Tom's Diary

Dear [KC],

Thanks so much for your compliment on my writing. Ironically, I _hated_ writing in school and college. But the strange thing was that a couple of my professors at Pitt suggested that I consider writing as an alternative career choice, should computer science not pan out. Now, some 20 years later, I’m doing just that.

I’m still not crazy about the writer’s blocks that still restrain me from time to time. But I love the daily mental discoveries and rediscoveries that the journey of writing has brought to me.

My attitudes toward academia have certainly changed drastically from when you were my teacher in 8th grade (1974-1975). Did you ever think back then that I’d become a bookworm and dedicated writer? I sure screwed off back then and I regret now that I wasted so much time. In fact to overcome that academic deficiency I created in myself by not reading back then, I’m spending four hours a day studying the classic literature that I should have read in school (Alice in Wonderland, 1984, The Good Earth, Hamlet, Atlas Shrugged, and so on). I’m definitely playing catch-up these days. But fortunately, the Internet and the availability of CliffsNotes and SparksNotes makes studying these books much easier than it was in the 70s.

Plus, I have an appreciation today (which I totally lacked in 8th grade) of just how useful the knowledge in such books can be. These days, I can’t get enough reading. Hopefully one day, writing will pan out as well as (or better than) software engineering did. I sincerely hope you’ll be around to see it and that I’ll be around long enough to make it happen.

Later,
Tom Hesley

Hi   [KC].

Hey, I heard that you’re retiring this year along with Dr. Simon. Is that true? If so, we should get together at least once before you go. Also, make sure you send me your away-from-work email address, because I definitely want to keep in touch.

Yes, the book is going okay. That is, at least I’m writing about 1000 words a day into it. It’s a sort of cathartic exercise, although I hope my readers won’t rib me too much for that.

Do you have any experience publishing? I’m wondering about using people’s actual names and places in the book. Most of the writing is positive and complimentary, although there are some sticky negative situations that must be described for completeness and to avoid sounding like I have the Pollyanna Syndrome. Much of my current philosophies and moral codes of living derive directly from both the positive _and_ negative experiences at WPSBC. So my thinking is that all of it must be adequately represented.

However, I wish to avoid needlessly offending anyone. It may be required to talk about the way kids used to badger [Watts] for example. Or, in order to show why I hold my current attitudes regarding women, I’d have to discuss my extraordinarily happy yet extraordinarily sad relationship with [First Love] during those years. I’m thinking that I’ll have to change all the names, just to be safe. But if I go to that length to conceal identities, I’d probably have to change the places as well; everything from the city and street names to the school name itself. Renaming [Tad] to [Bob] for example would offer little concealment if I left the school’s name unchanged. People would still know to whom I was referring if they realize that I’m a 1979 WPSBC graduate. What are your thoughts?

Speaking of your 37 years of employment, I think our class had you in 5th grade for TDL. We were one of the first ones to be taught by you (1971-1972) That just seems like yesterday. It really does. I also remember you skating in the old gym with the kids. That was a sad day when they tore that building down. Luckily, I have numerous pictures of it that I snapped in 1986, although I have none of the inside of it. Were you ever a photo buff, and did you take many pictures of the school in the 70s? [Ann] has quite a few, and with today’s computer technology, it would be a cool project to assemble an electronic scrap book of our era at WPSBC.

Thanks for writing back, and do write again soon.

Later,
Tom Hesley

[Emmy],

The alumni website you asked about for the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children Alumni Association is:

http://www.wpsbc-alumni.org/

Enjoy.

Tom

Dear [Lois],

Good deal. I’ll be looking for your Risko letter. [Our alumnists] probably won’t stop dying unfortunately. If anything, I expect the number of deaths per year to rise as the folks who graduated in the 60s and 70s reach their mid 60s. Such is life I suppose.

Tom Hesley

Dear [Lois],

Good deal. I’m going to Pittsburgh this weekend. So I’ll send out the memorial check [for Sue Zigler] when I get back. Your letter should have reached me by then.

Take care,
Tom Hesley

[Mark],

Sue Zigler would have graduated in 1976. However, she transferred to Schenley high school for her senior year. Thus, she did not graduate from our school, and so you won’t find her on our graduate roles.

Tom

Dear [Melinda],

Well, if you believe that getting down to 110 is not possible, then it’s not.  Just get down to where you feel comfortable.

Tom

Dear [KC],

Absolutely. [Those funny memories will stay with us forever.] That blue smoke was quite dense and its odor remained in the furniture and carpet for weeks! I’m not sure if we had the oven set incorrectly or if the oven thermostat was broken. Probably a bit of both actually.

Come to think of it, I took a walk down to that old place last time I was in Pittsburgh. It’s still there, although I didn’t actually go into the apartment. That place was sooooooo noisy that seeing the building brought back numerous memories of sleepless nights because the neighbors below us [partied incessantly]. We only stayed there a year. But man, I’ve come a long way since then.

By the way, do you still keep in touch with the Extines? Occasionally, I reminisce about the many field trips we used to make to Harmony, PA — particularly the hay rides in the fall. There was just something about the raw air combined with the hot chocolate and the smell of the straw that, even today, adds an almost romantic quality to thoughts of those simpler and good times.

Tom Hesley

Dear [KC],

Speaking of Richard Parker, do you remember coming to visit us at our first apartment on McKee Place in 1979? He, [Mentat], and myself lived together at the time, and as I recall, we cooked you a barbecue chicken dinner which, got a bit well-done. I chuckle when I remember the blue smoke that permeated the living room and how nonchalant you attempted to be as you attempted to hide your coughing. That’s one dinner I never forgot.

Tom Hesley

Dear [Tad],

Yep, we’ll see you at the alumni meeting on the 14th [this month]. Say hi to your Mom for me. I still want to give her a foot massage.

Enjoy your Easter weekend. I’m just hanging out here in Altoona. Will probably have dinner at my sister Christine’s place.

Later,
Tom Hesley