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Dear Miss Blue,

Your letter this morning was just filled with news of all kinds and I must first of all ask about Melba's cough.  Sitting there in the theater with you, sharing the music and beautiful voices while she coughed surely was irritating for everyone in the theater. I imagine the ushers were called to bring a supply of handkerchiefs and a paper bag to hold the used ones in. Well, that is too bad, Miss Blue. Turandot is so dramatic, with suspense and winning love and sadness; that is how opera is.  I listen to the Saturday afternoon opera broadcasts on the radio and just listening and imagining the story is exciting for me.  So you remembered that my singing roommate always wore her pajamas under her costume!  The pajamas always were of the same color and usually carried out the motif of the opera so they were very elegant although sometimes rather scary - with dragons and giants or whatever the opera was about.  (Once I visited the opera's costume room with rows of sewing machines and everyone bent over the material as the needles moved in and out stitching the designs needed for the costumes.  You would have loved it all, Miss Blue, with your beautiful singing voice that was made for the stage; and the many lovely quilts you have made. I am thinking of making a quilt .  I am sure you are surprised to hear this. So am I!  Just a thought!)

Love, Pearl

Dear Pearl,

Mrs Highbottom has just insisted I take the rest of the season of her Met tickets.  She has been suffering with symptoms of avian flu since her Christmas goose and dares not leave the house for more than 10 minutes or so.  Which is how Melba and I happened to be in attendance for an especially riveting performance of Turandot on Saturday.  Melba coughed through some of my favorite arias - I hope she is not in the early stages of avian flu herself - but I hardly noticed.  I was in a state of rapture throughout.  Opera!  Say, didn't you used to room with that lovely mezzo soprano who always wore her pajamas under her costume when she performed?  

I Remain as Always, Your Devoted Miss Blue

Dear Miss Blue,

Melba's friends are of the upper class, so I was surprised that there were no deep thoughts available at the meeting.  Why, just this very morning, while eating my favorite breakfast of waffles and sardines dripping with olive oil, I sat back in my little kitchen chair and had deep thoughts! Thoughts of the rocky ocean floor where the sea horses and crabs and snails and other sea creatures live together. A deep sea setting is always mysterious to me, Miss Blue, so you can imagine it providing me with my deepest thoughts!  A most peaceful time when the deepest thoughts are the only sound in the room except for when my dear Cuckoo opens his little door and calls out the time by cuckooing!  I am sure you have heard the Cuckoo Clock when you have been here, Miss Blue, for we share so many delightful times together.

Love and deep thoughts, Pearl

Dear Pearl,

Last night was the first meeting of Melba's Deep Thoughts Society.  The inaugural group included most of her theater friends and produced a charter with bylaws and expectations of members, general information about dues and attendance, and fine print about dress code and unexplained absences.  Unfortunately, despite general straining and posing, it produced no deep thoughts.  Please visit when you can.  I'm sure Melba will want to tap your deep familiarity with all things having to do with thoughts.

I Remain As Always, Your Devoted Miss Blue

Dear Miss Blue,

It just  took my breath away when I saw Elsie Lavender modeling the Claire McCardell dress!  How stunning Elsie looks and I remenbered  the times when Claire McCardell was the fashion there in the stores on 5th Avenue. Of course, Miss Blue, I did buy the dress!  I loved the style and the fabric that was selected by Claire McCardell herself; always unique!  My dress was a beautiful cotton dress with a diagonal zipper opening from shoulder to waist covered with the fabric and so elegant and mysterious and unusual.

I had to laugh out loud, Miss Blue, when you described Elsie's little dog Jitters.  I never ever liked little dogs, they are always of the barking kind with little yelping voices; not at all like the bigger dogs who really love to bark loudly to frighten the paper boys and other delivery persons.  How kind of Louise to make the mashed peas and poached liver.  I hope Jitters was calmed and sat quietly in the corner of the kitchen.  Although small creatures are usually wary - they truly are fearful and bark their tiny bark - so need to be pacified with special food.  

Love,

Pearl 

Dear Pearl,

How quaint of your father to call the dog Wolf, Pearl.  Did he really guard your toys?  How useful!  Many dogs fritter their lives away being absolutely useless.  Elsie Lavender is visiting for the week with her little dog Jitters. Jitters is absolutely useless.  He is the size of a teapot and everything makes him bark.  Louise is positively livid that she is being asked to prepare mashed peas and poached liver for the tiny beast.  But Elsie is so lovely.  She modeled her latest gown for us yesterday.  It is her newest Claire McCardell.  Absolutely dreamy! If only Jitters would disappear!

