I told Mrs. Sand, the asst. landlady that you’d be helping yourself to the refrig. Contents and I’d given you the key. Her reaction was most friendly.
(the pink petals are dogwood)
Dearest Patricia:
Your wanting to see me off on the plane last night made me much happier than I perhaps showed. I don’t have your ready facility for showing emotions except when I’m moved to tears which may be due to the poignancy of something or just to sheer beauty. I was pleased of course at Bud’s willingness to drive us up to the airport. He has been a good friend of mine ever since his student days. And dinner for the three of us capped the climax of enjoyment.
By the time I got to my seat in the plane - the boarders were awfully slow in moving in to their seats for some unaccountable reason, I guess you and Bud had given up on any chance to see me for when I did get a chance to peer out a window I could find you nowhere. You probably had decided that seeing the plane take off was all that you could do, or you may have just given up and started home, for which I wouldn’t blame you.
The pilots announcement at starting was that it would take us 3 hours and 26 min. to get to Chicago and that we’d be flying at about 29,000 feet. After getting to Chicago I realized why you had wondered why it would take to 11:30 to get to Bloomington, even allowing for the 2 hrs and 40 min. wait at Chicago. Chicago and Bloomington, in their time belt, are 2 hours ahead of us. actual flying time was about 8 hours and 20 min. if it weren’t for our daylight savings time, there’s be three hours time zone difference between S.F. and here. The flight was uneventful except for a little choppiness. Chicago itself was almost clear with 15 min hazy visibility. A 50 mile wind had got a lot of dust in the air that looked a lot like our smog. No rain to speak of much of the last month meant dry fields that looked a lot like Calif. Fields especially dry areas had long masses of dust in the air obscuring the ground. We passed over perhaps 10 miles of heavy overcast until we got within 10 miles of Lake Mich. And then came into O’Hare Field as shown, flying over part of Lake Michigan, circling Chicago and then turning north to the air field.
In the airport building I put in the phone call Doris wanted and fortunately got Mason Uyeda a half hour or so before he was due to go to work. He was quite pleased with the call and glad to get the news about the family. Before we finished talking, he was calling me “Carl” and wishing there were time for us to get together and get acquainted. So I guess the venture paid off abundantly.
The first ting leaves were showing on a few trees in sheltered places around O’Hare Field - one is enclosed. Mostly I didn’t recognize the kinds in such new leaf. Away from the field, though, I saw no leaves on any trees till we got a third of the way southward to Bloomington. Here, however, leaves are generally 1/3 to ½ way out and things look pretty green. The enclosed bark is from a birch tree at the Chicago O’Hare field. There’s enough [page 2] seasonal difference between Chicago and Bloomington (500 miles) for spring to have burst here and not to be quite ready at Chicago. Lots of trees here are in full bloom, almonds (I think), but certainly white and pink dogwood (it’s absolutely glorious), red bud, and some others. Some garden flowers are in good bloom: crocus, daffodils and other kinds of narcissus, tulips, candytuft, etc. wild dandelions - huge ones with flowers an inch and a half across are abundant in some places - even up Chicago way. Quite a few birds are singing so I guess I’ll get a good sample of early spring while I’m here.
The opera, “Der Rosencavalier” was magnificent, the most enjoyable opera by all odds of the several I have seen (La Boheme, La Traviata, Il Trovatore, Cavalleria Rusticana, and I think one other but I don’t recall for sure). There was much better acting in the performances of “Der Rosencavalier” than I have ever seen in an opera too. It is long: 8:00 P.M. to midnight, with two 10 min. intermissions.
The opera house here is 25 years old but it is almost extravagantly beautiful. There are 3 anterooms before the seating area is reached. These are only about 20-30 ft. deep but they extend across the entire front of the opera house. In one the painter Thomas Hart Benton, who was a Midwesterner and may have been from Indiana painted an extensive mural on three sides and perhaps all the way around. The interiormost anteroom and the middle room are used as small art galleries. This spring there has been a scandal about the painter and a painting. The man was awarded a prize of 4500. I think for the painting because of its excellence and then it was discovered that his “original” painting was a fairly faithful copy of a well known painting by someone like “Conatalle”. So the prize was withdrawn and the painter and his painting given a lot of deserved publicity, it had been planned to give the “prize” painting to President L.B.J. and the error was discovered just in time. Somehow it is hard for me to feel that such a fraud would not have been detected at the start had the selection been on the hands of our San Jose Art Faculty. Perhaps the selection here had been made by non-artists, I don’t know, but now the University is looking for another and deserving prize winner.
You know, I discovered that by starting on a plane trip as late as I did and going [page 3] right on into the next day - one loses practically a whole day - today seemed to be just a continuation of last night and not till I had had an afternoon nap and was shaving in preparation for dinner and the opera that I realized this, after all, was another day.
The Lake Central Airline that has the Chicago to Bloomington flight has a lot of planes that pack the people in but lack the comfort American, United, T.W.A., Pacific Southwest or Western planes. There is about 25% less room per passenger. Tall guys bump their heads on the ceiling when they stand up and everyone is crowded. I’ve heard that the planes were bought as old planes from French companies and are used simply because they hold more persons per square or cubic foot and so cost less to operate. Also they seem more affected by the weather, being rough and bumpy in the least bit of turbulence. They go fast enough though and seem to be quite manageable by the pilots.
That’s most of the “news” to start with - of course I miss the chance to see or call you - though I’ll phone in a day or so. I loved your sweet little note that I read as soon as my plane was on its way. I’ll save it of course and add it to the rest of my “Patriciana”. I have everything you’ve ever written me, I think, and I treasure every item! They all are links that hold me closer to you than to any other living soul. They are the stuff my real life is made on - my life line, believe me and the source and evidence for the inspiration on which I depend for my continuing drive in life.
And now - unless I add a post-script in the morning before this gets in the mail, I’ll say good night and think or dream of you. - with all my love - Carl.
PS. Serious oversight. Briefly the youngsters are as enjoyable as I’ve thought. [?] tries to talk to me almost constantly. With her daring bright blue eyes, crop of curly hair and pink cheeks she is as pretty as most children get to be. Little Peter accepted me immediately and acts as if he’s known I was one of the family all along. Both cats (Jennifer and her daughter Amy), 6 and 4 ½ years old respectively seem not to have forgotten me and neither has the dog, “Heather”. So I’m really as much at home as the Alyea family can make me. But I’ll count the days till my return and a dinner date with you again. Love again - Carl.
Dr. Carl Duncan and Patricia Whiting Collection (SJSU)
