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| May 3, 2015 Letter from Fr. Gene Hattie via email on May 5th. |
Below is my transcription of the above letter. Since it was actually scanned into two separate parts (top and bottom), I had to paste both parts together into a single "letter." I have also taken the liberty of inserting a bit of color for the background in order to recapture the sense of Father's original Aerogram stationary that he used when he was in Uganda. Finally, I have "corrected" any typos and/or light keystrokes. Note: he literally types these letters on a manual typewriter before someone scans them to jpg files. Overall, I have tried to remain faithful to the text and the presumed meaning of the original correspondence.
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My Dear Old Faithful : Peace of the Risen Christ!
You never say die, do you? Your Grandma and Mom have taught you well and the orphans are the lucky ones, aren't they? I really wish that the donors did as well as you do. I've been encouraging them to join the 'Band Wagon' again, but they just don't seem to listen. I'm referring, of course, to your kind & generous Gift sent this time. You've been a very faithful donor/friend for a long time.
We had lovely Easter & Holy Week services, marred by the fact that we had 2 Funerals on the day before Holy Thursday. Both of the deaths were unexpected. One of them had spent 40 years in Peru and three years in a Japan(ese) Concentration Camp.*
Everyone here is trying his/her best to make me use a walker, but I am just as strongly resisting the idea. Once I do that, I'll become dependent and will never be able to walk without it. I've fallen so many times that the pressure is great to make me give in, but I am stubborn enough to refuse. When I see the movements of so many restricted by one, it makes me more determined to avoid one. So, I am extra careful not to fall again. I always ask them how they would like to use one and am greeted with silence.
I'll be going to N. Canton in mid-July to my sister's house to celebrate my 93rd birthday.** Wish me luck.
My greetings & love to your wonderful Mom. She is the one who made you who and what you are & she can be very proud of you.
Be sure that All of you are in my daily Masses & prayers and in those of the Sisters and orphans. Till next time, many thanks for your kind & generous Gift of $xx.xx
Tons of love & gratitude,
Fr. Gene, SJ
P.S. I have to see the Eye Doctor. It is becoming more difficult to type with only 2 fingers & one eye closed.*** Try it on your Computer sometime.
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* For more details about Fr. Benjamin Morin and his remarkable life, see
http://www.jesuits-chgdet.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20150424115857
** Fr. Hattie's birthday is July 18th. So be sure to get those cards to him early enough to reach him in MI at the beginning of July before his trek to North Canton for the big celebration.
*** See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popeye
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Links:
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/p/letters-from-fr-hattie.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter
Written Monday May 25, 2015 (Memorial Day)
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