May 21, 1952.
Dear Alberta:
I have your letter of May 18. It seems you are really having a wonderful time this semester. Are you going to be another Mrs. Albert Quon burning the candle from both ends? Since you are young and having a good time I think you might just as well enjoy yourself, but do not carry it to such an extreme that you will wreck your health.
As to commencement, I really do believe it would be a good thing for you to attend. It comes only once in a lifetime. At the moment it may not seem important but as you look back upon it over the years it carries certain sentimental attachments.
As to your trip to New York, I also think it would be advisable for you to go with the rest of the kids – then you would have a chance to get acquainted with the people en masse and also see a little of the country. Perhaps if I would write to Mr. Meng in advance or to some other friends, you might be able to get some sort of work to do so your month would not be completely idle. It is true that New York in the month of August is quite uncomfortable. Since millions of people have been enduring it I am sure it will be an experience, although not as pleasant as it might be.
As to Olly I think it is best that we do not invite him as a house guest. Your mother is not home and I am away from the house most of the time, and as he would be the only house guest it would be rather inconvenient and at the same time it might even appear funny. Therefore, I would not approve of it.
Since you have so much time I would like to have you be on the lookout for books, magazine pictures, and travel folders of different nationalities in their native costumes. They may even be in the form of cartoons or caricatures if the clothing seems authentic. I am working on a new project in Japan to create a full line of boy and girl figures of all the nations. I also have a few other projects that I am working on, of which I will tell you in greater detail when you come home. If these things are in books give me the titles, the name of the author, and the publisher, and if they should be available in magazines tear them out and send them to me as soon as possible.
Love,
ATQ/emr
[Copy in the family "files" is an unsigned carbon copy.]
I have your letter of May 18. It seems you are really having a wonderful time this semester. Are you going to be another Mrs. Albert Quon burning the candle from both ends? Since you are young and having a good time I think you might just as well enjoy yourself, but do not carry it to such an extreme that you will wreck your health.
As to commencement, I really do believe it would be a good thing for you to attend. It comes only once in a lifetime. At the moment it may not seem important but as you look back upon it over the years it carries certain sentimental attachments.
As to your trip to New York, I also think it would be advisable for you to go with the rest of the kids – then you would have a chance to get acquainted with the people en masse and also see a little of the country. Perhaps if I would write to Mr. Meng in advance or to some other friends, you might be able to get some sort of work to do so your month would not be completely idle. It is true that New York in the month of August is quite uncomfortable. Since millions of people have been enduring it I am sure it will be an experience, although not as pleasant as it might be.
As to Olly I think it is best that we do not invite him as a house guest. Your mother is not home and I am away from the house most of the time, and as he would be the only house guest it would be rather inconvenient and at the same time it might even appear funny. Therefore, I would not approve of it.
Since you have so much time I would like to have you be on the lookout for books, magazine pictures, and travel folders of different nationalities in their native costumes. They may even be in the form of cartoons or caricatures if the clothing seems authentic. I am working on a new project in Japan to create a full line of boy and girl figures of all the nations. I also have a few other projects that I am working on, of which I will tell you in greater detail when you come home. If these things are in books give me the titles, the name of the author, and the publisher, and if they should be available in magazines tear them out and send them to me as soon as possible.
Love,
ATQ/emr
[Copy in the family "files" is an unsigned carbon copy.]
February 11, 1957
Dear Jeannette:
When you receive this letter you will be celebrating your twenty-first birthday. Your mother and I regret that you could not be home to celebrate the grand occasion within the family. It does not seem so long ago that your mother and I had to tip-toe into your room to pat you to sleep on the occasion of your midnight crying spells. Now you are twenty-one, at the very threshold of womanhood, shaking off the last vestige of a minor.
As I look back over the years from my standpoint of maturity, it was wonderful to be twenty-one. You have so much that I did not have when I was twenty-one, many things which we now consider commonplace: radios, TV, miracle drugs, atomic bombs, jet planes, guided missiles, super duper automobiles, synthetic materials such as plastics, nylons, and many other things. Naturally, with all these advantages, there are also disadvantages, but the balance of favor still lies with the 21's of this day and age.
What are your plans for the next twenty-one years? I think that is an important consideration to ponder over. I am sure with the background that you have had and the environment in which you were brought up, you certainly would not be satisfied to take things as they come along. You should have a definite idea of what you wish out of life. My suggestion is to plan your life with optimism on a scale of accomplishment and achievement. We all can be ordinary and average, but it requires determination and work to be outstanding.
Therefore, I congratulate you on your opportunity, and I send you my love and best wishes for your happiness in the present, stretched out into the future.
Love,
Dad
ATQ:ls
When you receive this letter you will be celebrating your twenty-first birthday. Your mother and I regret that you could not be home to celebrate the grand occasion within the family. It does not seem so long ago that your mother and I had to tip-toe into your room to pat you to sleep on the occasion of your midnight crying spells. Now you are twenty-one, at the very threshold of womanhood, shaking off the last vestige of a minor.
As I look back over the years from my standpoint of maturity, it was wonderful to be twenty-one. You have so much that I did not have when I was twenty-one, many things which we now consider commonplace: radios, TV, miracle drugs, atomic bombs, jet planes, guided missiles, super duper automobiles, synthetic materials such as plastics, nylons, and many other things. Naturally, with all these advantages, there are also disadvantages, but the balance of favor still lies with the 21's of this day and age.
What are your plans for the next twenty-one years? I think that is an important consideration to ponder over. I am sure with the background that you have had and the environment in which you were brought up, you certainly would not be satisfied to take things as they come along. You should have a definite idea of what you wish out of life. My suggestion is to plan your life with optimism on a scale of accomplishment and achievement. We all can be ordinary and average, but it requires determination and work to be outstanding.
Therefore, I congratulate you on your opportunity, and I send you my love and best wishes for your happiness in the present, stretched out into the future.
Love,
Dad
ATQ:ls