I Remain as Always, Your Devoted Miss Blue

Dear Miss Blue,

The snow is lovely in my back yard; but I was startled to see a wolf walking around in my neighbor's yard; you know the little brown house at the end of the street. A wolf that looked much like a dog.  My father brought home a police dog and he named him Wolf.  He was a proud dog and knew he was to protect our family by barking loudly in case there were prowlers around the neighborhood. His bark was a growl and and his bark would scare birds and beasts and anyone wanting to run off with our toys left outside. The footprints in the snow are of birds and dogs/wolves and I looked long and hard to see if any other winter creatures were homeless and looking for something to eat hidden under the slim layer of snow.  If this continues I will have to call the Animal Rescue League hoping they will be able to take them in to their shelter. Families visit often looking for just the right pet although not a wolf;  I do know of a place where wolves are taught good manners like not to bite the hand that feeds them and  training them to be guide dogs!. It is a sad story, Miss Blue; The dear creatures with no place to call home. That is how it is, Miss Blue, here in my neighborhood.

Love, Pearl  

Dear Pearl,

It did not end happily for my grandfather, Pearl.  On his last whaling expedition he was overwhelmed by a particularly insolent creature and swallowed along with his boat and three of his best men.  There were no cameras at the time but the stevedore watching from the ship sketched the whole scene into the captain's log.  No one on that ship ever forgot that terrible day and the sight of the huge whale taking his revenge.  Not one of them could ever eat fish again - not even a sardine sandwich - without bursting into tears.

I Remain As Always, Your Devoted Miss Blue

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Dear Miss Blue,

Your most recent  letter sent me hurrying to the library to read all about the whale boats.  I stayed at the library in my neighborhood until the librarian began shutting off the lights and kindly suggested to me to take home the books about whales and sailors and any other sea stories I wanted to read. By then I had discovered Moby Dick. I thanked her and set off for home.  I was surprised that whale meat is served at some very nice restaurants with paintings of the sea and whales and ships; an exciting setting for a dinner of whale meat and a glass of  good wine.  I have never tasted whale meat, Miss Blue, have you?  There is a very nice Asian Restaurant very close by.  And this very day I will go there and check it out. I imagine there will be watercolor paintings of whales and sailors. All so theater, Miss Blue.  I am hoping you will be here soon so that we can have lunch at the Asian restaurant.

Love, Pearl

Dear Pearl,

Your story about the horn pipe dancing was quite interesting to me. My grandfather often spoke of his time at sea on various whaling ships.  Scrimshaw occupied the few free minutes he had each day.  And when he wasn't carving ivory, he, too, would dance a vigorous horn pipe.  I do wish that Fanny would have the opportunity you had to be nautical and physically fit.  The newest rage in dance instruction is a bit woo woo to my taste.  In Fanny's dance class, the girls are urged to dance like sprites, float like moonbeams, smile like angels.  She is, as you can see above, wildly happy to be so taught.  But oh Pearl, what of the whalers and the sailors!  Shall they be forgotten?  

I Remain, as Always, Your Devoted Miss Blue

                                         

Dear Miss Blue,

Sailor suits were the rage long ago, in the thirties, Miss Blue! We learned to clog to the Sailor's Horn Pipe music in our gym class, standing in a long row, leaning forward with one hand behind our back and one hand shading our eyes as we performed to the music being played by our gym teacher.  We loved the clog and the Sailor's Horn Pipe and always felt sad when the class was over.  The department stores sold costumes of all sorts including sailor suits complete with hats. Costumes were very expensive, Miss Blue, and the department store told us there had been a run on sailor suits because so many gym classes were being taught the the Sailor's Horn Pipe!  And that is why my mother, who didn't own a sewing machine, bought two yards of white oxford cloth and sewed by hand, my sailor pants.  For the top, fortunately I wore my white cotton middy shirt, usually worn with a navy blue skirt.

I must say, Miss Blue, that the photograph you included in your letter brought back so many memories of times past and loved.  Sending this letter off to you and hoping to hear from you soon.

Your Loving Pearl