Marcia Kirwan Standley Papers

It lasts until 10:45 and then I walk a couple of blocks to 11:00 mass at St. Ann's. A very convenient 5 bucks. My buddy who got me the bill-collecting job got this one for me.

Pam is just about ready to be censured. I'm sitting with the Tues. afternoon Terrors, Pam and Peter. I let her play with the hose, and after changing their already dirty clothes once, things were wet but peaceful until she decided to give the living-room the once-over wetly. I am now even more thoroughly convinced that cork tile is ideal. Anyway, the backyard will be nice and green. The drapes will dry too. These Eichler homes can really take it. At the moment, they're polishing off the last quart of milk.

Are you still having attacks of [Meniere's?] disease? I assume not, if you are able to fall off bar stools again, and come up laughing. If it's recurrent, as it says in the article, I assume that you don't do a great deal of driving. It's a shame that they don't have nice bars down there like they have up here. Of course, there's only one Rudy's. Liz hadn't been off her cane for a week when her two bartenders went out and got themselves hospitalized in a motorcycle accident. They moved one of the fellows from San Jose to the Pally hospital last Fri. The road from Rudy's to that hospital looks to be a well worn one. He'll be there for months.

I'm glad you're feeling well enough to send me cartoon and napkins from the Chi-Chi. My love to Daddy, Grandmother, Cookie and Destiny. Love, Marcia

4

I'll try to get up to see Sr. L., or at least drop her a line. This quarter there is so much, all of it academically crucial, I can't afford to stray very far, at least right now.

Thank you for the Chi-chi napkins. Glad to see that you can cut loose when you want to. Are you sure that you're really doing what you want to do. That is important now, but especially for the future. I've been trying to think of something that you could do in a stationary position while dizzy, & the only thing I can think of is throw darts. It will improve your perception & you won't have to worry about a moving target. The most important thing is to be able to laught at yourself. Things don't hurt so much that way, & its a much easier way of accepting something inconvenient &/or painful than being tragic about it. I hope you don't mind my saying that, but you probably do. I think that I look at things in an altogether different way than you do. Not wrong, just different.

Now be sure & don't send me anything else except B12, the pink cotton dress, the blue linen shirt & blouse, my white heels, & my white flats. That's all I need. Anything else would take up space unnecessarily. I have made 3 cotton skirts & am in the process of a blouse to match the third. I am still sending you that package.

The #3's got here intact. Thank you very much.

Love,

Marcia

Love to Daddy, Grandmother, Cookie, & Destiny.

39 N.E. Stanton Portland, Ore.

Kevin hasn't been around all week. I guess he got a little upset last Sat. night, because I bawled him out. He doesn't really care much about anybody but Kevin. That's okay with me, as long as he doesn't use me or anyone else to his advantage. But he only comes around when he has that on his mind.

Tonite I put a new rear tire & a lower gear on my motorcycle to make it more effective, i.e., safer in the mud & rain. I'm not teasing you, just giving you a little material to me in fostering an objective attitude.

Give my love to Daddy. Grandmother, Cookie & Destiny, & please bring Cookie with you when you come up next.

Joan & Vince never showed, I didn' remember whether you said they were going to, or not.

Is the diaper lift still going on?

Love Marcia

P.S. If you can, could you send me some Miltowns. Food for going to sleep. I'm still unwinding

November 15, 1957

Dear Mother,

Thank you for your letter & news of Grandmother's condition. I'm glad to hear she's pulling out of it.

Regarding the sterling vegetable dish; please do not exchange it. I would rather have the actual gift they sent, & it would be kind of nice to have a pair, I think.

Jack Shetler told me about your retirement plans. How did you happen to pick Carmel? Too much fog down there for me. I like Sun.

Jim & I have a big day planned for tomorrow.

Mon Correction: we had a long weekend, starting with the groceries & 5 frozen turkeys for his sister. The place where we buy most of our meat has nice fat hens for 33C a lb. Most of the rest Sat. was spent in the garage working on our motorcycles. This was one weekend when we were able to spend a great deal of time on them. I've rebuilt another battery for my 2-stroke and made a wooden cover for it. All I have to do now is finish the mounting set-up. It certainly is fun to see something you dreamed up, take shape & finally perform efficiently on command. This doesn't happen too often for me, but I'm learning. This year Jim is in a position to incorporate a raft of new ideas into his track machine. You have no idea how much time & effort it takes to get something off the drawing board & onto

my favorite Van Gogh won't be there. Maybe you remember, I had a print of it hanging in the living-room at 804. When we decorate this place, I plan to have it framed & handing on the living-room wall. The original is in a private collection, & the paintings we're going to see are from Holland & public U.S. collections. The exhibit will be in L.A. next. If you're at all interested, it's worth the trouble to see it.

Paulsey is coming over today to watch She & the world series, while I go Avon-ing. I usually take She with me, but she weighs a ton so it will be nice to have her at home for a change. When she gets a little more accustomed to her stroller it will be easier, but by then I will probably be back to work. The county is scheduled to call me anytime after Nov. 1.

Before Paulsey comes, I have to achieve a semblance of order & civilize the kitchen. We're having bean soup for dinner, one of the recipes which I have mastered, so I have to lay out the ingredients & thaw the smoked ham hock. I alternate the recipes I have mastered with experimental menus, to keep Jim's digestion on an even peel. A ratio of 2 old stand-bys to one experiment keeps us in good shape.

Love, Marcia

P.S. Wedding negatives soon. Don't you remember, you already brought me Grandmother's gray coat. It's very nice.