1984 Sid's Letter -Feb10

Friday 2/10/84

Dear People:

AT long last I take typewriter in hand to let one and all know what is going on down here in sunnay [sic] Arizona.  And sunny it is - we have had really marvelous, warm weather for the last couple of weeks while the rest of the country is freezing and slipping off the roads.  Roberta - if you don't know who Roberta is, keep reading - has been sunning herself and is beginning to accumulate some tan.  Last weekend, the temperature was over 80 and the thermometer in the sun registered over 200.  But you could have read this in the paper ; some of the events recorded below were not in the paper.

Let me introduce you to Roberta Uible-King!  She is also known as Mrs. Hayes S. King.  In the event  that you think me a bigamist, let me assure you that I am not.  Fannie and I separated last year and were divorces later in 1983.  We were not particularly compatible individuals, could not get along together, and parted by mutual consent.  Fannie did the actual filing but I was not unhappy that she did.  We are till on speaking terms and, in fact, I spent last Wednesday at her place in Mesa, working on the horse trailer and the Cadillac.  Roberta and I had known each other for about 5 years.  She had been Director of the East Mesa Senior Center for several years.  Marilyn had spent considerable time at the East Mesa Center and I had done some volunteer work for the Center.  A couple of years ago, when Senior Village (fact sheet enclosed) was first formed, she became the Resident Manager and is still so employed.  I had also done some volunteer work in the past for Senior Village.

We were married on 12/31/83 in the Bethany United Presbyterian Church in Phoenix.  Both of us are Methodists although we had a Minister from the First Christian Church officiate.  Roberta's grandmother, age 91 and in a wheelchair, was the Matron of Honor.  My two oldest daughters, Sara and Cynthia, were the "best persons".  Roberts is originally from New Vienna, Ohio.  I am enclosing an account of the wedding from the Wilmington, Ohio (the county seat) newspaper.  The "honeymoon" consisted of one night at "The Pointe"; a very fancy resort not too far from here.  We figured with all the relatives here (my two girls and Roberta's father, mother, grandmother, uncle, aunt, brother and wife, three sisters, one with husband and 6 year old daughter) it would be more to the point to enjoy visiting with them and honeymoon later on.

The last relatives left on 1/10 and since that time, we have been trying to combine "his" and "hers" furniture, put away the junk I moved from Mesa, etc.  I am continuing to do volunteer work at Senior Village, and, in fact, keep exceedingly busy.  The house are just about that age where things are beginning to go wrong.  This last week, for instance, I did such little items as tightening toilet seats, fixed leaks in plumbing, hung pictures and mirrors, cleaned and oiled bathroom fans, fixed dishwasher doors, fixed kitchen cabinet doors, etc.  Nest week, I must build shelves into a closet for the cook and we are now working on a newsletter for Senior Village.  The first issue will be out 3/1.

I am the Editor for a Newsletter of Chapter 1469 of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees and just got out the latest issue Wednesday.  Senior Village has a number of its residents in either the hospital or a nursing home and we spend quite a bit of time visiting them.  I answer the office phone when no one is around.  It is great to be busy.  I am exceedingly happy with the events that began on 12/31/83.  I feel Roberta and I are very compatible.  I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to meet her at some time in the future.  We hope to get back through the Midwest in August.  Roberta, as a working person, does not, of course, have unlimited time off so the trip will not be as leisurely as we might like.

Roberta and I are living in a house on site, which is part of the Senior Village complex.  The address is 3645 W. Vogel, Phoenix, AZ 86021.  I sold the mobile home in Brentwood West very quickly and then lived in the fifth wheel trailer until 12/31.  I hope to get out a letter similar to the Christmas letters of a few years ago, complete with pictures, to the Xmas card list.  You probably noted that there were no Xmas cards from Mesa this year.  Hope this letters explain to some extent the great silence from the South West.

Regards, Sid