Update on the Scotts

From letter dated November 26, 1982

It has been a bad year and a good one.

Started literally New Year’s Eve when I returned from the annual party…at a reasonable hour, 1:30, and in a festive but ladylike condition…to find my leg swollen double. I was in bed for most of January and February fighting a new attack of thrombophlebitis. Had to get well for March because…

When I opened Carli’s birthday present in January, it was the expected Sierra Club Engagement Book, but stuffed untidily with papers. The first was a round-trip ticket to New Orleans. The second was a brochure of the Mississippi Queen, the most luxurious of the paddle-wheel steamboats running the river. And the third was Carli’s invitation to be her guest on a cruise celebrating our Ninetieth Birthday…my 60th and her 30th. The trip was glorious.

The only other thing I have done this year was spend three weeks in Atlanta in September/October. Stayed with Bucher’s eldest sister Bibba but commuted to Jefferson three times to visit his youngest sister Becky, so I really had time to see everyone. They are all fine.

The exciting news is that Bibba is coming for Christmas…and so is Carli.

 

The “children” are doing well.

No news about Alex. Probably exactly what I said last year…doing a good job running the business…not married, not courting, but busy social life…small-sailboat racing.

He took advantage of a local holiday last weekend to spend three days in Mérida, Mexico with friends. Had a glorious time, managed lots of good Yucatecan food without getting the bug, and brought home tons of loot…guayaberas, hand-tooled belt, and huaraches (which he acted as if he had discovered).

Carli has changed jobs. She decided she had gone as far as she could at Stanford. The promotion they offered her involved a lot of administrative work that she did not want. After a number of job interviews, she accepted an offer from Teknowledge, the company set up a year and a half ago by some of her Stanford associates, of which she is a founder and for which she already was a consultant.

 

From letter dated December 3, 1983

1983 has been a dismal year for Belize. The economic situation has been disastrous. Fortunately, however, we are an island of peace and stability in contrast to our Central American neighbors. The only direct effect of their tragic turmoil that we have had is the advent of refugees from Guatemala and Salvador.

Since Easter, when the city generating system disintegrated, we have had four- to eight-hour daily blackouts. Years of mismanagement, non-maintenance, and corruption finally caught up with the Belize Electricity Board. We all are waiting for a Black Christmas.

With Independence, the U.S. diplomatic presence was upgraded to an embassy, of course. It is mushrooming beyond any possible correlation with the needs of Belize. Nice people…the Ambassador is a career diplomat and top flight.

You may remember my mentioning Muriel and Don Stauffer; they’re the friends with whom we bought an airplane in the 1960’s. I am off to meet them in Mexico City this week. We will be driving through Michoacán, visiting the Colonial towns off the main tourist trail. I will leave them in Guadalajara to return. Have not seen them since they flew over from Holland to meet us when Bucher and I were in London some years ago.

 

Alex is doing well here, running the business, getting into some civic committees, and doing some small-sailboat racing. He came home from the last race of the season with an impressive trophy.

I went out to California to visit Carli in the fall. Had a glorious time with her. We had side trips to Monterey Peninsula, Yosemite (spectacular beyond my imagination), and twice trips into San Francisco for lunch and theater.

This was my first chance to visit Teknowledge, the company of which she is a founding member and which she joined a year ago. I was impressed by the people I met and understand why she is so happy in her work.