Steve

Leona

Dear Sister,

Mae Ella Ewell's daughter Marteel has to get married by the end of the month. That boy she's been going to marry for the last two years ships out to the army August 1st and can only get married housing for them if they are married by the 31st or some such complicated thing.

At least this is the story they're tellin. Lester's Aunt Dode on his Momma's side always said that every single time when there was some weird reason to rush a wedding and hurry up and have it before next weekend or some such that she would always go get her calendar out. Then she would mark the wedding day and flip ahead to exactly nine months to the day later and mark that day with a big pink wide mark felt tip pen.

Her point bein that when their child was born five to seven months later and it's sudden and unexpected arrival was bein discussed at church in hushed tones right before the sermon, she could always chime in with

Well that just isn't possible. I was at the wedding and she just couldn't be due till late February or early March. I know I marked it on my calendar. Then she would slowly walk back to her pew with a half evil little smirk on her face while all those old ladies juggled their Bibles, purses and Hymnals tryin to count out on their white cotton gloved fingers just when they thought the baby should have come.

Girl, Lester's Aunt Dode was a hateful old thing. She was always saying things to people, thinly disguised as a compliment, that was enough to send em to their beds on a two-day cryin jag out of sheer humiliation. I think she knew exactly what she was doin too. She just loved to see people suffer.

She seemed to do most of her dirty work at Church too, if that don't beat all. I remember one time, Hattie and G.W. Cavanaugh's girl, Lexanne, that had the infitago so bad, poor thing. Well any way they was standin in the front vestibule deal at Church and Dode walks in and takes a long look at em especially at poor Lexanne and then she laughs kinda nervous and put- on like and says

Oh silly old near-sighted me. I went off and left my eye-glasses back at the house this morning and when I walked in here just now I could have sworn poor little Lexanne's face had finally cleared up.

Remember when she told Momma that time, at her own sister Timey's funeral that she thought that Momma's dress would be so pretty on her if it didn’t fit her that way across the seat.

There were quite a few people in this town who smiled all day long when that old woman died. I think it did their hearts good to know that she went, you know that awful way. I still can't help but laugh about it to this day.

They say if she had set the break on her wheel chair while she was admiring a hat in Miss Sally's front store window she wouldn't have rolled into the traffic. A big old Foremost milk truck was backing out of a tight space and never saw her. His bumper tapped her from behind with just enough force to send her down the hill toward the post office. She gained momentum as she rolled down the hill. Calpurnia, Miss Stanley Nordstrom’s Cleaning Lady, said it looked like she was doin almost twenty-five or thirty when she ran the red light where she was waiting for the bus. She said her mouth was wide open but she couldn't hear her screamin or any thing.... above all the honking, squealin tires and commotion.

She hit the high curb in front of the Post Office pretty hard and that’s where she parted company with her wheelchair. She smacked her head on that big brass plaque that says that the W.P.A. built the Post Office, and Momma said it laid her skull open half- in- two just like a water melon. .

I can't believe we were at Girl Scout Camp and missed all that.

Any way let me know if you are gonna go in halfsies on this dad burned wedding present or not. I need to know by Monday.

Remember we love you, Anyway.