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February 7, 1949

Dear folks,

The letter I wrote this morning got scraped into the waste basket when it slipped on the floor at work.

I wonder how your [[strikethrough]] back [[/strikethrough]] hip is now, Mother?

What incited Miss Schieber?

Nice weekend, despite a ferocious cold which began Friday [[strikethrough]] & [[/strikethrough]] (Maria wanted me to go out to supper & talk with her Thursday night, & the fatigue & candy bars did it) She had just broken up with her friend Dick. She and our group (excluding me) have a touch of sameness that is hard to [[strikethrough]] [[?]] [[/strikethrough]] describe. It is a delicacy that recoils at many things. So of course she would not speak of Dick; we discussed fairy tales. Sat afternoon I took off to go to bed -- & go out Sat night, & Sunday afternoon & evening, with Bill! He refused to let a cold deter it. In fact he gave me some wonderful nose drops & much attention: a good opportunity. We listened to the Bach Mass, cooked with Harry & George (the hottest mixtures): Harry made a sauce with chili sauce, horseradish, garlic, as well as vinegar & pepper & paprika: & ended up drinking the remains!). Very close to Bill. Incidently your Wilhelm Jenks Preis is [[strikethrough]] all [[/strikethrough]] off: now I discover it is Jencks. Colds are somewhat psycho-somatic .. with Bill it disappeared.

Don't worry about Mr Ansel. I feel very kindly towards him, especially after relieving my feelings behind his back; perhaps that is why we all tolerate him, even miss him now at the Business School. Also don't worry about young men. Not that that isn't an ever-present [[strikethrough]] actuality [[/strikethrough]] eventuality in every girl's life -- but that no amount of outer persuasion could but cement it more strongly -- & Bill is very "satisfying" now, so you can cast all doubts out, if you want to consider it that way. He is so good. His inhibitions are I guess his unhappiest feature: that terrific critical faculty built out of inferiority feeling to his father; [[strikethrough]] feeling it [[/strikethrough]] is crippling in many ways. But he has gotten over being sexually inhibited, & helped me too to acquire a genuinely positive attitude. You probably don't understand, but it has been very valuable & rewarding. I suppose it would be more tactful to have these things unspoken; it is in a way a retribution