Letters from Marcy #26: 28 August 1967
Marcy was two months into her pregnancy with me at this point, so I suspect that she knew she was pregnant, but I’m not sure.
Side note: The self-deprecating comment about illegibility makes me think this is a good place to mention that I rather like Marcy’s handwriting, and it’s very readable.
Monday [handwritten: 8/28/67]
Hlo.
Another one in longhand—well, Peter is asleep & it’s too cloudy (again) to type outside, & the urge to write has finally appeared so I figured better illegible than not at all.
Thanks for the check—so far I’ve bought myself some embroidery stuff & a couple of books on astrology, for the class I’m not taking (the class in Tarot, Astrology & Kaballah—peter is taking it & there’s always people here talking about it, so I get it too)
What was it—? does the ranch take paying guests? Hardly, it’s all they can do to feed the visiting guests they all have. They board horses, & grow enough vegetables (organic garden: no chemical fertilizers or insecticides) for their own use, & one or two of the guys work in the city & two have previous money of their own. That’s how they survive. Mary Mayshark is temporarily living up there now. (so much room they have!) (she said jealously)—She & Nick (our “priest”) were here yesterday; Nick & Peter went Abalone-ing; Nick used to be a diver & Peter has a wet suit, * so between them they got 6 abalones (sometimes I get tired of Abalone stew)—but Nick got most, & they were for the ranch. Mary told me that Mike Mideke (who is in Y. S.) just got a grant from U. of Wisc. to make a film of some obscure tribe of semi-nomads in India!!—rumored amount of grant is $100,000!!!! I’ll believe it when I hear it from him (the amount; I already believe somethin happened)
(* if you don’t know what a wet suit is, ask the library)
Carolyn quit the Peace Corps & is wandering around S.E. Asia—Laos, Thailand, etc.—H’ray for her!
Have spent the past week dying of poison oak again (it’s finally going away) & running around madly trying to get our school going—All we want to do is have a small private school for about 15 kids, but the amount of work & money involved is staggering. We’re presently dickering w/ the Mendocino school board for a school building they don’t use in Caspar (6 mi north) & trying to set up a benefit rock show (music, not stones) which just got canceled for Labor Day weekend due to lack of premises—so if we don’t have any money we can’t rent the school——(our large cat who refuses to get pregnant just sat down on the letter)——so then where are we at?
Also have been taking care of kids & spending a lot of time making plum jam—really fine to make your own jam & preserves & such—also the myriads of blackberries cause them to be made into jam & pies & pancakes till they come out our ears—
It really doesn’t help much to know I can buy sour dough from a bakery—if you could produce a Jewish bakery up here we wouldn’t need to make our own sourdough rye bread. The recipe would have been nice—thanks for trying, though. (Ah, and if someone could produce a delicatessen up here we would all die happy)
How would you like a grandchild? (This is not a matter of decision I ask you, but just a preference: rare, medium, or well-done?)—anyway, we’re thinkin’ about it.
Did you see Fulbright’s book on U.S. foreign policy? The S.F. paper printed some exerpts—it’s beautiful!
We’re thinking about moving—may get a larger house rent free—but may have to share with another couple—which is alright, actually—’cept they have 3 cats & a dog. Actually, we may just simply go out of our minds if the sun doesn’t start shining a little more. I might, anyway. — Anyway, if the school fails, we have some friends in Point Reyes Station (don’t ask me; use a map—it’s near Stinson Beach) who have a small ranch, & we’ll live there or go back to the damn’ city for the winter & make lots of money. (ugh.) —all this is if we don’t get enough money for the school. Also, the 6-day-school in Sonoma has tentatively offered Peter a job teaching math 1 day a week this fall (job means you are paid in food while there & other less tangible benefits)—
We had a lovely trip to Willits, Ukiah, Booneville, Philo, & Comptche the other day—Peter’s been working part time, a day here & there, & going to the class at Lost, but he decided to try for a full-time job at one of the lumber mills—no luck, but it was so beautiful! Wish you could see California—you’d never leave.
End of time—have to go run errands & shop & do laundry—& things. Love from Peter, take care, regards to all.
Love,
Marcia
Note P.O.Box
Postmark: Mendocino, CA, Aug 28, 1967. Handwritten: “Rec’d this 8/30” and “Ans. this 9/4.”