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in pencil in top margin Field, Ben

531 Main St Roosevelt Island New York 10044 January 20, 1980 Dear Jack,

    Just a few days ago, Monday to be exact, we re-entered our living quarters on this Blessed Isle, & saw our baggage which disappeared somewhere between *underlined:  United Airline control and underlined:  Kennedy, N.Y.  Fortunately, next morning, at 10 o'clock the two bags found their way to the Island.  We celebrated by working our way through both bags, jamming the hampers with soiled stuff, and then going through a Mount Sinai of mail accumulated during our absence of a month.
    We had intended to visit Ruth and Paul Corey, old friends of ours.   They live in a house built by Paul in Sonoma, which is in the Frisco environs.  Unfortunately, Ruth, who is arthritic and not too well, had a fall, and is now confined to the wheelchair.  We had to cancel our trip.  She is fortunate in having a man who like you, is an "expert" at household chores.
    When will the JACK Conroy Reader see the light of day?  Do you have anything else on the burner?  And, have you received the Halldor Laxness underlined:  novel The Atom Station, from Millen Brand?  He promised to write and have you push the novel, which is very good.
   As for Norman Amhoretz (in Hebrew, a blockhead) his book should be entitled Breaking Wind.
   Our warmest greetings to Gladys.

Sincerely, Ben

• underlined: Sans San Francisco.