Read Online Letters to Jenny by Piers Anthony - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Piers Anthony
Ads: Link
game when we shoo them out, and gaily dodge around us. This one had evidently been in a couple of days, and was flying slowly. I opened the door, but it landed on the doorframe instead. I actually touched its wing, but it didn’t move. Finally I managed to jog it loose, and it flew on outside. I hope it had the strength to catch a fly!
Yesterday when I rode my bicycle out to pick up the newspapers—they are three quarters of a mile from our house, you see—I discovered halfway there that my little basket was half full of leaves and moss and stuff. Something was trying to make a nest there! When I got back, two wrens flew from that region. So I took off the basket and set it up in the corner, with its leaves and things still there, so that next time I wouldn’t ride off with their nest. But the wrens did not return; they didn’t trust it after that. I can’t blame them. I’m just sorry I didn’t see the leaves before I rode out. We like wrens; they are gutsy little birds, and they keep bugs from the house.
So our life goes on from day to day in its petty pace, and I guess yours does too. But keep working at things, Jenny; even inchworm steps are better than none. And tell your mother I meant to write her a letter too, this time, because I have a whole lot to say, but I ran out of time. So in a few days I’ll write her. You say all I have to do is tell you what I want to say to her, and you’ll tell her? Well, thanks, but do you really want to tell her two pages? I thought not.
PS—Since I changed from the manual typewriter to the computer, my I’s don’t capitalize; I think I take my finger off the capital key too fast. So I made a macro to capitalize them for me. It just capitalized 27 in this letter! And four more in this paragraph. Don’t you try to miss I’s like that—you’ll get cross-eyed.
Oh, one more thing: your mother told me of a story you wrote once, about flowers and a blind princess. Is it all right if I put that in the novel? I think it’s a lovely story, and it does explain why flowers have pretty smells. You have such a nice way of seeing things, sometimes, Jenny.
Ouch—and the printer messed up your letter; I’m printing it over. As I said before, the computer will get you if you don’t watch out.
----
*AUTHOR’S NOTE:
T HE COMIC STRIP I MENTION SHOWED C URTIS HAVING LUNCH WITH HIS WHITE FRIEND G UNK, A VEGETARIAN, WHOSE SANDWICH HAD A WHOLE CARROT IN IT. G UNK IS A FRIEND TO ALL LIVING THINGS, AND HIS HOMELAND OF F LYSPECK ISLAND IS A MAGICAL REALM . J ENNY AND I JUST HAD TO LIKE GUNK.
T HE WHISTLE STORY IS BASED UPON A DEVELOPMENT IN J ENNY’S THERAPY PROGRAM . J ENNY HAD GOTTEN A WHISTLE, AND WAS ABLE TO BLOW IT. T HIS WAS A SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT, CONSIDERING THE GENERAL PARALYSIS OF HER FACE . S O I MADE A STORY ABOUT IT, POKING FUN AT HOSPITALS IN GENERAL. B UT I HAVE TO SAY THAT CUMBERLAND HOSPITAL IS A MUCH NICER PLACE THAN THE ORDINARY HOSPITAL, BEING RATHER LIKE A RESORT IN APPEARANCE AND ATTITUDE, AND THIS STORY HAS NO RELATION TO REALITY THERE .
T HESE LETTERS CONTAIN SEVERAL MENTIONS OF COMPUTERS IN CONJUNCTION WITH J ENNY’S MOTHER. S HE EARNS HER LIVING BY PROGRAMMING COMPUTERS, THUS IS RIPE FOR TEASING . T HERE WILL BE MORE OF IT . I T SEEMS THAT JENNY LAUGHS WHEN HER MOTHER GETS TEASED, AND HER MOTHER LOVES TO HAVE JENNY LAUGH, SO SHE ENJOYS GETTING TEASED. T HIS IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE .
May 1989
----
A right big toe uses a right useful computer to right difficult communications. 24-X = 12+X. One person gives a story to another, who may or may not have missed something. A realization of hair loss incurs a moment of sadness. And a happy reunion takes place.
