Feb. 23,1986

Dear Judy, This isn't premeditated but I am here all alone and I felt the urge to write you a short note. I represented the Gideons in a church service in Oakley today and for some reasons or reason things seemed to go well. I really felt good about it after it was over and several commented favorably after the service. This doesn't often happen and I suppose you might say that right now I am on that mountain top that Christians talk about. I am thankful that my Creator has led me into this ministry. I really believe that I have been called into it. To tell you the truth, for every service like this morning I can recall many that I very strongly felt that I was a failure. For every mountain top there is also a valley and you can rest assured that I have had my share of both. Judy, God bless you, it has been a secret desire of mine that a child of mine would go into some kind of church work as a professional career. The truth is I haven't given up yet and it is also a very strong conviction that I should not try to talk anyone into something of this nature. I have the feeling that you are in the valley right now. I do not know what to tell you except that I was a few days under thirty years of age when I was married and until about eight months before it happened I had no real desire to be anything but single. It has certainly not been a bed of roses and during the early years I would have probably walked out but all of my early training just simply would not allow me to do that. I can say with a deep conviction that I am glad that we stayed together. I am glad that we are taking that computer course. Before long I hope to be able to write to you on a work processor. I am really looking forward to using one of them both for business and private reasons. Obviously it will be easy to correct mistakes and you won't even be able to find them like you can now. Even that dictionary program will be kind of nice. If I don't know how to spell a word I can just try to and then ask the proper program to show me my mistakes. I think that next year I will take some courses in literature and writing. One needs something to keep them thinking young. How would you like to go to the Black Hills for the next family reunion at Thanksgiving time? Beverly said that she would like to host it. Do you know that Robert went to the Hills in '27 and Julius a short time later. I am a bit vague on dates but I believe that it was the following summer that Mom took Lucille and Arthur and spent the summer with the boys in the Hills. As long as Dad and Mom lived they were always the boys. Then in '29,1 believe (my timetable might be one year to early) Vera and Winnie spent a summer up there. Art might remember. I doubt if he really remembers being there.
Dad.