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typed lette at some grapefruit on a stand at the Maidstone market (held every 2nd. Tuesday), and the London Jew who operate it got real nasty, and I had to hold my temper (necessary in England, where to lay a hand on a man can have serious consequences). We hadn't even touched the stuff. By the way, we found that all of the various places which ship grape fruit to England. the Jaffa (Haifa, or Jewish) kind was the best - sweetest and sharpest. Maybe I'd never make a businessman, but I often wonder why in hell people who sell fruit, etc. make it such a religious thing to palm off the spoiled stuff; and I used to wonder that way when I was eleven years old, working for a Greek fruit peddler, when those fancy fruit wagons brought the fruit to the various neighborhoods, as the grocery stores had no way, no refrigeration, for keeping foods fresh. The greengrocer is big stuff in the British Isles (as of old), and these stores aren't so hard about letting the cus- tomer pick things. The supermarts, especially Sainsbury's are a real blessing to the workingclass families. In Maidstone, living along a highway (7 doors from the prison, in fact, we could frequently see prisoners, sometimes with hands tied behind them, walking along with a warder (screw),who'd had them doing some work at his house), one could see housewives walking along, bent for the supermarket in the main street a mile away with their shopping bags. Merchants expect you to have a bag, otherwise they'll give you a dirty look. and if they do provide a paper bag, it's guaranteed to bust open as you leave the shop - I've seen it happen. Even dirty potatoes are often dumped into a nice clean shopping bag. The laws are against the consumer; merchants can even refuse to serve you, and money back on unsatisfactory purchases is almost unknown and seldom done. And then there's the snob- bery business, a national illness, as the late Prof. Joad used to say. Inefficiency is common. But I still like England. I particularly like their ample bus services, and as in Ire- land, one can walk about on the streets at night without fear. I rarely go out at night here, wouldn't think of doing so on the south side, which is almost a vast jungle now. \Had occasion to go to 130N. Wells recently. Ordered a copy of my son's birth certificate. I think his daughter has become interested in England as a result of studies, and he may go there one of these days. If I can buy a fairly reasonable air passage, I'll go in April myself for a brief visit, first to Ireland. Are you still planning to go, or ...? underlined and in blue ink P.S. The Bur. of Vital Statistics is at 130underlined a hold-up took place in offices in the bldg. by masked men, a few weeks ago. Regardsunderlined - Mead

                                                                                                                             Enclosuresunderlined: Mucho. 

in blue ink on left-hand marginP.P.S. underlined Lovecraft, who starved while writing his head off, would surely be rich if alive today.