May 7

Dear Tara*Starr,

I would love to have your recipes. Do you really have some? I mean, all written out on cards and everything? I found a kids’ cookbook at the library, but most of the “recipes” in it are for, like, celery with peanut butter. I do not call this a recipe. Under the Meats section there are two casseroles, but I’ve made each of them four times already. Mom and Emma have been very polite about this, but I know they’re thinking enough is enough. (At this point they would probably love your marshmallow meat loaf.)

As for our safety, it scares me too. I never really thought about safety when we lived in our house. We had that fancy alarm system and all the gates and locks. And if you feel safe I guess you don’t go around thinking about how safe you feel. So I didn’t think about it here at DEER RUN until I noticed Mom checking and rechecking the locks on our doors and windows (especially the sliding door to the little patio) before we go to bed at night. Everything has a lock, but Mom thinks it would be pretty easy for someone to get in our apartment anyway. (She won’t even let us sleep with the windows open right now.) Here is how Mom is going to take care of this: Since Nana and Grandpa said they could help us out every month for a year, but we only need their help until Mom gets a raise in November, Mom is going to ask if they could buy us a simple alarm system with the rest of the money. I’m sure they’ll say yes. Then we’ll all feel better.

Anyway … here is the big news. The poetry journal is underway. Mrs. Jackson posted signs about it around school, and six kids besides me have joined. They are Howie Besser, Nancy Jordan, Fiona Hancock, Evan Werner, Sandra Rossner, and (you won’t believe this) Susie Maldrey. And yes, Susie does live at DEER RUN. So does Howie. Susie has a little brother who’s Emma’s age, so Mom might have a car-pooling buddy pretty soon.) After the very first journal meeting Susie and Howie and I walked home together. We walked home together after the second meeting, too, and then we started walking to and from school every day! Susie is really nice. So is Howie. Howie’s mother died last year, so he and his father are on their own. His father owns one of the gas stations across the street. Susie’s mother has a desktop publishing business in their living room, and her father works at the library. (Isn’t that cool? Imagine working at the library.)

Anyway, everyone on my staff (Mrs. Jackson lets me call the other kids “my staff,” even though technically we are all her staff) has been assigned a job and we’ve come up with a title for the journal. It’s Silhouette. Like that poem by Langston Hughes? A very disturbing poem, but it’s Nancy’s favorite, and Langston Hughes is currently my favorite poet (do you know “Mother to Son”?), so we all voted for Silhouette. We will put out one edition at the end of the year and then get back to work in the fall. Mrs. Jackson wants to put out three volumes next year, but I think we can do four.

Okay. I better go. Howie and Susie are coming over in a few minutes.

Love,

P.S. I got Barb’s letter too, which was very nice. Are you talking to her yet? If you are, please thank her for me. I’ll try to write her again soon.

P.P.S. Emma misses you too.

P.P.P.S. I think my May flower time has come, just like you said. I like that thought.

P.P.P.P.S. No word on my father, though.