Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them.
No happiness without bitterness, no friendship without sincerity.
It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.
It’s taken a fantastic amount of self-control to fight the temptation to pick up the phone and, just like the old times, call you. You are my dear friend, but those long-distance rates are murder.
It seems as if you’ve been gone forever. One sad fact about human nature is that we don’t seem to appreciate what we have till it’s gone. That’s how I’m feeling today.
You wouldn’t believe how many people are asking about you. And an occasional phone call home, welcome as it is, hardly begins to describe campus life. Please take a few minutes to drop Grandma a line. Uncle Gus would probably re-read your letter 10 times. And a note from her big sister personally addressed to Trudy would certainly wind up on her bulletin board.
No, I haven’t run away from home, or broken both arms, or had a bout of amnesia. I must admit I have just been downright lazy lately. I cringed when I noticed the date on your last letter. I’m sorry I’ve been such a slowpoke in responding.
I know there’s not a postal strike. I know that paper is still available in all 50 states. All the stores seem to have ample supplies of pens and pencils. The post office is still selling stamps. So why haven’t I heard from you in 3 months?
There can only be 2 reasons — either you have been kidnapped and are being held hostage in a small cage, or you have given up letter writing for Lent. If you’ve been kidnapped I will be glad to chip in toward the ransom. On the other hand, let me remind you that Lent ended a month ago.
If this idiotic letter doesn’t prod a response, I’ll really get depressed. I’m waiting to hear from you!
Impatiently,
My mailman is beginning to get ideas. I greet him eagerly at the door each day hoping for a letter from you. I haven’t heard from you yet, but he’s getting friendlier each day. If you want to save my reputation, you’d better write soon!
I share your disappointment with some of the grades you received this past semester. And I agree that they don’t accurately reflect your ability to handle a full college workload.
Before you know it you’ll be flying home for the winters holidays. I can hardly wait!
You are very much loved, appreciated and missed.
Your letter was like a glass of ice-cold lemonade on a hot, sunny day — refreshing, stimulating, and good right down to the toes. I’m sure glad you enjoy writing letters, because I certainly appreciate receiving them.
After all, it isn’t every day we get to see a future Yankee pitcher do his thing 10 years before he puts on his pinstripes.
Thank you for helping an awkward, shy little girl feel like a princess, and for guarding my secrets as if they were as earth-shaking as I thought they were.
I’m either getting sentimental in my old age or finally getting some sense in my head, but I can’t bear the thought of Christmas with this knot in my heart. I want to say I’m sorry for my part in this mess, and I hope you will forgive me.
The only bad part about staying at your house for a week was that we had to leave! Thanks again for a wonderful time — lotsa laughs, lotsa sights to see, lotsa good food — but best of all, the pleasure of all of us being together again.
Every time I bake a cake I’ll think of you. The set of stainless steel cake pans you gave me is fantastic. I can’t wait to try them out with my favorite recipes.
We have been concerned that you have not mentioned our wedding gift. If it’s an oversight we understand, but if you have never received it we’ll have to investigate. We selected a set of glassware at the Fragile China Company and requested that it be delivered to your apartment.
Please let us know if it has been lost so we can check into it.
You not only saved us some money, you also spared us the worry of how she was doing while we were gone. Your help is very much appreciated not only by Ginger, but also each one of us as well.
For many years I have maintained an active account at Feathers & Pipe, and have long regarded it as a high-quality clothing store. This favorable impression lasted until yesterday when I went in to pick up the 3-piece worsted suit I had ordered 4 weeks ago during your annual fall sale.
I left without the suit and without my $25. I am enclosing a copy of my receipt and would appreciate a prompt refund of my deposit.
I’m assured this will conclude the matter. I regret the inconvenience caused you. It has been a sobering lesson for me and one which I’ll never repeat.
This will, of course, be more costly than reseeding, but as chairman of a publicly-held company which spends millions each year to advertise the magic of the J&S process, I’m sure you’d agree that nothing less will be equitable.
I’m inclined to believe your Mr. Graves when he said this sort of thing has never happened before. That’s all the more reason to correct the mistake as soon as possible.
I’m sure that most customer complaints about high electric bills are usually resolved at a lower level than that of the Office of the President. I’ve tried to do just that, but after repeated attempts to get a reasonable explanation from your customer service department proved futile, I’d appreciate a few minutes from your busy day.
These are facts I accept and understand, but at this point communication breaks down.
No one can tell me why my bill has more than doubled. I have suggested they re-check their computations but no one is willing to do so.
The money due me is very much missed, and I would appreciate anything you could do to expedite payment on this claim.
If you take pride, Mr. Middlebury, in the firm that bears your name, you’d arrange to have someone inspect the carpeting and then clean it again. The workmen would be instructed not to leave until the job had been satisfactorily completed. Then my faith in Middleburry Carpet Cleaners would be restored.
Your account representatives, while courteous and patient, remain convinced that the computer is infallible. I know otherwise and, at the suggestion of my banker at LNB, am appealing to you directly in the hope that you’ll be able to straighten out this matter.