Correspondence

Dear Annie

You may remember me from having contacted you some years ago after searching for knitting patterns on the Internet. I didn't find quite what I had in mind, but I did find your blog.

I am sorry to hear of your recent upset. I followed your last railroad trip here with great interest as I too had taken a similar journey, albeit by automobile in the 1970s. I read now with some excitement of your intention to head south towards the Nevada desert. It is a long, lonely route and you must take good care not to run out of gas. Don't assume that you will make it on what you have left for another 40 miles — you most likely won't reach a filling station for another fifty.

After my husband left it was all I could do to sit and sift through the letters and photographs of the time we shared together. It was many months before I too found it in myself to pack my case and move on. Annie, you have taken many beautiful pictures of the men and women who have graced your life, but you should be cautious not to look back with rose-tinted glasses. May I suggest that in your next relationship you try photographing petty arguments, inertia, and eating crackers in front of the television.

I think you will find what you need out in the desert.

Yours,

Esther M. Clarke