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2 May 1972 

Dear Doris: 

I've just been reporting to Jim Peters what you wrote of the Ecuadora people. He said Guerrero was a very common name down there, and wanted to know exactly what the place was that they came from in Ecuador. The only two places I stopped at were at Guayaquil (however you spell it) and Quito. I liked Colombia better than Peru or Ecuador. We stayed only 2 or 3 days in Bogota as Doris Cochran couldn't stand the altitude - it was only 8500 ft. but that was uncomfortable for her. When Ferreyra took us up to 14,000 ft in the Andes she almost collapsed, where I felt so light and free and like hopping around she was nauseated and headachey. So in Colombia we stayed for a week or 10 days in Cali, which is a lovely place and another few days in Medellin, where there is a University at which we studied collections.

I trust that by now you are over your fall and cold. I fell some weeks ago badly scraping my knew but Dr. Ostergard treated it and it healed up. I've got to be careful about fall ing as at my age I might break bones, tho Dr. Ostergard said my bones as shown by x-ray were well calciumed.

Yesterday I went around to see about the money the state of Virginia is to pay for taking off for widening the street, everyone else has his money but mine has been held up because of the fact Dad borrowed from the Agricultural Beneficiary Soc. $8500 when he bought the place. He payed it off in 7 months but I have never been able to find the receipt for this and in the records at the Court House it stands that the loan is still on. Now the Agric.Benefic.society has long ceased to exist and noone seems to know where any of the records are, and so I have been tryingto get hold of someone unsuccessfully. Now the lawyers who have the money are trying to get an affidavit of the lost papers from whoever succeeded the society -- and I don't know how it will end, but unless we can get that record against the place erased it will always cause trouble if the place is sold. So I wanted you to know how matters stand. All these things bother me. I don't think Dad had any notion that he ought to get it changed at the Court house, or he would have done it years ago. I scolded him for taking the loan in the first place when we were perfectly able to pay the whole amount, and I got him to pay it off as soon as he could, but that hasn't made any difference now. Mary Mann told me that work on the road was to begin May 1st, but I think she is wrong as there is no sign of it. It will take a long time to finish and be a mess all the time. I've contracted to have a retaining wall which I shall have to pay for myself and that will take all the money I get -- if I everget it - to build.

We are having milder weather for the past few days, but a cold wave is predicted. I haven't run my furnace for over a month and some of the time it has been prett chilly. The cherry trees are out now and the lilacs perfume the place and I sneeze and sneeze, but have been taking Allerest which may help a little.

Now take care of yourself and don't trip over any more sidewalks and don't catch any more colds this season.

With love,