October 26th, 1996
San Francisco
Dear Liz,
I was so pleased to have received your letter and to get
your news--especially that the recent hurricane did
not ravage Culebra.
So you are going to Costa
Rica. Wonderful. I've never been
there, but I've met some Costa Ricans through the years and have had good
reports about that place. Moreover, they
have large national parks which are well
protected--and that says something for such a small country. I've always liked
Costa Rica because it is the only country in the world that does not have an
army. They got rid of it around 1947-48
or so. Do enjoy yourself, and, if you remember,
send me a postcard.
I'm working nights--again. It seems I am destined to be on the night
shift, so I take it in stride and don't complain. I work lots of OT, so I am able to recoup all
the earnings I lost during the almost 3 months I was unemployed and was
collecting $89.00 per week in UI benefits.
Can you imagine that? Moreover, I
went to Albuquerque in June for Nicky's 17th birthday and used my credit card,
and when I started to pay it off, my temp job ended and I found myself with so
little money I had to borrow one
thousand bucks on my cc. Ouch. But, one must live.
I am still writing.
In fact, I just finished some more poetry and a long short story, and I'm rewriting a novel I wrote mnay
years ago in Albuquerque. I have yet to
hear from the publisher who has my novel which I
finished last year, which was handed personally to the owner of the pub. compnay by a friend of mine who
was in the pub. business for many years. But I don't attach myself to the process
anymore; I just
write. Of course, I'd like some
recognition and bucks;
but that is not the reason why I write.
I'm in complete sympahty with you about having to earn a living by a means
other than one's art. As you say in your
letter: "I've accepted the
struggle."" what
else can we do? I like the idea of you
making painted masks out of gourds. Send
me some pictures if you have any. I'm sure such works would do well in San Francisco. Too bad you can't
come here.
I have a very old computer and a very old printer which I am using to get this letter to you. Let me tell you word processing is a real
boon to a writer. I truly appreciate
this electronic business very much because it makes the process of polishing
and re-writing easier. Writing, that is,
the original creative process does not change--in spite of computers, etc. Some things will never change. But using a PC sure
beats a typewriter.
Ok, that's about it for
now. I"ll
send you some poems and a short story before the end of the year
(By the way, you might try using a steam iron on top of
the lump of your wooden floor. It just
might help. Of course, cover it first
with a piece of cardboard or a towel.
What you are doing is making the wood soft with the steam; then, place
something flat and heavy over the area.)
Good luck.
I send you my very best wishes for a well-deserved trip
to Costa Rica. I send un abrazo
fuerte, fuerte.
Your friend, con carino,úfriend,úconúcarino
{NOTE BY R. Haig: Fragmented text below retrieved from
original MS Word document}
water was a little too hot, but I suffered it because it has been at least ten days since I've had a full bath a (10/26/9610/26/96"
ad the weather is so bad,
otherwise I would go over the other side of the river to the natural hot
springs and sit in one of the holes until I began to feel weak. But the old zinc tub
was all I had and I took ad