Franklin County Will Never Be Finished With Us

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Wednesday
April 25, 2007
FRANKLIN COUNTY WILL NEVER BE FINISHED WITH US; for Jay (again)

Dear Jay,

Your e-mail (below) informing me about how to make my way around the Peoria Kansas Township portion of Franklin County arrived late last night when I returned home and whistled up my new mail. What can I say? I'm very impressed. Excellent job. How did you do that? Were you reciting all of those topographical details from memory or did you find them on "Lost Franklin County" or some similar website? RSVP when time allows. I'm terribly curious. Your research skills are obviously far superior to my own -- a fact made particularly ironic when we consider that it wasn't all that many years ago that I as teaching "Research Methods" to college students. But that was, of course, "back in the day" -- specifically, the day when the internet was still on the drawingboard.

But to "cut to the chase," let's talk about the second week of July. When you said that you'd love to join me on a tour of the towns mentioned below (and in my recent open letter), how serious were you? As disappointing as it is to me, the naked truth of the matter is that I'm going to end up with only about a day and a half of "touring" this year. And that's only if I'm lucky and if all goes according to plan. The last time I was able to do anything similar was in July of 2005. If you'll recall, I was unemployed at the time, so that it wasn't all that much of a strain to append a long day's "tour" of my father's "old stompin' ground" (as he himself used to call it) onto my return trip from my annual pilgrimage to and from Des Moines. This July, however, I'm not only working, but working within a Kafkaesquely mismanaged organization where slack is cut only for those who don't need any slack.

Within this rigid cage of circumstances, I'd love to meet you at the Super-8 -- or whatever's acceptable -- in Ottawa at around 8 or 9 p.m. on Monday, July 9th. I intend to make reservations for the night of the 9th & 10th and to return to my cramped rathole of a studio apartment in KCMO on the evening of the 11th. For, as things stand at present, I'll be expected at work in the early afternoon of Thursday the 12th. If you did decide to come, you'd probably want to spend at least an extra couple of days (without me) exploring the hinterland of our grandparents' youth. RSVP.

In Solidarity & Curiosity,

Galen

(Uncle Bunky)


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Nothing is left of PEORIA. Its center was at the intersection of K-68 and Tennessee Road, 5 miles East of Ottawa and 3 miles East of I-35. K-68 is the east-west route that runs north of Ottawa - and has its own exit off I-35 north of town. Next time you take that exit, go east instead of west.

3 miles straight south of Peoria on Tennessee Road is another almost dead town, IMES, which the railroad ran through.

Pick up Tennessee Road again in Imes and continue south to Rock Creek Road, take a left 3 miles to RANTOUL, which is a booming 4 square blocks, Main Street, 2nd Street, 3rd Street and 4th Street. It's on the same rail line as Imes.

6 miles south lf Rantoul is LANE, also a railroad town, but a different line then the one that served Imes and Rantoul. This rail line is a spur that runs SW from Osawatomie.

I'd love to join you on a tour of those towns.

Jay


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Happy Voltaire Day to One & All!!!

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Subject: HAPPY VOLTAIRE DAY TO ONE & ALL!!!

Tuesday
November 21, 2006

Dear Jaromir (& Magda),

Hello again! I'm going to attempt to pick up the thread where I dropped it. (Although [to mix my metaphors], like the fool on his walk toward Warsaw in the I. B. Singer retelling, I may end up waking up by the roadside and going back the way I came.

I'm only going to have time enough to begin here on this page, and then we'll have to meet on the next page. What I'm hoping to tie together today are these few key components: the U. S. Constitution, Franz Kafka, and my abortive early novel entitled GARUDA IN TOYLAND.

Parenthetically, Richard Wilbur (see below here), who's now like 85, was one of the first accomplished poets to recognize and endorse my own work when I was still an undergrad -- and to later encourage and guide me in my aesthetic development. It all began in 1972 with his answering my "fan mail" to him.

Anyway, wish me luck with this weirdly clear-minded task I've set for myself. And meet me on the next page.

HAPPY VOLTAIRE DAY,

Galen


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A Tiny Piece of the Story of Our Story

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Subject: YOUR GALEN GREEN UPDATE; December 5th

Tuesday
December 5, 2006
W. K. McCall's 139th Birthday

Dear Jay,

Am starting to get used to having weekends off and to most of how that fact impacts what Marie & I can and cannot do. So, for the foreseeable future, the best time to phone me will be from 8:00 p.m. till 10:00 p.m. (Central Time) Monday thru Friday. I mean that that's the best time for me to chat.

If I don't hear from you within the next week or so, I'm likely to phone you. Thanks for sharing the old photos. Marie & I both got a kick out of the detective work, though in her case, it was, of course, mostly a matter of getting acquainted with some of the more esoteric details of my adoptive family's history. Today, for instance, would have been my grandfather W. K.'s 139th birthday, if only he'd taken better care of himself. (Less red meat, more fiber, etc.) I respect how busy you are nowadays, but if the opportunity presents itself for you to scan a few more old photo and/or letters in the near future, I'd love to attempt further assistance with your very worthwhile archival project.

Marie seems to be planning to drive to Dallas for the holidays, probably leaving around the 20th. In her absence, I hope to mend some fences and to do some catching up with old friends like Dr. Betty Barker Bashaw and with new friends like Magda & Jaromir Born, our new Czech friends I've been pestering with my pedantic, didactic "open letters" of late. And, predictably, I hope to do even more writing.

Let me know more about your planned visit to KC when you can.

Good Cheer to You & Yours,

Galen
(Uncle Bunky)


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That Galen Who Tells the Story of Our Story (2007)