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Post by leah2359 on Jul 15, 2011 17:47:42 GMT
The letter Dwight wrote to his mother just two days before he died. Attachments:
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Post by Monk's Moll on Jul 15, 2011 18:18:30 GMT
As I am reading this, I can feel his excitement, and yet I sense a bit of sadness for some reason. I wonder why they sold the refrigerator? How did they keep milk, cheese, etc. cold, unless they used a different method? I sense the hopefulness when he writes about the wig, but yet (correct me if I am wrong) it almost seems guarded, like he's afraid of it being too good to be true. I was saddened reading how he said he would write to Ella on Sunday, and be picking up the Thanksgiving turkey then, poor sweet Dwight. Thank you for posting this, enlarging it gives a chance to really read it all .
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Post by leah2359 on Jul 15, 2011 18:23:16 GMT
Yeah I got that impression too, he seemed a bit cautious with his wording.
I'm not sure why they'd be selling the refrigerator, except maybe it was older and they wanted to get a new one since he thought he would be making some money soon, and by selling the older one they'd have some extra cash.
It's almost eerie that he mentions he'll probably write again on Sunday, and that ended up being the day he died. Just goes to show none of us know how much time we have left....
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Post by Monk's Moll on Jul 15, 2011 18:25:04 GMT
That's true, maybe he was planning on getting a new one. It sends shivers down my spine .
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Post by Mrs Vindecco on Jul 15, 2011 19:11:03 GMT
Thanks for posting this Leah. It's kind of bitter-sweet and I agree that Dwight seems a little cautious with his wording. I love the way, Dwight called his mother "Muzzie". I'm guessing it might have been due to some pronounciation as a child that just stuck and always find it quite cute.
I know we always grieve for Laura and Buddy for Dwight's passing but I truly feel awful for Ella's loss. At the end of the day Laura DID find someone else but Ella lost her son, who she was obviously very close to and I wonder what actually happened to her after Dwight died.
In the UK, fridges were not common in homes until the sixties and as Dwight and Laura who have been raised without that luxury they would have known how to preserve foods without it. I'm guessing milk just had to be drunk quickly i'm not that knowledgeable. To be fair at this time, would the US not had a degree of food rationing so perhaps it was easier for them to cope without a fridge.
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Post by Luna on Jul 15, 2011 19:49:02 GMT
First, thank you for posting this, it is amazing and a very poignant read.
Milkmen were common in Dwight's day, so I am guessing that they probably had milk delivered everyday and would drink it the same day. Also, in that time period they had what was called an ice box. Today we assume that this is the same as a fridge, but it isn't. An ice box resembled a small fridge, about the size that college kids use in dorms, and it was loaded with ice to preserve food. They had ice men who delivered then as well. So just because they sold the fridge doesn't mean that they couldn't preserve food. They may have had an ice box.
I don't think that they were planning on purchasing a new fridge, because didn't he mention buying a desk and selling the fridge in order to do that? I remember when I first read this, how overwhelmed I felt by his humble nature- to be happy with a simple desk and to not mind giving up a fridge in order to obtain it. Compared to modern celebrities who have every single luxury that you can imagine on earth, Dwight's behavior was refreshing.
The letter is heart-breaking, to see his plans and hopes on paper and to know that they will all be taken away in a matter of days.
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Post by leah2359 on Jul 15, 2011 19:53:43 GMT
Thanks for clearing up the refrigerator issue. I forgot about milkmen and the difference between a fridge and an ice box. Now it makes more sense.
I too wonder what happened to Ella. It seems like they didn't have much contact with her after they moved to Maine. It is heartbreaking, she was widowed and then lost her only child and outlived him by several years. I have wondered where her gravesite is, actually....
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Post by liz on Jul 15, 2011 20:25:33 GMT
Very cool and interesting. All I know about fridges is that our fridge in San Diego is empty but my aunt's and my cousin's in New England are stuffed with food.
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Post by Monk's Moll on Jul 16, 2011 1:35:08 GMT
Ah, that's right Luna, they had iceboxes, I can't believe I forgot that *slaps head*
*News Anchor reports:"Dawn breaks over Marblehead, film at 11"*
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