Mt. Rainier, as seen from the dorm at Clarion. I love this picture because it looks like the mountain is floating

For those of you without access to Dear Abby (and I was totally unsuccessful yesterday in my attempt to find it online) here is the text of my mother's letter that was printed in yesterday's column:

Dear Abby:

PLEASE tell Tempted in Tennessee NOT to destroy her diary of 50 years. She should leave it to a Women's History archive, such as the Newcomb College Center for Research on Women in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Women's lives are reported far too often through the eyes of the men around them. Their writings and papers are either considered inconsequential or, if they are saved, are archived with those of their spouse.

Diaries give historians and other scholars insights into the daily lives of ordinary women (and men) and are a valuable resource. Public television recently had a program about the diary of a midwife in early eighteenth century Maine. This diary is the focal point of a marvelous book by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich titled The Midwife's Tale. Reading the diary excerpts in this book gives one a picture of the daily experiences of women in that time and place. Ulrich has gone beyond just the daily activities and woven them into a historical background.

The place for long-time diaries is ultimately a research library. And, according to the archivist at Newcomb, if you do not want to give up the papers themselves, they can be copied onto acid-free paper, and the papers preserved for historians. The archivist will also tell you how to maintain any privacy you feel is needed. (I am currently doing this with a collection of letters my uncle wrote during WWII.)

Don't destroy records of lives--let them become part of our history.

Sue Rowland

I'm posting somewhat early today because I expect my electricity to be off much of the day. The electrician is coming out to finally fix some of the weird-ass wiring in this house, as well as install circuits for other amenities I may want to put in later, such as garbage disposal and dishwasher. I'm not really missing the dishwasher right now; I've been pretty good about making sure all of my dishes are washed before I go to bed. But the lack of a garbage disposal is a bit of a pain. Plus I'm finally going to get a plug in my bathroom. Right now there is none, and in order to dry my hair et al I've had to unscrew a lightbulb and put a little plug doohicky in there, which strikes me as not being the safest of scenarios.

And after the wiring is done I'm hopefully going to get some more insulation up in the attic. Right now this house gets way too cold way too quickly, and I'm a major wus about being cold.