March 6, 2026 - It's my birthday!
Hello. I’m officially launching Dear Audrey on April 1st 2026 but today is my birthday and I’m just so happy to have this project to work on and to finally get it off the ground, I couldn’t wait. I’ve been planning for a long time. As introduction, my name is Janice Main Palson but you can call me Jan.
I was born in 1957 so you do the math. Since I’m retired now, I can pour my heart into this work – I hope you like it. The letters span the 40s, 50s, and 60s so we have a lot of ground to cover. I won’t hold anything back nor sugar coat anything. It is what it is. And just to set expectations, there are no battles or great victories this year. No, this will be the day-to-day business of boot camp and training. The inspections, marching, patrolling the beaches, and hanging out. Not to mention occasional break-ins to the mess hall and a lot of missing his best girl, Audrey.
I’m the 4th kid Audrey and Leonard had. I was born in El Paso, Texas at William Beaumont General Hospital on Fort Bliss Army base. Not sure if this is still a thing, but by virtue of being born there, I’m afforded certain unalienable rights - and I'm sure they still apply for me - like the right to wear a ten gallon hat in public, sing The Eyes of Texas are Upon You with or without accompaniment, and apparently, I own one square inch of land in Texas although it’s not specified as to where. Note that I have the documentation as proof - provided by The State National Bank of El Paso and signed by the Skipper of the Rio Grande and Keeper of the Wagon Tongue. Dad must have had an account there. Did anyone else get a Certificate of Citizenship?
As we go through the letters, I'm going to provide some context with newspaper clippings. As an example, here's what happened in El Paso, Texas on my birthday:
Check out the El Paso Herald Post's "Star Gazer" feature that provides your daily activity guide - according to the stars with a code to decipher the message. Mine is a good one that says, "almost anything will go well with you today". Considering I was born on this day, I guess it did go pretty well.
If you're wondering how much stuff cost back in 1957, here's a full page Food Mart ad in the El Paso Times. Green stamps were actual stamps you collected in a book from stores and gas stations and then cashed in for merchandise. The Green Stamp loyalty program ended in the 80s. My mom saved them - yours might have too.
And the best part of the paper:
The countdown begins to April 1, 1942. I'll be posting frequently this month background information and support materials - it's my test month. In fact, check out tomorrow - It's the day they get married! Please subscribe and support the project. Thank you!
