Dear John, July 31st, 1970
We just had the most amazing day in Summer school! Our teacher stopped the class. The n she shut off the lights, and rolled a T.V. out into the classroom. [Black-and-white] She said "You all will have to watch this, children. It is history being made!"
John, we got to watch men land on the MOON! It was the neatest thing I have ever seen!
When the Eagle landed at Tranquility Base, and astronaut Neil Armstrong made the first-ever footstep on the Moon, you could have heard a pin drop! It was totally quiet, except for the T.V. Not a single kid was goofing off.
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Did you get to watch the astronauts land on the Moon, John? I really hope that you did!
I'm still reading the pioneer books, too. Right now, I'm reading about Buffalo Bill. His real name was William Cody. He had a traveling Wild West show. It sounds to me like a carnival.
They have a municipal swimming pool here in Genoa. I'm taking swimming lessons there. My little brother did a belly flop off the high-dive. He said it hurt really bad! Also, there is a Tasty Freeze across the street. They have frozen cherry-dipped bananas! Those are my new favorite!
Your friend,
Dan
[Drawing of Apollo Lunar Lander & astronaut on Moon]
John's reply letter to Dan Link
Dear Dan,
ReplyDeleteWow! You saw the moon landing live! I saw it on playback. But that is great that your classmates didn’t cut up. I think I want to be an astronaut when I grow up. Those guys jumping around on the moon look like they had barrels of fun. But right now I’m enjoying life on earth. You know I think this girl is serious about me. I got me a girlfriend. I never thought that would happen. I must be crazy at my age to go steady. Being with a girl feels stranger than walking on the moon. But boy it beats watching TV. And for the first time I feel romantic. What a weird notion for a freshman. But here it is and real as can be.
Her name is Tracy and for Halloween she wrapped me in sheet strips as a mummy. I got butterflies in my stomach as I’d never been that close to a girl before. But she is so cute that I really enjoyed it. If I ever get married it would be to her. So I thought she just liked me as her guy pal. Boy was I mistaken.
Here’s how it all started. She was climbing out of the pool when she asked if I liked her. I said as a friend. She smiled and said “I think more than that.” So she told me to meet her at the skating rink on Saturday night. She seems kind of bossy for a girl. But I kind of liked it. Pretty soon we were going steady. At the rink my best friend Keith had me and Tracy wrap our arms around each other so close that I could smell her perfume. She was kind of nervous and said she’d never been like this with a boy. So my heart did flip flops. But Tracy seemed to enjoy it as she held me there long enough for me to catch my breath. Tracy had some mighty funny questions for me. She asked me “John if Brigitte Bardot were to want you for her own would you leave me?” Tracy is such a kidder. But this time she wasn’t joking. So I told her, “You’re prettier without makeup than Brigitte all dolled up.” Tracy had a smile like she’d won the lotto. So then she pulled an even bigger one out of her hat. She said, “If a kidnapper were to say, ‘It’s either you or the girl’ what would you say?” So I told her “What any gentleman would do.” Tracy hopped like a girl in a game show. God that girl is sweet on me. It feels like true love. I got a crush on that girl. Now if only I could get back to my arithmetic. Mom thinks I’m girl crazy.
Your friend,
John