----
Mayhem 5, 1989
Dear Jenny
,
I figured out what happened to the last letter: this word processor puts a “ruler” at the top of the file, setting the margins and things. When I set up a new file, for the Jenny letter, it put on its default ruler (yes, your mother will explain that in
Yesterday when I rode my bicycle out to pick up the newspapers—they are three quarters of a mile from our house, you see—I discovered halfway there that my little basket was half full of leaves and moss and stuff. Something was trying to make a nest there! When I got back, two wrens flew from that region. So I took off the basket and set it up in the corner, with its leaves and things still there, so that next time I wouldn’t ride off with their nest. But the wrens did not return; they didn’t trust it after that. I can’t blame them. I’m just sorry I didn’t see the leaves before I rode out. We like wrens; they are gutsy little birds, and they keep bugs from the house.
So our life goes on from day to day in its petty pace, and I guess yours does too. But keep working at things, Jenny; even inchworm steps are better than none. And tell your mother I meant to write her a letter too, this time, because I have a whole lot to say, but I ran out of time. So in a few days I’ll write her. You say all I have to do is tell you what I want to say to her, and you’ll tell her? Well, thanks, but do you really want to tell her two pages? I thought not.
PS—Since I changed from the manual typewriter to the computer, my I’s don’t capitalize; I think I take my finger off the capital key too fast. So I made a macro to capitalize them for me. It just capitalized 27 in this letter! And four more in this paragraph. Don’t you try to miss I’s like that—you’ll get cross-eyed.
Oh, one more thing: your mother told me of a story you wrote once, about flowers and a blind princess. Is it all right if I put that in the novel? I think it’s a lovely story, and it does explain why flowers have pretty smells. You have such a nice way of seeing things, sometimes, Jenny.
Ouch—and the printer messed up your letter; I’m printing it over. As I said before, the computer will get you if you don’t watch out.
----
*AUTHOR’S NOTE:
T HE COMIC STRIP I MENTION SHOWED C URTIS HAVING LUNCH WITH HIS WHITE FRIEND G UNK, A VEGETARIAN, WHOSE SANDWICH HAD A WHOLE CARROT IN IT. G UNK IS A FRIEND TO ALL LIVING THINGS, AND HIS HOMELAND OF F LYSPECK ISLAND IS A MAGICAL REALM . J ENNY AND I JUST HAD TO LIKE GUNK.
T HE WHISTLE STORY IS BASED UPON A DEVELOPMENT IN J ENNY’S THERAPY PROGRAM . J ENNY HAD GOTTEN A WHISTLE, AND WAS ABLE TO BLOW IT. T HIS WAS A SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT, CONSIDERING THE GENERAL PARALYSIS OF HER FACE . S O I MADE A STORY ABOUT IT, POKING FUN AT HOSPITALS IN GENERAL. B UT I HAVE TO SAY THAT CUMBERLAND HOSPITAL IS A MUCH NICER PLACE THAN THE ORDINARY HOSPITAL, BEING RATHER LIKE A RESORT IN APPEARANCE AND ATTITUDE, AND THIS STORY HAS NO RELATION TO REALITY THERE .
T HESE LETTERS CONTAIN SEVERAL MENTIONS OF COMPUTERS IN CONJUNCTION WITH J ENNY’S MOTHER. S HE EARNS HER LIVING BY PROGRAMMING COMPUTERS, THUS IS RIPE FOR TEASING . T HERE WILL BE MORE OF IT . I T SEEMS THAT JENNY LAUGHS WHEN HER MOTHER GETS TEASED, AND HER MOTHER LOVES TO HAVE JENNY LAUGH, SO SHE ENJOYS GETTING TEASED. T HIS IS A POSITIVE ATTITUDE .
May 1989
----
A right big toe uses a right useful computer to right difficult communications. 24-X = 12+X. One person gives a story to another, who may or may not have missed something. A realization of hair loss incurs a moment of sadness. And a happy reunion takes place.
----
Mayhem 5, 1989
Dear Jenny
,
I figured out what happened to the last letter: this word processor puts a “ruler” at the top of the file, setting the margins and things. When I set up a new file, for the Jenny letter, it put on its default ruler (yes, your mother will explain that in
Similar Books
