[9818 Los Calabazillas?] Av. NE
Albuquerque, New Mexio
My dear Dr. Neihardt,

When I heard of your location and learned of your address from my Father, I decided to write. There has been so much that I have experienced recently that I would like to share with you that I feel somehwat selfish if I with hold it any longer. As you may have learned from my Father, I am retired from the Navy and now reside in Albuquerque and am flying with a local air line. We carry passengers and freight all over the U.S. and sometimes to Hawaii, Alaska and Panama. However I have not been outside of the States as yet. Within the last year I have been to Boston and California and many, many places inbetween. As I travel over these mountains, plains, rivers, and forests I am so often inspired by the heritage I have received from you and these trips are infintely more enjoyable because I have known something of the men that have earlier traveled these paths.

Unfortunately, we students are often a thoughtless bunch that usually fail to acknowledge the great and beautiful gifts that we have received from our teachers, our "Grandfathers". For the ability to appreciate and better love this great country, I wish to express a sincere and heartfelt thanks for our association and your wisdom, shared with us, your "grandchildren".

Yesterday as I was returning from California, I had the privilege of flying over t the entire length of the Grand Canyon. The magnificience and grandeur is quite beyond m my ability to express in words. The Vulcan thunderheads poured out their gift of rain on the rim and river and seemed to me to add their emphasis, "I defy you to describe this beauty"! With an emotion ringed with frustration, I sat back in the marvelous man made machine and just enjoyed — as a thirsty horse would enjoy a mountain stream. I have also had the privilege of hiking into the canyon from the rim with a pack for camping.

So many times on trips from Taos, Phoenix, Yuma; I have felt the spirit and kinship of men like Jed Smith. Not long ago while flying over Oklahoma, I felt a peculiarly close relationship to my mother, no doubt because of her childhood in the Oklahoma prairie. Now Oklahoma is punctuated with oilwells, tall buildings and Euclidean patterned fields of green and brown. How much more it speaks to me now because I have learned in some small way, through you my "grandfather", that it was the fundamental virtue of courage of men that built this great land.

May the summer be good to you and may your health be pleasant.

With kindest personal regards

Edward D. Jones