friday, june 16, 1944

dearest kitty,

new problems: mrs. van d. is at her wit's end. she's talking about getting shot, being thrown in prison, being hanged and suicide. she's jealous that peter confides in me and not in her, offended that dussel doesn't re- spond sufficiently to her flirtations and afraid her husband's going to squander all the fur-coat money on to- bacco. she quarrels, curses, cries, feels sorry for herself, laughs and starts allover again.

what on earth can you do with such a silly, sniveling specimen of humanity? nobody takes her seriously, she has no strength of character, she complains to one and all, and you should see how she walks around: von hinten lyzeum, yon vorne museum.* [acts like a schoolgirl, looks like a frump.] even worse, peter's becoming insolent, mr. van daan irritable and mother cynical. yes, everyone's in quite a state! there's only one rule you need to remember: laugh at everything and forget everybody else! it sounds egotistical, but it's actually the only cure for those suffering from self-pity.

mr. kugler's supposed to spend four weeks in alkmaar on a work detail. he's trying to get out of it with a doctor's certificate and a letter from opekta. mr. kleiman's hoping his stomach will be operated on soon. starting at eleven last night, all private phones were cut off.

yours, anne m. fran

k