Postcard today - January 13, 1963. Showiing Post Theatre, Fort Lee, VA. ..."the first permanent structure erected on this post for the entertainment and enjoyment of all personnel." He went to see Reptilicus - a google of which finds this:

Danish miners dug up a section of a giant reptile's tail from the frozen grounds in Lapland, where they were drilling. The section was flown to the Denmark Aquarium in Copenhagen, where it was preserved in a cold room for scientific study. But due to careless mishandling, the room was left open and the section began to thaw, only for scientists to find that it was starting to regenerate! Professor Martens, who was in charge of the Aquarium, dubbed the reptilian species "Reptilicus" (upon a reporter's suggestion), and compared its regeneration abilities to that of other animals like earthworms and starfishes. Once fully regenerated from the tail section, Reptilicus went on an unstoppable rampage from the Danish countryside to the panic-stricken streets of Copenhagen before finally being killed with poison by ingenuous scientists and military officers.

This is SO not his style of movie, I can only think that (a) it was a "foreign film" and therefore marginally acceptable, or (b) the only available entertainment at the moment. Oh, wait. He calls it a "really great show." It must be the movie. The movie came out in Denmark in 1961. Hmmmm.....

He also is going to see Phaedra. Now that is a good movie! Starring Anthony Perkins and Melina Mercouri. If you read this blog, you should be making a list of the movies I mention and rent them - especially if you are under 50 and have never seen them. See the lot of them. Ingmar Bergman. Boccaccio 70. Days of Wine and Roses. Whatever else I've mentioned. Go see them. They're great! Maybe even Reptilicus. Since he said it was "great." I haven't seen it. Now there's a project.

This letter almost all about seeing "Boccaccio 70" in Richmond - he's stationed at Ft. Lee, VA, I think, by now. The directors are Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, and Vittoria Da Sica, and the stars are Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren and Romy Scheider. Produced by Carlo Ponti. He wants me to see it.

More love letter stuff. I was thinking about what I meant the last time when I said there had never been anyone else like him - or words to that effect. I was thinking engagement and the military term "rules of engagement" - and that led to the phrase "level of engagement." And I think that last is what I mean. There has never been anyone else with the same level of engagement with himself, me, our life. Everyone else has been a few planes away somehow.

An ex-boyfriend called me the other day (not for the first time) and practically demanded that I come over to see what he was doing. I finally relented. He was doing wonderful things - constructing boxes out of fine hardwoods, his tiny apartment (one can hardly call it that - he lives in a rooming house) filled with saws and vises and wood scraps and tools - and the boxes are cleverly constructed and decorated with inlay. After showing me everything he was doing and working on, he wanted me to stay so I could see exactly how he had contrived to be able to glue these thin pieces together to make the inlays, how he was working on a larger piece that could only be called "art." It was very clever. And the work was very beautiful. "Fernando said I was a genius," he told me.

I told him it was all wonderful, but that I had to get back because I needed to get another chapter of my novel into the writer's group. He didn't hear me. When I repeated it, he said, "Yes, yes - but here - look at this. You can get back to your little project anytime."

I'm not going back there.

From Wikipedia: Boccaccio '70 is a 1962 Italian portmanteau film directed by Mario Monicelli, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio de Sica, from an idea by Cesare Zavattini. It is an anthology of four episodes, each by one of the directors, all about a different aspect of morality and love in modern times, on the style of Boccaccio.
The four original episodes were:
Renzo e Luciana (by Mario Monicelli) with Marina Solinas and Germano Gilioli.
Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio (by Federico Fellini) with Peppino de Filippo and Anita Ekberg.
Il lavoro (by Luchino Visconti) with Romy Schneider and Tomas Milian.
La riffa (by Vittorio de Sica) with Sophia Loren.

Letter early December 1962. Written on stationery from "The Brown Hotel" in Louisville, Kentucky. That is, Louisville 2, Kentucky. I don't remember what the 2 is for. A precursor to zip codes? This must be the hotel in which we stayed at Thanksgiving. I have a very fuzzy meeting of that, as I think I have said before, and I think it was perhaps because we drank too much and I was not a good drinker. I have the feeling that it did not fulfill either of our expectations.

At any rate - making plans for Christmas, 1962. I will be going home with him. I've written about this before - when I was introduced to Galliano - which did not become a habit, just a memory. We will see his aunt and play cards or go bowling or something. His best friend will "interview" me. Actually, the phrase was "has requested an audience with..." And we might go into Chicago to see a show of some kind.

Sutherland Lounge. It comes to mind right now as one of the places we might have gone. He did take me there a couple of times to see people like Cannonball Adderly (I think) and Thelonious Monk. He refused to take me to see Redd Foxx, but he assured me that it was not concern for my delicate ears but for his. Jazz readers must Google Sutherland Lounge. For people like me, it is as much as point of pride that I was once a (rare) patron (taken there by others before I could even appreciate it) as it is for those of you who remember Winterland! It was a "black and tan" joint - which meant that white folks could go and feel, if not quite at home, at least relatively unthreatened.

A poignant note (yes, another one) toward the end of this letter. "Do you remember," he asks, "when I said that I have a record for turning out those who say they love me?.....You should now realize that I have passed that stage. It is no longer possible for me to give [this] up." I wish I could remember how I felt at hearing those words. In December of 1962, I think I liked it very much. Later on - he says at some point in the letteer that he would "turn people out" when he "felt I was becoming too involved or 'trapped' by another being.'" As I would feel. About six months hence.

I think I have said this too many times before. There has never been for me anyone else like him.

I suggested to him that we discuss books and articles and ideas. He tells me I suggested this, and that I began with something from Mark Twain. Wonder what I said.

He mentions a magazine called The Reporter that he says reflects his own views. I know he told me to read The National Review, since we should keep up with the "other side." At least, I think The National Review reflected the "other side."

Unable to find anything on Google about The Reporter (circa 1963) except for an obscure reference which goes nowhere else and is devoid of information.

He talks about the price of stamps - "By the way, tell me what you think ab0ut using only 5 cent [has anybody noticed that there is no longer a "cent" sign on the keyboard? Didn't there used to be? Or am I imagining things?] stamps on our letters? It saves money..." This was as opposed to using "airmail." I don't remember how much airmail cost. His reasoning is that once it gets started, 5 cent letters will arrive as often as airmail letters as long as we keep the writing stream going.

Oh. Here's the 1963 postage rates:

Domestic Letter Rate: Jan.1 - Jan.6: 4¢ per oz · Jan.7 - Dec.31: 5¢ per oz
Postcard Rate: Jan.1 - Jan.6: 3¢ · Jan.7 - Dec.31: 4¢
Air Mail Rate: Jan.1 - Jan.6: 7¢ per oz. · Jan.7 - Dec.31: 8¢ per oz.

So we were talking about saving 2-3 cents/letter. I supposed it meant something then.