Harris Mama, happy birthday.
Today is Thursday, May 28, 1964, and I send you
greetings for your birthday tomorrow.
You are running a close race with some other
eminent people, such as Winston Churchill
and Herbert Hoover, for keeping active for such
a long period of time.
I hope you received the birthday card which I
mailed to you last Monday.
I had hoped to have gotten this tape to you,
but unfortunately was not able to do so because
of the visit of the passport office man from Washington.
Your nursery has probably had its opening by
now, and I'm sure that everyone had a delightful
time and everyone appreciated seeing your
lovely new building.
Today we are having Typhoon Viola.
It is now about 10:30 in the morning and the
radio reports say that the typhoon will hit
the coast about 60 miles west of here about noon.
We have had strong winds ever since yesterday
and have had four inches of rain.
The rain, of course, is most welcome.
We only hope that the wind will not do too much damage.
Yesterday afternoon about 4:00 when signal
number seven went up, all people living
in Kowloon went home because that meant that
the ferries would stop running before long.
Even when the ferries stop running, there is no
way for people to get from the island
over to the peninsula of Kowloon, so if you
live on one side and are caught on the other,
you just stay where you are.
Afun and I are snug as can be in our little
apartment and are having no difficulty at all.
You do hear the winds whistling around and Afun
said the wind kept her awake some last night.
However, I slept like a log.
A bit later, as the winds increase in velocity,
I shall see if you can hear some of the wind
of the typhoon.
You may be able to hear some of it now in the background.
However, we are not yet to the worst part of it.
As I look out my front window, I see the rain
coming down, not straight down, but blowing crosswise.
The wind is so strong that the rain seems to be
going across the valley, not down into
the valley.
The race course down below is a solid sheet of
water, a welcome sight for waterless Hong Kong.
I am so glad, Mama, that you enjoyed my last
tape and that Mrs. Ethel Garnett came over
and could hear it with you.
I am sure that her sister, Ruth Johnston, will
come to Gainesville and she also will
enjoy hearing the tape in Gainesville that she
helped make here in Hong Kong.
My departure preparations are coming along very nicely.
My boss is buying my car and I can continue
using it until my last day here, which is
very nice because then I will have it so that I
can show Katie around a bit.
The English couple who live below me are taking
my apartment and buying my two air conditioners
and draperies, so that is a help since I do not
have to go to the bother of having the
air conditioners removed and the hole in the
wall plugged up.
I am selling some of the furniture that I
bought in the States since there is no point
in taking back some of the older furniture
which I may or may not have room for.
Also I have bought one or two pieces of new
Chinese furniture which I want to take back
with me.
My sales are going along very well.
I shall advertise the remaining things in the
newspaper this weekend, that is if the
typhoon is over soon enough for me to get it
into the newspaper, but the typhoon should
be over by tonight anyway and then I should be
able to go about my business tomorrow and
go to town.
Today, of course, everyone is advised to stay
in unless he absolutely must go out.
I see there are some trams, as they call them
here, or streetcars, as we call them at home, moving.
There are also a few buses and a few cars, but
it is not advisable to be out.
The great danger is that of flying debris, big
boards or big signs that get torn down
by the wind, but I am simply staying right here.
The wind and rain is hitting the other side of
the building, so we are very lucky in that
we have no rain leaking in and it's not bad for
us at all.
Last week I got my coat and winter suit that I
have had made here and they are lovely.
The tailor also made up two pieces of summer
material which I have had for a long time
and I have already put those dresses to good use.
I am now having a summer suit made of India raw
silk and a summer dress of printed silk
from Thailand.
Both, I think, will be very, very nice.
Arrangements have been made for the packers to
come to my house the week of June 8 and
my furniture will then all be packed away to
the warehouse.
For the present, I shall move into a hotel on
June 12.
I'll go into the Hilton which is just a short
block from my office.
Luckily we are now allowed a certain amount
which will almost pay the hotel bill for the
balance of my time here.
When Katie arrives on June 22, she will join me
in the hotel and will be there until we
leave on Saturday, June 27.
The Chinese employees of my office want to
invite me to a Chinese luncheon and have suggested
Saturday the day of our departure so that Katie
can be included.
I think this is a very nice idea and am sure
that Katie will enjoy it.
Consequently, we will check out of the hotel
before noon on Saturday and have a leisurely luncheon.
After that, the fellow who is replacing me is
going to have open house at his apartment
so that those who want to come by and tell me
goodbye before we go out to the airport
can do so.
Our plane leaves at 10:15 pm but we will have
to leave the island about 8:00 in order
to reach the airport by 9.15 when we should be
there to check through passports, luggage,
tickets and everything as is necessary for an
international flight.
We have now heard from Mary Frances and she is
delighted that Katie and I are coming.
She and her husband will meet us at the airport
in New York on Saturday, July 25.