January 29, 1966 The Cold, The List, The Crackpots and The Skirt

Dear Mother & Daddy,

"It is cold. The temperature went down to 15° below last night and the sun has been bright all day but it is still 6° below. It stayed at zero or below yesterday. The kids and I have stayed in all day but B has been at school working all day. He says there are stalled cars all around and there sure hasn't been much traffic today. There was some fine snow yesterday but just a bit.

Bob made the Honor list in the Westinghouse Science contest but we won't know the 40 winners until later. At least he is in the top 10% (300 in all the country) and that is special. Letters from colleges are rolling in and he had a letter of congratulations from Senator Dirksen today. No prizes go to this Honors group except certificates showing they are in the top 10%. From this group the judges select 40 and they go to Washington to compete for the top awards. I think I'd pop my buttons if Bob was picked to go. Anyway, students in the Honor's group are usually offered scholarships so we'll have to wait and see. We mailed one of the certificates to Yale.

I guess you aren't the only one disgusted with that professor. Time had an article about him and said that Yale President Brewster really gave him a tongue lashing before the faculty. It was hoped he would resign but I guess he won't. I just hope Bob doesn't have to be exposed to such crackpots no matter where he goes to school and every school has one or two.

Maybe you will still get a Penney's catalog for our new one came only a few days ago.

I probably will have to do half of my skirt over. B & I both had the 24 hr. flu this week and I told him if it lasted very long I wouldn't have to do anything to the skirt. Now I have a nasty head cold. Ann caught one at school and I took it from her.

I know your church service was interesting. The young people are doing our service tomorrow and Ann is playing the organ. I want to go, but will have to see how my cold is. I hate to be blowing my nose all the time.

Hope you both are fine. Stay warm and take things easy."

                      Lots of love,

                           Bonnie

NOTE:  The "crackpot" was Staughton Lynd, a well-known anti-war activist and Assistant Professor of History at Yale.  It was not his anti-war sentiment that irritated our mom, but his approach to his "information gathering" and denouncement of the U.S. during his controversial visit to Hanoi.  Here's a little information about him:  http://www.pmpress.org/content/article.php?
story=staughtonlynd