Dearest Patricia:
I hope the hollyhock doll was still in good enough shape to suggest that these “flower dolls” can be attractive. The rain and winds had beaten down a couple of plants alongside Mr. Edwards Hamburger Joint where I park my car and though the flowers were bedraggled and in poor shape, I thought of the ones we used to make when I was a kid at home so I picked a couple and made up one when I was “home” at lunchtime. It really wasn’t much - only a suggestion but I thought that if you’d never seen one it might interest you.
I was pleased to see you twice today and have a moment to exchange a few words with you after the concert. Herb saw me inside the auditorium and told me you were just outside if I’d like to chat with you a moment. I always have a surge of happiness when I see you - no matter how brief the contact is.
I told Betty Walker, with whom I had a light dinner ([?]) at Original Joe’s, that I was trying to play the role of godfather to you but that really you were one of the most intelligent companions I knew - and her reply was - “Well - you’ve played that role unofficially to innumerable students. I feel that I’ve been able to look on you so - and go to you for moral support and all manner of questions ever since I was in your class years ago.”
While waiting for Mr. Scheer to start talking, I looked over all the girls in the room this afternoon and saw not one who could hold a candle to you! so once again, I feel supremely sure of my judgments, and once again I mixed thankfulness for my opportunity to have a special interest in you and any kind of affection in return. In fact I once more wondered at my good fortune - how could any man be so lucky?
Scheer, I thought to be among the most intelligent speakers in a controversial field I have ever heard. He gave [page 2] me much of what I have been seeking on Vietnam - something more than mere emotional feeling, which I must say is all I believe some of our students and faculty have. He gave full credit to the reasoning of everyone he mentioned or anyone asked about and still was able to present his own beliefs and reasons for them. This is a much more convincing thing than any of the impassioned, to violent (in speech and idea) statements that were presented by most of the speakers at the “Teach-In” evening that I heard last month. And he didn’t have to advocate communism (which some of those speakers did -about 3 of them) to give force to his arguments. He and the American Friends Society man in the Teach-in group I heard were impressive, to me, the others destroyed most of the force of what they had to say by their irrational and violent language. I’m going to [?] get acquainted with Scheer. It shouldn’t be difficult.
Incidentally you may remember that in talking about the 7 Americans in red China, he mentioned an Anna Louise Strong. She belongs to a Palo Alto-Menlo Park family of whom I know several members, and once long ago, I believe I met her. However, she has been strongly [?] for years and, I think has been out of the country for a number of years. None of the rest of her family are of her political persuasion, though they laugh at any idea that she is dangerous.
Oh - I felt the same way as you did about the pianist tonight - but as I make no pretensions to musical knowledge, I refrained from voicing my feelings until you started your judgment. Then I felt very good, because I felt vindicated in my judgment.
This concludes my special thoughts for this evening, but I’m very happy that you felt so well prepared for your exam today and I hope you get a top grade in it. I’m sure you have the intellect to get good grades in everything but you still are under a cloud of unfavorable impressions formulated a long while ago. See you Friday - Love, as always, Carl.
Dr. Carl Duncan and Patricia Whiting Collection (SJSU)
