Love Book
Dear [Melinda],
Yes, Altoona is very depressed since the Con Rail railroad system was sold to Norfolk Southern. However, there are lots of stores and places to eat. I never understood how so many places like that could survive in this area. But they do. Yes, you could buy property here. But I wouldn’t count on making much money upon selling it, even if you held on to it for ten years. Things don’t appreciate around here very rapidly. But if you were just looking for rental income, that would work.
Altoona has cold winters, since it’s nestled in the mountains. In fact, a common epitaph for Altoona is The Mountain City. But the summers can get pretty warm (ten to twenty days a year above 90 degrees). There are lots of woods, rivers, and creeks around. In fact, we have on here that runs along the bottom of the property. I had a pavilion put up out back, where I sit on the swings doing my reading and writing during the summer months. Sometimes, when it’s real quiet, you can hear the river flowing. However, we don’t usually have quiet times like that, with the I-99 highway running along the mountainside just above the river.
No, we don’t get too many lake effect snowstorms. The mountains probably stop them. But every now and then, a really big one comes through. We get more squalls than anything.
My book is more autobiographical than anything, and if long titles were allowed, might be called something like: How I found my dream girl without being a dream guy. Or: How I learned to live without finding my dream girl. In it I dispel many of the myths about dating that I once believed to be true, and trace the events that shaped those evolutionary thought processes. Some who’ve read pieces or heard me speak about it say that it sounds like philosophy, although I hope they don’t think it too dry and fall asleep while reading it.
I’ll call you tonight, around 8:30, and if you’re around, we can talk more then.
My number is: 814-xxx-xxxx
Later,
Tom Hesley
