Haddock and Dill: March 6, 1965 The Nice Birthday, The New Can Opener, The Dress, The Snow and Some Day, Some One Will Find a Cure

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"You outdid yourselves on my birthday, did not you? Naturally I was happy with everything and I needed the slip in the worst way, but any one of the things would have been enough.

I had such a nice birthday. B gave me a necklace and the children gave me a new can opener and some candy. Our book club met that morning and after lunch Helen Brown and I went to Bloomington and loafed. We have not done that in months and really enjoyed it -.... looked in some gift shops and browsed around It rained but we just ignored it I have loads of birthday cards and letters and they are still coming in Even Edna Sorensen wrote a letter She sounded lonesome.

I do not know what to say about Junior. Aunt Cliffie is worried sick, I know, but until there is a definite diagnosis we can always hope that it will not be as bad as expected. I can not find Farcoid in my dictionary either but I imagine it is a new name. There is a fever of the lymph glands that starts with lumps as you describe. It is serious too but I think it can be cured. We had a student who had cancer in the lymph glands (is not that Hodgkins' disease?) and he got well. One summer he was a life guard here at the Normal pool. The next year he was so near death. Then he was in the Dwight Veteran's Hospital and now he is fine, as far as I know and is teaching again. Some day, some one will find a cure for cancer.

We had a card from Marjorie too. She was in Australia and about to leave for New Zealand. Ann's pen pal lives in New Zealand. It is wonderful that Marjorie is getting to see so much of the world.

I had planned to send Cowan's a card but did not find a suitable one in time so just never did.

My dress was finished until I thought I was pulling a boasting thread and pulled part of the sleeve lining loose. It did not matter for I'd have had to fix it anyway if the thread showed in the wrong place.

We have had 6 more inches of snow after that last terrible storm had melted. It did not blow and drift though, so life did not stop around here. We did not hear much about your weather. The news men around here were too concerned with our own, I guess, but I worried about you.

Ann is going to a school party with Malcolm tonight so she is washing her hair now. She is going to a music camp at Lake Bloomington this summer for two weeks. Wesleyan Music School sponsors it and she has been accepted already.

B is leaving tomorrow afternoon for a week of meetings in Chicago and Washington. He'll be back next Saturday. The days are long when he's gone but I'm glad he's going. It will be a change from the merry-go-round he's been on here and should be a rest in a way.

Hope you both are fine. "

Lots of love,

Bonnie