Amanda's Letter Box – by AlaskanFan

We learned in Wrong Way Home that Amanda saved stacks of Joe's letters, so it's reasonable to assume that she saved other letters as well. Here's a peek at one of them written in classic penmanship on pale lavender stationary with three pansies in the lower right corner.

Dearest Amanda,

You are just the sweetest thing! Imagine my surprise to receive your package in the mail yesterday! How thoughtful of you to remember our 30th wedding anniversary. Thank you very much. It was especially precious of you to choose a music box that plays "Some Enchanted Evening." Did Dotty tell you that it was the first song George and I danced to at our wedding reception? I'm sure you were too young to remember the occasion.

Just like the song says, George saw me "across a crowded room" and knew that he'd see me "again and again." When he returned from the Korean war, he literally, "Flew to my side to make me his own." And our standard advice to young couples getting married is the coda "Once you have found (your true love), never let her go."

I do have to be honest, dear, and tell you that the post office was not as careful as they should have been and the music box arrived broken. The little bouquet of flowers had broken in several pieces. However, George found a way to make the gift even more special. He bought one of those little cake decorations of a bride and groom and stuck it on the spindle so that the wedding couple dances to the "enchanting" music - just like the first time.

Please give Dotty a hug and kiss those fine great-nephews for me. Thank you again for such a marvelous gift. I hope you'll come see us real soon.

Oodles of love,

Aunt Minnie

P.S. There was a note inside the box that sounded like a menu. We managed to spill coffee all over it and the ink smeared, so I threw it away. Just in case you need it, it said:

Duck a la Nathan Hale - Valley Forge Flapjacks - Pilgrim's Peach Puff

The End

Lyrics to "Some Enchanted Evening" by Rodgers and Hammerstein from the musical South Pacific:

xxx

Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger,

You may see a stranger across a crowded room.

And somehow you know, you know even then,

That somewhere you'll see her again and again.

xxx

Some enchanted evening, someone may be laughing.

You may hear her laughing across a crowded room.

And night after night, as strange as it seems,

The sound of her laughter will sing in your dreams.

xxx

Who can explain it? Who can tell you why?

Fools give you reasons; wise men never try.

xxx

Some enchanted evening, when you find your true love,

When you feel her call you across a crowded room,

Then fly to her side and make her your own,

Or all through your life, you may dream all alone.

xxx

Once you have found her, never let her go.

Once you have found her, never let her go.