Dear Emerson,
I got your letter thanking me for having lunch with you at Discovery Elementary School. It was my pleasure. Your beautiful new school is a far cry from the two-story brick school I attended in Pierre, S.D. In those days most of our schools were named after presidents. My school was McKinley.
Do you know the names of all the U.S. presidents?
How are you coming on your Halloween costume? I think it will be fun for you to be Alice in Wonderland. And you say Peyton is going to be Dorothy from Oz. Is Peyton your sister?
You asked if I would be dressing up for Halloween. I guess not. My brothers used to say I didn't need to. They said I was scary enough! But I have a couple bags of miniature Mr. Goodbars to give out. What do you like best when you go trick-or-treating?
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Since you are in second grade, I was wondering what the Tooth Fairy leaves nowadays. Is it nickels and dimes, or is it dollar bills? We used to put a tooth we pulled out into a glass of water and wait to see what happened.
Did I tell you I have another pen pal? She goes to St. Michael's school. I like it when children get in the habit of writing notes or letters. There's something so special about putting your thoughts down on paper. I read an article from The Economist saying a number of school boards in America have instigated a return to basics-especially time spent learning longhand.
I like the new phones, but I still say, "Long live Palmer Method penmanship.'' And yes, I like to remember Gregg Shorthand.
Still, the today's little handheld phones are a boon for allowing parents and children to keep in touch during the day. But for heaven's sake, you shouldn't spend all day on them.
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Well, this is it for now. I just wanted to send greetings to you and all the second-graders at Discovery School. You are lucky to have Megan Carlson for your teacher!
Your friend,
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Marilyn
