NOTE: Click on the appropriate links for letters archives from 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998 and 1997 Also, various Avocado Memories reviews are here.
1/31/12
Dear Wesley,
I found your "Avocado Memories" page quite by accident, but have VERY much enjoyed looking over some of your reminiscences. You may find it interesting to know how I found you. I was scouring Google Images looking for a picture of the particular poster of the solar system that I had as a kid. It was tacked to my wall for years, and since I'm now writing a memoir about my experiences growing up, I wanted to see whether I might track down another poster like it, or at least a photo. I was amazed to see the JPG on your personal website, which is EXACTLY the same poster as I had, all those years ago.
I commend you on your work.
Thanks,
Ron
1/19/12
I just came upon your web site concerning the 20th while looking for info regarding this division.
My dad was in the 27th Tank Battalion (tank driver). I just spent several hours reading the letters that my dad had sent to my mom during the war. She had kept them in a shoe box, filed in order that they were written. It was an interesting read. I had known that these letters existed for many years, but I was asked (by my mom) not to read them until both my mom and dad were gone. Many funny stories were included in the letters, but very little of the bad stuff (except for Dachau). As I grew up he never would talk much about the bad side of the war, just the good times (few as they were).
Like you I am also proud of my dad's service, so it was nice to see your web site. There were a bunch of guys in the 20th but, who knows, maybe yours and mine had contact with each other during those years.
Best wishes,
Tom
Odessa, MO
1/13/12
Hi,
I'm 54 years old, and wanted to look up the name of a game from the 60's with a glow in the dark thing (Green Ghost - thank you!). That's how I found your amazing website, Avocado Memories. I wanted to thank you personally for putting in the time and effort to bring your memories to life in such an immediate, touching, and entertaining way. I'm halfway through your house tour, and I already love your parents madly. Today is the anniversary of my Mom's death in 1995, so I am especially vulnerable to memories about her. Interestingly enough, she also loved little-girl things such as dolls and girly collectibles all her life, and she also lost her mother at a young age.
Even though I grew up in New Jersey (a vastly different place, no denying it) and I have eight brothers and sisters, and I'm a woman, there is so much I can relate to in your memories that it's astounding. It's a small world in many ways, and I appreciate you sharing yours so generously!
Sincerely,
Joni
Thank you! Green Ghost... my wife agrees with me that it was a letdown from what the ad depicted. But the game had such promise!
In the fifteen years that AM has been up, I see it again and again... no matter where we were raised, even outside of the United States, there is more we share than what sets us apart... - Wes
1/1/12
Hi Wes
I can't tell you how much I LOVE your website. I grew up in that era too, though I'm just a few years older than you (I was born in 1951), and my early teens thru entering the Navy in 1971 were spent in Whittier, Santa Monica, and Newport/Costa Mesa/Santa Ana, where I still live.
Your site is so HUGE, I'm sure I've never seen it all, but man, can I relate to much of what you write about. Our stories are not complete parallels, but there's plenty to relate to.
To this day I still have two pieces of antiqued avocado furniture that Mom finished, a tall boockcase, and a nightstand. Over the last 2 years I've been painting the interior of my house, and rather than use boring off-white, I've gone with several colors, one of them being avocado (the paint chip calls it "Spanish Olive").
I love your work, all my best to you. Happy New Year!
Jim P.
Santa Ana, CA