Letter to Lorelai
March 14th, 1983

Hi Lore,
I'm writing you this letter from 161 Canner Street, East Rock, New Haven. Before I got here, all I could think about was how dreadful it'd be, I thought I'd run away to Brooklyn on the night of arrival, or even better, Germany.

But it's not so bad here. Grandma and grandpa have got a big house and I've got my own room with a decent bed and grandpa even seems to like me. He and grandma are actually treating me as a human being even though I think dad gave them instructions to keep my leash short – grandpa had me mow the lawn yesterday, he deliberately sent home the army of gardeners so that I would have to do it. He did give me some money for it, though (I don't think dad knows) and I went downtown to get some new records. I was lucky I got to the record store on that particular day, I stood in line for almost an hour to get the new Bad Brains album, Rock for Light, and I have to say it's pretty damn great. I think I'm about to enter a new musical era, backbeat is gonna be the thing from now on!

I also got the latest edition of Creem in which I read that all the band members recently converted to rastafari. I thought about getting inspired, don't you think my folks would be thrilled if I showed up at school with dreadlocks and one of those knitted red-yellow-green hats…?

I have to go, Grandpa wants us to play chess. Sounds dull but I'm actually getting pretty good at it.

Yours, Chris

PS. I think about you at night.

PPS. Ok not only at night, pretty much all the time.

Letter to Christopher
March 18th, 1983

Chrrrrrrrissssssstopher Hayden!

Every time I think of your full name, I hear your mother shouting it inside my head. I guess her somewhat surprising ability to hold on to consonants creates unerasable marks in people's brains. I mean, not that I think of you, not even your full name, never ever, at all.

Sometimes I think of your mom, though. The other day I saw a poodle that reminded me of her, she, no, it, had the exact same hairdo as your mom does when she hasn't done her hair. Like, when she's just Francine and not Mrs. Hayden, I saw her like that once with her hair down and she's got the same curls as you? I was surprised. But anyway, back to the poodle, it also had curls… Ok, I lost my point somewhere on the way. I think that was the whole story.

I'm also glad to hear that your grandpa is nice! If you're unlucky, your grandparents are exactly like your parents, but on speed and in your case that would be BAD. I wouldn't even want my worst enemy to face an extreme version of your dad. I would also very much like to listen to that Bad Brains album of yours when you get back home, maybe we should do a rastafari themed party? With a lot of backbeat. Don't you think we can talk Trip into getting us some you-know-what? The BROWN STUFF that goes with the religion of rastafari? I am also very pretty in red, and I bet you'll look so cute in green. Goes with your eye color.

I have to go, mom wants me to play chess. Oh no, wait, that was you. My mom probably wants me to… be locked up in jail for life. And I don't think they play board games there. In jail, I mean. Anyway, she's calling my name so I better get my ass down there to see what she wants. Talk to you soon.

Lorelai.