1932

My detective work found the lost Theodore Monell living with his daughter, Kit, at High Falls, New York, above Poughkeepsie. His healths not great but morale is good. After WW II naval duty, he became an International Nickel sales manager, but changed to his first love, fishing, captaining his boat out of Montauk, Long Island. I also had a clue about another "lost," Granville Browning. He has moved from Palm Harbor, Florida, to nearby St. Petersburg, but my pursuit was blocked by an unlisted number. Good to hear from Don Marcus, my predecessor, who's almost blind plus a broken hip in October but is in good spirits and enjoys his piano. Cape Cod as lovely as ever, as is his oceanside house, where he's been alone since 2001. Bill Lieson is feeling better than he has in years. Still has some aches and pains from his hip replacement yet gets around well with his walker. George Blaesi tells us that all the aged and infirm residents of his facility always ask, "How are you feeling?"—about as appropriate as a Merry Christmas on the Fourth of July. He might accept a "Good morning" or "Good evening." He says that most of us fools go along with the old lie, "Just fine, thank you." Now he's responding with, "How soon do you have to know?" To "How you doing?" his answer is, "I'm doin' others before they do me." Not original, but when panic subsides, they finally decide he's a great guy—and funny too.

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