church carefully. I’ll give you three suggestions. Then a country club. Again I have two suggestions. Join as many business organizations as you can manage. In each of them, I don’t have to tell you, get to know everyone you can.
You need to look around your district and decide what is going to be your issue when you are ready. Education is always a biggie, sweetheart. Property taxes, taxes in general. Control of schools. See what people get excited about. You can only do that by joining organizations and meeting as many future constituents as possible face-to-face. Even unimportant people can give you insight into your district and its hot-button issues. Start keeping lists of potential supporters and donors. Fortunately, it doesn’t cost a fortune to run for state representative. But you want to seek out and cultivate those who will later give you full support when you need it, when you are running for higher office.
What did Laura think of Hallie? She should cultivate her, but be cautious, as she is a dreadful gossip. You must begin to school Laura in reticence. She is lovely and has the knack already for putting people at ease, but sometimes she is a little too much at ease herself. She must understand that whether she is with one person or five hundred, she is representing you. She cannot afford to make idle comments or offer opinions that might differ from those you are espousing. Of course, I have seldom heard Laura offer an opinion on public matters, so perhaps this warning is unnecessary. But she does tend to open up a little too much in conversation with other women.
Merilee has finally stopped seeing that unsuitable Italian boy. I was terrified she might be serious about him. He may be good looking now, but in fifteen years, he’ll be potbellied and sunk in martini-land, about as exciting as an old leather chair.
Here’s your father’s record this week. You should peruse itquickly, so that you stay abreast of his positions and don’t inadvertently contradict them. We must all stand together.
Melissa rose and paced around the small room. “She never writes to me that way. She almost treats him as an equal. It isn’t fair. She takes him seriously, you can tell. Me, she just interrogates. What time did I go to bed? Am I eating properly? Am I getting enough exercise? Am I losing weight? That crap.”
“Well, let’s see what she wrote to your sister—what’s her name?”
“Merilee,” Melissa said shortly, leaning over his shoulder to see the screen.
Dearest Merry One, I hope that this new young man works out better than the last. I know he adored you, but he simply wasn’t of your caliber. There is no worse mistake an intelligent and able young woman can make than that of marrying beneath herself—of not marrying up to at least her own potential, her background, her level of ambition. You want a winner, because that’s what you are. Bring Bruce to dinner Sunday and I’ll give you my candid impressions. Have him here by seven for cocktails first. You can deduce a certain amount from a man’s behavior over cocktails—sometimes more than he wants you to see. I promise to be friendly to him, but you have to permit me to form my own judgment, as I know you are still taking input toward forming your own.
I am absolutely delighted you have made Law Review. I expected as much, and you have come through with flying colors. You want to stay in the top tenth percentile of your class. It isn’t that I am urging you to marry, but that when you are considering an involvement with a man, by this time he should be of a sort you could marry. The time for experimentation is over. You want people to be impressed by your escorts, not astounded or scandalized or, at worst, to pity you. It is important not to waste time with the unsuitable, when you have little time to waste. Rich’s Laura iscertainly acceptable. Her family and connections are top drawer, but she lacks a certain inner drive I wish he had
You need to look around your district and decide what is going to be your issue when you are ready. Education is always a biggie, sweetheart. Property taxes, taxes in general. Control of schools. See what people get excited about. You can only do that by joining organizations and meeting as many future constituents as possible face-to-face. Even unimportant people can give you insight into your district and its hot-button issues. Start keeping lists of potential supporters and donors. Fortunately, it doesn’t cost a fortune to run for state representative. But you want to seek out and cultivate those who will later give you full support when you need it, when you are running for higher office.
What did Laura think of Hallie? She should cultivate her, but be cautious, as she is a dreadful gossip. You must begin to school Laura in reticence. She is lovely and has the knack already for putting people at ease, but sometimes she is a little too much at ease herself. She must understand that whether she is with one person or five hundred, she is representing you. She cannot afford to make idle comments or offer opinions that might differ from those you are espousing. Of course, I have seldom heard Laura offer an opinion on public matters, so perhaps this warning is unnecessary. But she does tend to open up a little too much in conversation with other women.
Merilee has finally stopped seeing that unsuitable Italian boy. I was terrified she might be serious about him. He may be good looking now, but in fifteen years, he’ll be potbellied and sunk in martini-land, about as exciting as an old leather chair.
Here’s your father’s record this week. You should peruse itquickly, so that you stay abreast of his positions and don’t inadvertently contradict them. We must all stand together.
Melissa rose and paced around the small room. “She never writes to me that way. She almost treats him as an equal. It isn’t fair. She takes him seriously, you can tell. Me, she just interrogates. What time did I go to bed? Am I eating properly? Am I getting enough exercise? Am I losing weight? That crap.”
“Well, let’s see what she wrote to your sister—what’s her name?”
“Merilee,” Melissa said shortly, leaning over his shoulder to see the screen.
Dearest Merry One, I hope that this new young man works out better than the last. I know he adored you, but he simply wasn’t of your caliber. There is no worse mistake an intelligent and able young woman can make than that of marrying beneath herself—of not marrying up to at least her own potential, her background, her level of ambition. You want a winner, because that’s what you are. Bring Bruce to dinner Sunday and I’ll give you my candid impressions. Have him here by seven for cocktails first. You can deduce a certain amount from a man’s behavior over cocktails—sometimes more than he wants you to see. I promise to be friendly to him, but you have to permit me to form my own judgment, as I know you are still taking input toward forming your own.
I am absolutely delighted you have made Law Review. I expected as much, and you have come through with flying colors. You want to stay in the top tenth percentile of your class. It isn’t that I am urging you to marry, but that when you are considering an involvement with a man, by this time he should be of a sort you could marry. The time for experimentation is over. You want people to be impressed by your escorts, not astounded or scandalized or, at worst, to pity you. It is important not to waste time with the unsuitable, when you have little time to waste. Rich’s Laura iscertainly acceptable. Her family and connections are top drawer, but she lacks a certain inner drive I wish he had
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