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Henry Dallimore found true love in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and emigrated there in 2006.

These are his messages back to Shorelink Community Writers.

Henry's First Message

I am quite elderly really I suppose (72 to be exact) and have recently emigrated to Pennsylvania and got married in June this year. I shall be sending "Letters from America" from time to time (in memory of Alistair Cooke), but we have been having a nice summer and fall and I have not got into the rhythm of sitting at the computer and writing. I joined Shorelink in the summer of '03 and write both prose and poetry, I started on my first novel in January 2000 but all I have written is the prologue and first paragraph of chapter one! So I doubt if it will ever get completed. My interests are railways together with most forms of transportation, digital photography and video making (no not that sort Missus!!). Since coming to America I have become a volunteer at our local library giving lessons in computer basics, digital photography and video.

Henry's "LETTER FROM AMERICA"

#44

January 3rd 2012

Firstly an apology to all my loyal readers. Four months is indeed a long time without any communication. But you may have heard that Joanie passed away with another heart attack on September 15; evidently the attack she suffered in June did not have a long prognosis but she didn’t want me to know. At least she went peacefully wearing her own clothes and in her own home and not in a hospital gown hooked up to some machine or other. But life has to go on and I have begun a new one with a new partner. Some people might think this is too soon and a bit heartless. Maybe it is but Joanie and I had often discussed the two possible endings to our relationship and she had told me to get on with my life if she were to go first. I didn’t expect it to be so but, in a way accidently, now share my life with Marie Neumann who some of you may know through the writers’ connexion. Marie is a published author, in the Czech Republic which means I can’t read her work of course!

Anyway, what has been happening on this side of The Pond? Quite a lot over the past four months or so. In September we suffered a hurricane followed by extensive flooding in the north of the State. Due to the shelter of Sharp Mountain we barely noticed Hurricane Irene, only lost one tree in the cemetery opposite and had no power failures. Being on high ground there was no flooding nearby and again no power failures. But the poor folk in the North suffered very badly from the effects of both events and even now the mess has not been completely cleared up.

At the present time the 2012 Presidential Election has started in earnest (polling isn’t until November) and the Republican Party is in the process of selecting an opponent to President Obama by means of a series of state elections by registered voters the first of these being in the State of Iowa. So far the contest has been one of various wealthy individuals ripping apart the characters of their opponents. My personal feeling is that, if this is the best that America has to offer in the leadership league, God help the rest of the world! Personally I feel that Obama will prevail in November on the premise “better the devil you know etc” but of course I could be wrong!

Weatherwise winter has been very kind so far, there was snow at Halloween and today we are having the first real cold snap (down to 15F) so we can’t really complain and it will be back in the 40’s by the weekend.

Apart from all that, the circuit of events goes on here in Pottsville. The decorations went up in Garfield Square as usual, various churches held Christmas concerts and the Snow Princess was selected (yes it is different here, there is a winter and not a summer carnival in the City). And to wind it all up for another year I was out on the porch on New Year with the bugle (still without having re-mastered the art of blowing it correctly!).

So I guess that brings it all up to speed. I’ll try not to leave it for so long next time.

BFN
H

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