Danny, we liked both parts I and II of Frontier House. We watched them when they originally came out on PBS.

We arrived home last night at around 11PM. It was a long flight home and we're all still trying to get over jet lag. We had a full layover day in New York City, which sounds fun, but arriving at 7AM after flying for 17 hours took the play right out of us. Ed and Val took a bus into Manhatten for awhile, but there was a stiff November wind to contend with so they came back and joined us in the Crown Room at the airport.

I felt bad about missing Howard Eckersley's funeral. I called the family tonight. They said the service was upbeat and a celebration of his life. Howard had a dry, witty sense of humor and they said it came out in the remarks his two sons made.

South Africa is an amazing country. I was struck with how young it and all of Africa is. We think the U.S. is young, and it is compared to europe. But Africa is the next frontier.

Ed served as a great guide (his driving still needs work), introducing us to metropolitan Johannesburg, Pretoria, and most notably black townships.

Some of the townships are too dangerous to visit. Crime and poverty exist in all of them, but some are worse than others. We never felt in danger or threatened. Many waved at us and all were curious at the conspicuous carload of foreigners. A highlight for us was to have dinner in the home of a family Ed baptized. The "Mama" now serves as Relief Society president in the branch. Other highlights included attending the Johannesburg Temple and church in a township.

It was heartwarming and inspiring to worship with the black saints in their small building. It was odd to be singing Christmas carols with the hot sun blazing outside. A few of the children were barefoot. The parking lot was almost empty; Ed said many walk up to a half hour to attend. As I sat in Priesthood meeting, I could hear the children in another room in the building singing "Come, Come, Ye Saints", and it brought tears to my eyes. William Clayton, who wrote it was among the first company of pioneers to head for Utah, and that hymn is a part of our pioneer heritage. But as I listened to these sweet children singing in their interesting african accented english, I realized that they are the pioneers to the black people, the foundation of a very young church that will no doubt grow and flourish and become mighty. As a 5th generation descendant of those who crossed the American plains, I was humbled to be in the presence of latter day pioneers in Africa.

After visiting the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas, we headed for Kruger National Park. What a beautiful and exciting place it is. We stayed at two different camps in the park, in clean and well kept "family cottages." The camps were our base as we set out each day to see as many animals as we could. One of the goals of many is to see the "big five" which are the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant. We were able to see each of those, in some cases many of them, along with giraffes, zebras, monkees, implalas, waterbucks, and many wonderful birds. It is a magical land and I am grateful to have had the chance to see it.

Dear Sam, Alison or Gerald if you are home,
Howard Eckersley died Tuesday. His funeral is tomorrow. I was going to fly up for it, but not knowing if you were back, Gerald, I decided that it would be too much of a hastle for Sam or Allison. If at all possible I would really appreciate it if one of you could represent the Carter family there. I am quite sure it will be in Sandy where they live. I don't know the time or place, but here is Connie's phone #. 944-3501. His heart just gave out..
I hope all is well with all of you and that the travelers have arrived home safe and well. Thanks so much if any of you can get there.
Love to all, Grammy
P.S. It was Gerald's birthday today. I don't know if he is glad or disappointed that he's 79--thought all day he is 80. He enjoyed your note, Gerald.

Dear Katie, It's awful to be cold. You know Montpelier is a very cold place. Mother said frost would be on our quilts in the morning from our breath. Our wet diapers would also be frozen. (They didn't have such a thing as a diaper pail in those days} It was a dry coldness, though, and when we would have visitors from Idaho after we moved here they would wsay they weren't that cold in Idaho. Your Mom used to complain of the dampness here also---in winter and in summer. I remember when you lived in PA. one year she had the thermostat tuned down so low that she wore a heavy jacket in the house. I think she said she saved about $300 on the heat bill and decided that it wasn't worth being cold all the time. You kids, however didn't get a cold all winter until things warmed up back there. When you came for a visit one winter it was cold here with a very cold wind blowing and I couldn't keep coats on you. I guess your blood had really thickened up. It sounds as though Danny is enjoying his classes and I'm glad. John Gates said that he endured three years of boredom. It sounds like an interesting neighborhood. Mary has a boyfriend. She has never acted as excited over one in her life. All the primping that goes on. I guess he treats her very nice and gentlemanly, so it's nice that she has something to look forward to besides AA meetings. Don't you like my paragraphing? Well I'm going to bed. Tomorrow is your grandfather's birthday---79. Pretty good for someone who was sure that he's nevery make it to 40. He told me that he'd like to die, but he doesn't know how. I told him that he'd know how when the time comes. Then about a week ago he decided he'd starve to death. I think that lasted about one day. Seriously, he hasn't been feeling very well and you can tell by looking t him that he doesn't. Take care---Love to all and I hope to see you at Christmas time. Tommy is marring Beverly the 19th of December.
Gramma