and pretty and quiet, so people keep
dropping in on x us, leading to many contributions of donuts
and bread and similar goodies. (we are on the way back to
campus from the bakery, which opens at midnight for students
only) Pete Kuner is supposed to stop by this weekend en
route to St. Louis, where he is going to school to be an
architect. Rather assuming someone will find room for him to
stay, since I don't intend to make him very welcome unless
he should decide to take me out to dinner. (I'm not really
mercenary, it's just that I like to be taken out to dinner
and not paying for myself)...in which case my roommate's
boyfriend will be persuaded to find space.....
Have to go do some work, like reading a biography of da
Vinci, and such.
Let me know how the eye is coming and all.
love,
[handwritten: Marcia]
[handwritten: Sally says hello]
Postmark: Jul 31, 1965, Yellow Springs, Ohio. Handwritten: “Rec’d this 8/2/65” and “pay contact lens insur” and a couple of other notes.