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| Letter from Fr. Hattie received via email January 6, 2015. |
See my Fr. Hattie page for more information on how to communicate with Father and how to donate to help his orphans in Nsumba, Uganda.
Below is my transcription of the above letter. I have taken the liberty of inserting a bit of color in an effort to try to recapture the feel of the Aerogramme stationary that Father used to use for his letters from Uganda. I have also "corrected" any obvious typos and/or light keystrokes. Father literally types these letters on a manual typewriter before someone scans them to a JPEG file and transmits via email. Overall, I have tried to maintain fidelity to the text and the presumed meaning of the original correspondence.
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My dear Rick: Peace of Christ!
Try as I might I simply couldn't find a more appropriate way to usher in the New Year than by writing to thank you for your kind & generous Gift of $XX.XX for my kids. Thanks much, too, for your beautiful Christmas Card & letter. Your kind Gift enabled the Sisters to prepare a delicious Christmas & New Year's Day meal for the kids: rice, curry, 2 vegetables, meat AND ice cream, chocolate cake & a bottle of Coke, simple things that we just take for granted. But, it gives them something to look forward to each year. Indeed, their pleasures are few & simple!
Believe me, I was so happy to learn of your new job after spending so many tedious hours on the road. And, it sounds as though it entails a lot of travel & responsibility. But, I know that you'll be a success at it. Good Luck!
I was sorry to hear about your deteriorating relations with Richard, but I am sure that he will eventually appreciate your checking up on him simply because you love him and are interested in his future. When I read the list of your annual activities, I am amazed & wonder how you can do so much.
Thank God about the colonoscopy. I had Colon Cancer about 15 years ago & have to wear a colonoscomy [Editor: colostomy] bag which, to put it mildly, is a pain in the butt...constantly emptying, cleaning & changing it. But, it is just a small part of my Cross. Tell Lynn that she is still a mere teenager...I'll be 93 in July.
I spent Xmas with my sister in N. Canton & there was a crowd; she & her husband, myself, their 8 kids (their spouses & countless grand & great grandkids). There were 45 of us crammed into the house. But, the visit was marred by the fact that I learned that my sister has been having frightening hallucinations for the past 2 months & is is very difficult to get an appointment with 1 till February. Prayers, please.
Then, while was there, 1 of her husband's brothers died of Cancer. Two days later, another (his favorite) died of a heart attack. Keep all three of them in your prayers, too.
All of you are in my daily Mass & prayers & in those of my 6 African Sisters & my kids. Do have a Happy, prosperous N. Year.
Try as I might I simply couldn't find a more appropriate way to usher in the New Year than by writing to thank you for your kind & generous Gift of $XX.XX for my kids. Thanks much, too, for your beautiful Christmas Card & letter. Your kind Gift enabled the Sisters to prepare a delicious Christmas & New Year's Day meal for the kids: rice, curry, 2 vegetables, meat AND ice cream, chocolate cake & a bottle of Coke, simple things that we just take for granted. But, it gives them something to look forward to each year. Indeed, their pleasures are few & simple!
Believe me, I was so happy to learn of your new job after spending so many tedious hours on the road. And, it sounds as though it entails a lot of travel & responsibility. But, I know that you'll be a success at it. Good Luck!
I was sorry to hear about your deteriorating relations with Richard, but I am sure that he will eventually appreciate your checking up on him simply because you love him and are interested in his future. When I read the list of your annual activities, I am amazed & wonder how you can do so much.
Thank God about the colonoscopy. I had Colon Cancer about 15 years ago & have to wear a colonoscomy [Editor: colostomy] bag which, to put it mildly, is a pain in the butt...constantly emptying, cleaning & changing it. But, it is just a small part of my Cross. Tell Lynn that she is still a mere teenager...I'll be 93 in July.
I spent Xmas with my sister in N. Canton & there was a crowd; she & her husband, myself, their 8 kids (their spouses & countless grand & great grandkids). There were 45 of us crammed into the house. But, the visit was marred by the fact that I learned that my sister has been having frightening hallucinations for the past 2 months & is is very difficult to get an appointment with 1 till February. Prayers, please.
Then, while was there, 1 of her husband's brothers died of Cancer. Two days later, another (his favorite) died of a heart attack. Keep all three of them in your prayers, too.
All of you are in my daily Mass & prayers & in those of my 6 African Sisters & my kids. Do have a Happy, prosperous N. Year.
Tons of love & gratitude,
Fr. Gene, S.J.
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Links:
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/p/letters-from-fr-hattie.html
http://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Uganda
http://www.aerogramme.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG
Written Sunday 31 May 2015.
