Richard was in demand at fancy parties.

Richard could always say to the minute how long he’d spent in the military.  He hated most of it.

I have no details about this photo, except to observe that he doesn’t look like he’s having any fun.

Richard attended classes at the Sorbonne (the other name for the Université de Paris).  This ID card is from the 1952-53 school year, which is probably about four years into his time in Paris.

Dig the corrosion on the staples (cheap 1950s French steel).

Richard and some pals had a 50-some-foot ketch-riggd sailboat called (I think) the Mer D’ailleurs, which they pronounced mare da lore.  I believe that this was a French pun:  Mers D’ailleurs means something like “Lost Seas of Yesteryear” or maybe “Seas of Elsewhere.”

But here’s the joke:  it’s pronounced the same as merde alors, which is what you would say if you hit your thumb with a hammer.

This is RIchard at the wheel, probably between 1958 and 1960.

Apparently Richard enjoyed the student cinema society.

While a student at the University of Oklahoma, Richard somehow wangled himself a job with Acme Newspictures. Here is the letter offering him the gig:

This letter could not be more important to Richard’s (and my) history.

This is a pass, issued by the Commandant of the Port of Havre on November 19, 1949, to Richard Dale, of 37 Rue de Coumartin, Paris (9th Arrondissment).

laissez-passer.jpeg

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The stated business of M. Dale: Pour chercher sa fianceé a bord du Maurétania; that is: To look for his fianceé on the RMS Mauretania.

Hmmm.

Ahmed Shah Bokhari, who wrote as Patras, was a great Urdu humorist, educator, essayist, broadcaster and diplomat.  Like my Dad, he was a kind of a citizen of the world.

At the time of Professor Bokhari’s death (in 1958), he was serving as Under Secretary for Information at the United Nations.

Lots more here.

August 1971. Rye, NY.

Dig the hairstyles.

Mary Farmer
Atlanta, GA 30324

Dear Mary,

Enclosed is a blurb I composed for people who inquire about renting the villa. -Just to give you an idea of my impressions of the place. We’ve touristed around some, but don’t really know too much about the rest of the country. Guanacaste is too dry and the Caribbean is too wet. The central valley around San Jose is considered ideal climate by many, but we prefer the mountains beside the sea. This gives one the opportunity to vary climate in a half-hour!

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