putting my thoughts on paper.
You are a wonderful wife and I am honored to be your husband. A year ago it was all such a whirl. We survived! We both know that first month wasn’t easy. Thanks to our mutual love and sense of humor (did I really say “waffle leaded wife” in my vows?), the rest of the year has been great.
I am so glad you enjoy being on top. I love to hear your laughter!
Jim
Tampa, Florida
October 17, 1976
Dear Lucy,
Thank you for taking time away from your husband and the school to come for your father’s funeral. I would have figured out the checking account and other financial matters by myself but I appreciated your help.
It was good to see the photos of your children. My goodness, they’re all grown up now. And I do wish you would consider spending more time in the Florida sunshine. How you can stand winters in New York is beyond me.
Mom
November 28, 2003
Hi, Mom.
It was great to have another Skype face-to-face the day before Thanksgiving. I saw Abe Weinstein hovering behind you. Please thank him again from me for letting you use his computer for our connection. And give my thanks to the church ladies for sending along a lovely package!
There was a big surprise for our Thanksgiving meal here. Because of the censors I cannot tell you who came. A very high official and a good time was had by all. It was real lift to our spirits!
Going with a convoy tomorrow. Wish me safe travel.
Give a big hello from me to Brother Jim and Sister Sophie. I will send you some more Iraqi jokes to pass on to them.
Will try for another Skype session after I return. I’ll let Abe know by the usual channels.
Love you,
Steve
Rev. Dr. Roger Willoughby
Asbury Court United Methodist Church
Brooklyn, New York 11215
December 5, 2003
Dear Mrs. Scott,
Thank you for the opportunity to have prayer together yesterday. I join you in your grief at the loss of your son, Lt. Colonel Steve Scott.
As I promised, I did speak to the local Army people here in Brooklyn and they confirm that his body should be released from Dover Air Base early next week. By then you will need to have told me whether or not you wish to have a funeral service here first or just a simple committal service at Arlington Cemetery. If you wish to use the church, the ladies of the Abigail Circle will be glad to hold a reception afterwards in the Church Parlor.
Please give my warmest regards to your son and daughter. I look forward to meeting them here or in Washington. Christ’s love comforts us all in this time of sorrow.
Sincerely,
Pastor Roger
128 Stoll Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
July 22, 2013
Dear GGM* Lucy,
You are really great! Thank you again for helping me with the video for my communications class this summer at U of L. Everybody I know has seen it and they all are impressed with your vitality as your 85th birthday approaches. In the last three weeks Age Is an Attitude, Not a Condition has scored 10,500 hits on the internet. Wow! Not bad for a first try, huh?
I did not see Granddad Jim and his wife while I was in NYC that weekend. He was busy at some conference or something. As you know, my father and Granddad Jim had a falling out some years ago. Over what, I’ve never discovered but I suspect it was about Granddad’s divorce from Dad’s mom Kate. I should have asked you when I had the chance, but it really is ancient history for me. I like to think about the future and not the past.
Please thank Fred for letting me stay at his apartment for the weekend. You and Fred are “the real thing!”
Above is my new address. It is a three-room (plus kitchen and bath) “shotgun house.” That is the description for old houses in this part of the ‘Ville. All the doors are in line, so if you open the front door, it is said you could fire a shotgun all the way through! My friend Ray and I are sharing the space. (No shotguns allowed!)
The other excitement here is the football and basketball teams, as well as baseball and women’s basketball teams, who all look good to repeat their successes of last year. Go, Cards!
Affectionately, your GGS,
Alex
*I am using GGM because it is easier than Great Grandmother.
September 9, 2013
Mon très estimé professeur,
Merci beaucoup pour notre conversation d’aujourd’hui. Elle a réveillé beaucoup de bons et tendres souvenirs de ma mère et des conversations que nous avons partagées, du professeur de français qui vous a suivi à Johnson Tech, des gens que j’aide (la plupart des haïtiens) quand ils viennent à la pharmacie pour les ordonnances. Mais maintenant je passé à l’anglais. Je peux bavarder en français, “la belle langue,” mais je trouve que c’est plus difficile de écrire en français.
[For those readers not conversant in French, I have translated Mr. K’s first paragraph. “Esteemed Professor: Thank you very much for our conversation today. It brought back many warm memories — of my mother and the conversations we would have, of the French teacher who followed you at Johnson Tech, of the people whom I help (mostly Haitian) when they come for prescriptions at the pharmacy. But now I switch to English. I can chatter away in ‘the beautiful language’, but I find it more difficult when it comes to the written word.”]
I find it very pleasant to converse with you. I am glad to hear that your successor, Madam Bonner, is still holding forth at school. She frequently expressed her chagrin when I would mix up my tenses.
During our last conversation in the lobby, please forgive my silence when you asked me what my name is. I told you my surname is Dugay. I did not know how to respond when you then asked what Mr. K stands for. Please forgive me if I seemed rude as I turned away.
Let me tell you now, but I beg your patience as I recite some family history.
My mother, Lucinda Dugay, was born in French Guiana in South America. The family had moderate means to support her older sister and her two younger brothers. When my mother was eighteen, she became involved with a man of low repute and her parents sent her to live with her
