dear emily...

I like to feel useful. Appreciation is nice, but it's not nearly as important as knowing that I'm helping you in some way. I want to be encouraging and make you laugh, yet challenge you. Here at school I feel very un-useful, and that makes me sad...

So, it completely helps to get a letter like the following. [note: mom penned in a few grammer and spelling corrections, but i'm going to be a purist and only post the original form.]

Dated October 18, 2004

Guess whats happening in 57 days? No, it isn't having a birthday party, getting a lego magazine, having a friend over, or getting my own F-15, eating fifty radishes, getting in The Guiness Book of World Records, or going on a Boy Scout hike. Do you know what it is? Here is a hint; it is more exciting than all of these answers put together (the answer is at the bottom of the page). Also in 60 days something else is happening, and in 67 days something else I will be counting down to will be happening. Do you like my last letter?

note: the bottom of the page reads 1. you and Betsy are coming home, 2. my birthday, 3. Christmas.

Are you going to write back soon? Anyway, recently I have been working on illistrations and stuff for my book. Unfortunately my book has only 3 chapters about ten pages and hasnt had too much action yet. All thats happened so far is an introduction, the kid gets picked on, somebody has been murdered, ther is a mysterious floating killer who seems to have a tall pointy head, a vaporized body, a kid is moving in a couple of blocks away, and other boring stuff. But in the next chapter the action really picks up. I also want to tell you that.. umm... that...uuhh...hmm... okay, so maybe I don't really have something to say. enclosed is a maze.

ps. now I remember what I was going to say.
pps. here it is.
ppps. I'm trying to write a song.
pppps. do you want to hear it if you do put your head out the window and maybe if you listen very carefully you can hear it.
ppppps. actually all you have to do is send $20 to Jonny Maynard...
pppppps. Just kidding though if you want you can send me money...
ppppppps. bye.

I love that kid.