The Letter

The Transcript

                                                                                                28 Devonshire St

                                                                                                Hawthorn
                                                                                                7 /7 / 40

Dear Walter,

I was quite thrilled to get a letter from you this morning, to me it looks to be a good omen. I am sure you had neither the strength, energy or inclination when I first saw you at Calvary. Re the weight..well Walter I suppose like me you were in a bit of a quarry.  I tell my Drs I am not satisfied it seems to slow picking up my strength. He said  Well for an old man you have done miraculously well and he gave me permission to drive the car…said I was only to drive it around the block this week just as a feeler so I am going to try it out tomorrow and all being well will take a trip up to Clare this weekend or next.

Re Staying at Sheoaks – Poor Mary. Just fancy having two old crocks to administer to. I bet she would wish she was back teaching thick-headed unruly kids again. It was very kind of you to suggest such a thing but am afraid it would be too much for Mary, for though I can walk about, I am nearly as much trouble as a baby.  I feel fit to do anything until I try to do it then I find the Ghost is willing but the meat is weak.

I note in your letter that you had a hell of a time a few days ago, but better when you wrote. I suppose these pains will come along periodically, until you get rid of the cause which I sincerely hope will be in the near future. You know I get nerve pains with the changes of the weather, but they are nothing compared to what I had to put up with before the operation. 

Now Walter, old boy you do not want to lie down and just die…don’t go overtaxing your strength and trying to do things just because they want doing and there seems to be noone else to do them.  You want to leave some work for others to do. That is the moral of getting old.  One gets the idea that no-one can do it right but yourself, but when we are no longer able to do things others come along and do them just as well as we did and in some cases better, so why worry.

I am still hoping for that Murray, Darling, Broken Hill trip.  We can arrange that when I come up.

With love and best wishes for the Tribe. Hoping to see an improvement in you when I come up.

Yours affectionately

Jack

(I don’t know if Jack made it to Clare but I suspect not. But what a lovely genuine friend . A beautiful manly, cousinly relationship.  Two wonderful old men.

Walter died on Sep 2^nd 7 weeks later.)