1985-07 (July)

Soc. Sec. Office: "Schedule C." July 1st, 1985 Mary here, first time since last Monday. Setout for social security office downtown, attempting again to straighten out confusion with XXXXX XXXXXXXXXX. Answered Caldwell's letter and dissertation. Called Chris Tomasimo at RLR; asked about three things; the lack of gallimard royalty statements since 91979, the publication by Brownberg's (Uppsala) of LDS, and the arrival of the Xerox sent last month of the Cox artifacts. She'll look into all these, she said. In afternoon, rode down to courtsquare with Hugs to get photo supplies for printing pictures taken lately. Late movie, "Purple Rain." Wierd.

July 2nd, 1985 Fletcher here, clipping dead limbs in backyard; also flattened top of driveway mullberry, changed oil in lawnmower. I was wakened at 5 by Hugs return; got up, had cereal and coffee, read paper and Tacitus till Mary arrived to fix breakfast. Took Hugs to airport at 2:45 to catch his 3:30 Republic flight to NY. He leaves for Paris on Saturday. I lent him the xerox of the Cox article with orders to return it, and relisted the twelve French novels he was to read in the past year. Alas, he has read fewer than half of them: Laclos, Censtaut, Stendhal, Malraux, and all but the last volume of Proust. Still to go: Balzac, Zola (though he did read Nana), Falubert, Baudeaire, andCaulus (or Celine.). Walked two miles; played Sibelius' 1st.

July 3rd, 1985 Hot weather returning, though not intensely. Fixed locks on basement doors and on Huger's upstairs sitting room; after a longterm problem finally solved. In afternoon, walked down to see Tunkie for the first time in about ten days. Found him in better spirits, though still fairly obviously doomed. Plan now is to make one last try at kemotherapy ( which hasn't been working at all up until now) and then move on to experimental efforts at Sloan Kittering - a bleak prospect at best. Lean Cuisine, beerless.

July 4th, 1985

Independence Day - unobserved in my Mississippi boyhood because it was also the anniversary of the fall of Vicksburg in 1863. No fireworks, no anything; just ever conscious mourning. Fletcher here; cut grass, removed rampant grape vine from area of backyard fort. I re-sprayed the driveway grass sprouts with weed- killer. Poolside lunch with Lucy Fisher, bacon- + - tomato sandwiches, muscadet wine + Miller Lite. Bryan and Mary Ann fellow guests. Home by 4:30. Mary given holiday as usual.

July 5th, 1985 Slept till 7, when Mary came. Weather coller than normal for July; high in low 90's. Read the Cannae chapters of Polybius. Good work despite inaccuracies pointed out in footnotes of the disadvantages of comparison with his model of Thucydides. Walked two miles; played Sibelius' 2nd. Buffet dinner at Herb and Nell's for Leslie and her fiance; about fifty people, lavish spread. Home by 10. Gwyn undertook and accomplished the horrendous job of taking up the upstairs hay carpet, which stinks of cat and dog droppings and urine. Dab floor underneth had suffered very little damage. A great improvement.. Began the graves translation of Apuleius' Golden Ass. Funny; but I have trouble with all "humorous" books if I read more than a very few pages at a time.