28 May 1960

Dear Mom and Pop

It was certainly a pleasure to hear your voices on the telephone this morning! I'm sorry if I was gauche in mentioning one of my reasons for wanting talk to you; I’m afraid I was.

We all hope like everything that we will be able to come on the 8th instead of on the 9th in order to see a bit more of you. The children are doing a lot of talking about it already. They are very cute at this stage, especially Sabrina who is a beautiful little baby.

There are several items I wanted to discuss with both or one or the other of you, of varying importance. One, as I mentioned on the phone, is what instructions and wishes you might have for me in the event (of course I expect to be 60 or 70 when this happens) something were to happen to you. This came up at the time of Pop’s Cliffside sojourn.

Then also, the five years of gift to Caltech is up, and what to do in the future is up for discussion. Then of minor importance is John Kelly Jr and the best ways of influencing a provincial city like this one! Kelly is a sparkplug, all right, but sometimes one that fires off at the wrong time or in the wrong direction!

Meanwhile all seems well here. We've had a very bad Spring in terms of illness, what with debilitating flu hitting several bacillary dysentery laying Sabrina low for a while. In spite of all this Anita has continued to work at the University, having been accepted as a candidate for a Master's in English Literature. I've been adding to my little jobs around town, having jobs consulting with the State Public Welfare department and, recently, seeing students at the University's Bureau of Testing and Guidance. I'm going to be president of the Mental Health Association next year, and on the board of directors of Hana-hauoli School, and Anita is going to be on the board of the Symphony Society. So, as you see, we’re getting more and more involved with the tangled skein of community function. It’s not without misgiving, though; our summer vacation becomes more and more with the force of necessary escape!

Honolulu is growing by leaps and bounds (like LA) - a state population now of 621,000, most of it right here, so jerry-built houses are springing up at a greater rate than ever, including on our lovely mountains close by. I've made efforts to buy property to slow up the process, but prices are so high that I’m reluctant to go all out. It’s fantastic!

The tidal wave was interesting. Anita and I rode it out on the boat, riding a total level change of about 8 feet while in the harbor. Fortunately, we had it much easier than poor Hilo.

Linus