Thank you Elsie. Thank you for calling Sid out. I wish we could read your exact words. I hope they were firm and self-assured, but maybe they were sad and full of insecurities. Either way, they were words that Sid needed to hear. We've all been inconsiderate friends or lovers at some point. We've all…
Merry Christmas?
Last heard from, Sid was planning his trip to spend the holidays with his family in Buffalo - and to spend time with Elsie. So I wasn't surprised to find a festive Christmas card (shown above) in the next envelope in the box. What was a surprise was what was on the inside: Who the…
Would Sid have been a Bernie man?
Well, the election is over and now what will happen? In 1932, that is. I so wish we were at that point right now. Don't you wish we had a fast forward button through the next six months or so? But alas, we must fully live these troubling times in order to get to the…
Is it 1932 or 2020?
The next letter that Sid pens, in mid October 1932, strikes me as so extraordinarily timely for readers in 2020 that it is hard to believe that more than 85 years have passed since it was mailed. How can something written in a completely different time speak so directly to our current situation in America?…
The perfect time for a slow romance
In this very tough season in which we find ourselves, time is suddenly on our hands. At home alone or with family, our minds are naturally drawn backwards to happier times, easier times - which, of course, all felt stressed-out, frenetic and way too jam-packed in the moment, but now in retrospect seem positively dreamy.…
Sounds Familiar…
Sid’s next letter arrives in June, with the news that he won’t get away to Buffalo as soon as he had hoped. Life was very busy and it seemed he wouldn’t be heading towards Elsie until after he taught summer school at Rutgers. It was probably not welcome news to Elsie, especially when Sid didn’t…
All the way to Buffalo
And so the promise of a visit is fulfilled! Sid’s next letter is written after what seems to have been a lovely visit to Buffalo, and much time spent with Elsie. Regardless of their budding relationship, Sid would most likely have been heading northwest anyways to spend Easter with his father, a minister in North…
Here’s to Then…
A snowy day in a warm house is the perfect day to continue the story. And, of course, what I really wish I could find next is Elsie’s reply to Sidney’s letter. But unfortunately, when I open the box of my grandmother’s letters to Sidney, the earliest postmarks on her letters date from 1935. So…
A Little Spark?
It’s time to open a letter. Well, not open exactly, since this letter was opened for the first time almost exactly 87 years ago. And amazingly, after it was opened and read, it was put aside and kept, and it has made the journey all the way to 2019. Now it has surfaced again, to…
El and Sid ~ A Slow Romance 