July 14, 1953 Some Very Exciting News, Too Wonderful to be True and So Jumbled Up

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"Aren't you surprised to have a letter so early this week?  We have some exciting news and wanted you to know about it.  On Monday, B had a letter from the State Dept. saying that he had been awarded a Fulbright award in Japan for ten months which begins in October.  That means B will lecture in Japan at three universities next year and we will all go along.  We will have to leave the United States in late Aug. or sometime in Sept.  If we go by boat we'll have to leave sooner but it takes only a day or so to fly there.  The State Dept. arranges the transportation and we don't know what they will do.  We haven't sent our papers back yet because the governing board of the college here has to agree to it and they won't meet until next Mon.  It is just a formality but has to be considered.  B will get about $6000 in Japanese money over there and the U.S. gov't. is granting $1000. in cash here to help defray expenses here like income tax.

Perhaps you have forgotten about it but long ago we explained the Fulbright Act to you.  It is a way of foreign countries paying off war debts.  B applied for this last Oct. but all we heard about it was that he was selected among a group and one would be selected from that.  It was a complete surprise and we had almost forgotten it.  We are so excited about it that we hardly know which way to turn.  There is so much to do in such a little time.  We had our first shots today--will be 7 or 8--and got blanks for passports.  We will rent our house furnished and pack away only silver, china, our record player and a few things like that.  We plan to come home sometime in Aug. but won't know just when until we get more definite details on when we leave, etc. 

Our piano hasn't come yet.  Our excitement over it just sort of got lost after this all came up but the children are still anxious for it to come.  We aren't sorry we bought it but wouldn't have of course, if we'd known this was coming up.

This is all so jumbled up you may not be able to make anything out of it.  B wrote his folks too so maybe if you read their letter you can make it out.  We will write more when we know more.  I'll try to write Beulah and Buddy about it as soon as everything is clear.

I hope you will be as happy about it as we are.  It is too wonderful to be true.

I won't write again this week unless something important comes up."

                      Lots of love,

                              Bonnie

NOTE:   A little more news from July, 1953 and Time magazine below:

Oh boy!  Chicken Pot Pies and TV dinners!

For the St. Louis readers:

Time, July 27, 1953

And last but not least, here's a look at what people were listening to in the summer of '53: