September 25th, 1996
San Francisco, Ca
Dear Henhouseicus,
Cartolinae tuam recibo. End of Latin. Thank you for the post cards and I am sorry I
have not answered you sooner, Henry, however, I have been doing a lot of
typing--inputting on my PC and doing lots of reading, and, frankly, I have had
no desire to write. Let me, therefore,
apologize for my laziness, but let me say how much I have appreciated receiving
your Latin messages which, with the aid of the dictionary you gave me, I was
able to translate and read. I especially
liked your card
of 23 September with the sentence: Hic mulier est tibi. Thanks.
She is a beauty. I will shre her with you.
The reason you are receiving this missive today is that I
had to pull out my printer to print 50, single spaced
pages of a novel so I can give it to a friend of mine who was in the publishing
business for many years in New York, so she can advise on where to submit
it. I wrote that novel way back in 1979
in Albuquerque, 17 years ago. I dug it
out and worked on it. It is still a fine
novel, but a little weak in parts which my (then)
inexperience did not allow me to see. However, 17 years and six or seven novels
later, I was able to see through my ego and correct what I thought at one time
was good.
Last Sunday, I was over in Mill Valley to unload my old footlocker which had many MSS and assorted papers and
etceteras. Among the etceteras were many
of your letters with the return address of ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS. How well I remember that. Nevertheless, your letters are still intact,
if not a bit soggy and that is why I was in MV, to remove the soggy MSS from
the footlocker and lay them on the floor of my friend's front room to let them
dry. I will have to go back this coming
Sunday lwith a box of file folders and thenI don't know what I will do
with them. Also among the papers was a
short story of yours;
I can't now remember the name of it. I was a little sad because many things which I had written from 1970 through 73, alas, were
so water logged that I doubt if they will be legible when they are dry. Sic semper stupiditas scriptoris.
I have only worked 3 days since I last saw you and have
been living off my credit card and the little UI that I get. However, tomorrow, I have a gig through my
agency at PacBel for about 6 days @ $8.00 p.h. It's not much but it is somethig. I have applied for many jobs but have received
no invitations to interview.
I accidently printed page one
of my novel twice, so I am enclosing page one for your pleasure.
I am humbled that you are reading Winie
Ille Pu in Lingua
Latina. Good for you,
old chap. I wouldn't
even try it.
And speaking of reading, let me
tell you of a jewel of a find at the Main Library the other day, to wit, A
Drummer-Boys's Diary, Comprising Four Years Of
Service With The Second Regiment Minnesota Veteran Volunteers, l1861 To 1865 by
William Bircher. It is by no means a
masterpiece of literary skill. However,
he was just 15 yers old in 1861 when he went off as
regimental drummer and was just a little over 18 when the war ended. It is a first hand account of life in the
ranks during those horrible days of war.
There were parts where I was not dry-eyed. If you can find it at UON Reno, by all means,
read it. Finished Arthur Koestler's Scum of the EArth, Vol. II of his autobiography and let me tell you
that man really suffered through a vile internment in France 1939-40. Read it, too, if you can. Have started on an account of the Battle of
New Orleans written by a transplanted Englishman, and thus far, it is pretty good. I want
to make a study of the War of 1812 because I am so dieficient
in my knowledge of it. I know more about
Classical history than I do about US history.
The weather here is getting cold and our usual Indian Summer is, alas, over.
I hope this letter finds you in good health, etc.
I'm keeping an eye out for Latin
texts for you, thus far I've found nothing.
Be well. Keep your
mentula rigida et semper paratus.
Tuus Amico
Roberticus Magnus,
Scriptor
{NOTE BY R. Haig: Fragmented text below retrieved from
original MS Word document}
The story ends with a brief description of the dog
community's daily life and activities, and a summi
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