Tuesday, January 31, 2023

On this day in 1981 (Oshkosh Wisconsin)

 


I returned Mark Van Volkinburg's call this morning.  We chatted for about a half hour or so.  Mark sounded very confident and assured.  His voice indicates that he has gone through a maturing process since the first couple years out of high school, a time when we were still somewhat close.  He did experience some rough times in the early 1970s:  divorce, nervous breakdown.  Mark mentioned that he has read my letter repeatedly, an indirect compliment praising my still developing writing skills.  I love hearing that type of feedback.  When I mentioned my present discontent with the situation at the library, he mentioned the Library of Congress.  He also extended an invitation to visit him in D.C., an offer that I would like to be able to accept within the next couple months.  Whether I actually intend to follow through or not, the seed has been planted.  With the move to Oshkosh, Barb and I agreed to share our living space for mutual benefit.  I could never directly make the suggestion to Mark.

 Until 3:30 or so I wrote letters to Grace and Tony, both of which remain unfinished.  During the late afternoon, I walked downtown with my camera slung across my shoulder.  I should have been using Kodachrome 64 film.  I stopped at the library to copy down the headlines in the Daily Nowhere that pertained to the Boerum case.  These will be incorporated into Tony's letter.

Cards tonight.  More of the usual festivities.  Even though I dearly love the people I've grown close to here, I still need a change of scene.

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