Bob St. John February Letter

February 10, 2010

Hi Bob,

We have a full fledged snow going on here today. Could be up to a foot by this evening. This winter sometimes makes living in a warmer climate more attractive although I guess that Jeri and I would probably never leave the Big Apple.

So sorry to hear about the episode with your throat but glad to hear that it worked out well in the end. Sounds like it was a real scarey experience for you. My nephew down in Burleson TX had a similar scare a few years ago. In fact he did have cancer but they were able to get it all. All subsequent tests have come out negative.

Other than being achy my body is doing pretty well. My knee continues to hold up OK. My torn rotater cuff doesn’t seem to get any worse and it’s going to have to get a lot worse for me to have it operated on. When I go to my gym my buddies and I work out, talk about sports and politics and especially talk about our sore bodies. One friend just had his knee replaced…another just had shingles…another has neuropathy in his feet and legs…another had a pace maker put in…another got bumped by a taxi and knocked 15 feet or so. As the lady said…”Old age isn’t for sissies.”

Your time on Padre Island sounded like a special time for you and Sandy. Nothing like the ocean and beach even when it’s not so warm. It looks like Jeri and I are going to Yellowstone and the Tetons in the late summer or fall.  My in-laws have a Time Share up in North Yellowstone and we’ll join them there for a week, then spend five days or so down around the Tetons. Did you see that Ken Burns TV special on the National Parks?  It was downright inspiring.

You mentioned Dickens and Kipling in your last letter. I read Dicken’s Hard Times a few months ago and I’ve always enjoyed Kipling. I read Kim  last year and I’ll never forget the movies ‘Gunga Din’ with Cary Grant and Sam Jaffe and ‘Jungle Book’ with Sabu…saw them both as a kid. I’ve got two or three of Kipling’s books including Selected Poems in my library. I started reading Humboldt’s Gift by Saul Bellow a month or so ago but am not making much headway with it.

Well the Cowboys sure folded didn’t they?  And the Saints, Wow. They sure pulled it off.  I was very happy for them even though I don’t like to see Peyton Manning lose.

Concerning the Longhorns, ???. It looked like they might do it all this year but I guess not. It reminds me that I signed a Letter of Intent to go there at a time when the quality of roundball there wasn’t at the level it is now. In the southwest there were no blacks on either High School or College teams.  

Jeri and I are moving down to midtown on February 27. The move confirms the fact that we are going to stay here in New York. Our new address is at 151 East 29 St., Apt B.

We’re excited about the new digs but sure dread the move.

That’s all for now Bob. My best to you and Sandy.

Mike