Peter, Marcy, Jed, and Jay

Handwritten note on a fold-and-mail card. Written the same day as the previous letter (the one from Helen).

July 28, 1976

Dear Grandma, Grandpa, & Jed & Joaquin

It seems like I’ve been trying to write this letter for days, and not sure what’s happening so it’s hard to figure out what to write. What’s been on our minds is the problem of getting Jed & Joaquin home again. The 150⁰⁰ for the plane flight up there just about did us under - now we are back up to zero but not sure what to do. No idea of several aspects of the situation - like:

Whether the boys have just about stayed out their welcome - I expect this may be the case, as we agreed to a month & that is over....

Whether they’re enjoying themselves more there than they would be at home - I expect this is the case, too, as here it would be babysitters and tired parents pretty constantly.

Whether John is planning to come down here, with or without family, & whether he’d want to bring them on such a xxx long trip - particularly 3 kids in a car- and if so, when, and if not - well....

How long Peter’s job will last (not very - a week or two, I’d guess-) and whether he’ll be able to get another, and whether he’ll be able to hitch-hike up & bring them back, which may be a possibility (that’s possibility, I think)

I guess a phone call would clear it all up, but we’re already into Ma Bell for quite a bit that hasn’t been paid, so I hoped we could get it clear in a letter.

So, we’d sure appreciate knowing not only what’s in the offing at your end, but how everyone feels about it. Jed & Quin, take into account this little-known fact if you are in a hurry to return-: Aimee & Gillian will be gone for the whole month of August.

’Quin, your bazooka tool kit came - it is very tiny & seems like no box, just a few two-inch tools wrapped in heavy paper. Our dog’s name & Jones are up to their usual tricks, Bob (the roomer) finally moved in, Salvator stayed with us for one day and is now working for Doris, the Mercedes is a little closer to being fixed, and I am learning how to make fancy letters for signs. That’s all the news I can think of. I hope you are having a lovely time and delighting your relatives. We love you all!

P&M

P.S. Alan & Cindy may come to visit us in August. They will be looking for a house somewhere pretty close to San Francisco. Remember their puppy, Cayambi? She must be bigger than our dog’s name by now.

You guys could maybe write us a letter!

Notes

money

I’m a little surprised that Peter and Marcy spent the last of their money to put us on a one-way plane flight with no plan about how to get us home. I wonder if this note was meant as a request for George and Helen to pay for our flight back.

“3 kids”

Me and Jay and our cousin, Dobe’s stepdaughter.

“How long Peter’s job will last”

Presumably referring to the carpentry job that Peter had mentioned in his previous letter.

Aimee & Gillian

Good friends of Jay’s and mine, about the same ages as us. I have occasionally wondered how their lives went after we dropped out of touch with them, but I don’t know their last name.

bazooka

I’m guessing that this was something that Jay had sent away for from Bazooka bubble gum.

Jones

I vaguely think this may have been a cat? I have no memory of it.

Doris

I can almost remember who Doris was, but not quite. :)

Mercedes

We had a Mercedes diesel car for a while. I assume it was used when we acquired it.

Alan & Cindy

Marcy’s cousin and his wife.