Hard time writing

In Dad's letter from August '44 he has a hard time writing and I've missed a whole month. I got into a routine of going to the library or Barnes and Noble and writing a couple of times a week. I've been writing about the years from 2001 to 2011. I'm up to 2009. I want to reflect on our life during those years. Since I last wrote in April we went to Austin in May and saw Jenny and Chris and also I attended the Friends Peace Teams council meeting in Austin. We are now getting ready to go to Intermountain yearly meeting at Ghost Ranch. Our hope is to camp. We have a full size blow up air bed so we can be fairly comfortable.

I guess I can catch up on where we are with the IRS. When we returned from Texas we had a conference call with the lawyer, the IRS lady and Tim and I. there was some learning going on on this phone call. The lawyer was surprised that the IRS lady thought that putting a letter in with the form was the same as an attachment. I was surprised 1)that the IRS appeals person had not really considered the law schools position, 2) that she had not looked at or seen the original form when that is what the penalty is about and 3) that even though the penalty is about frivolous filing the fact that I still owed money for years after the one the penalty is for seem to figure in to what she is deciding. It is one of those things that come up in my life, people say something and I can not believe what they are saying so I am sure they are wrong. In this case, each time I talked with an IRS person they would say, 'this penalty is because you owe us money'. That is not what the frivolous filing rules say but evidently it does seem to be the case. As one tax court judge said 'it is about manipulating you in to compliance'. So in order to work with the lawyers at the law school I have sent in the money owed for 2011. The IRS seems to be after getting the penalty down to $500 or 0, considering that somehow or other they paid $700 toward it. I think this is some of the money they took from my paycheck for past due taxes. So there will be another call. I am considering letting the law school handle it without me, as I am not as artful as the professor in not saying something confrontational. In terms of surprises, I think the IRS lady was surprised that she was expected to do her job. I was impressed that the lawyer just said she was glad to know her position and asked for a few weeks to regroup with the new law student, who was also listening in. I realized that this time gives the IRS a chance to really look at the situation again and get the original form. Anyway I feel that this is a labyrinth I am ready to get out of.

August 8, 1944

8/4/44

Dear family,

 Some how I don’t seem to have anything to write this week either. What is the matter? Am I slipping? I guess I’ll tell a few of the sundry little things that happened during the week.

 I took an inventory of the shop and found that I had lost only $1.01 in the last two months. That isn’t bad as this place is supposed to be run with profit. The shop had a total net worth of $99.49. It consists of lumber and hardware, nails, screws and lacquer and varnishes and stuff that I sell to the fellows to make things and that I use in making things for the camp and project. I don’t mind losing a little as there are a lot of small items that are used like nails and a few screws at a time that it is impossible to charge for. I try to charge just a little extra for some things but I don’t cover everything.

 We had a fire drill this week for getting away on forest fires. We had the project Supt call in a false call from home and it fooled everybody and then all we did was drive around camp. We got away in 15-minutes from the time the fire bell was rung. That wasn’t exceptional. We wanted to make it in ten but there were about three guys that came along after that.

 We have another visiter. this week. This time it is a girl about our own age. She is Philiadelphia. The exec. Sec. of some young Friends organization in the east, we will probably have some meetings with her and some interesting discussions.

 Eight new men have arrived this week. All good guys. Most of them about 20 years old. It is funny how young they seem. One of them is from Iowa City.

 At this time I want to thank you for the two bucks in your last letter. I’ll take care of them. I had just put my last Air Mail sticker on my letter to you last week. I don’t know what was happening to those sisors that I left there. I’m sure that I left them up stairs on the dresser. Well, if you find them send them out as we can’t seem to find any in Eugene.

 I suspect that you have received the two books that I sent home. I had read the Philosophy book twice and got a lot more out of it the second time. The other one isn’t so hot at first but gets good about half way through, I just bought it cause I had heard that the author was good and I wanted something to read on the train.

 I read a very good book last week. STRANGE FRUIT by Lillian Smith. It is a southern story and deals with the negro problem in the south. It is certainly interesting and I wish yous could all read it. If Evelyn is working over at Jeff I would advise and urge her to get it from the library there. You can never tell it may be in the paton libraby. It got a lot of publicity when its sale was banned in the city of Boston.

 I’m glad to hear that the ailments are getting better and that the oats is all in and the straw will be by now.

 So Mary is married. More people getting married!!

 I’m not surprised at the boys and their girls splitting up. Who is Charles chasing now? That certainly si a situation isn’t it. Farm boys left at home and not enough girls. We have the same trouble.

 Yes Mom. E. J. is pretty nice. You never can tell how things will turn out. I wouldn’t even want to guess. But I’m not blind or asleep.

 I guess I’ll quit and go eat breakfast.

    Good By now------

     Bernard

It's an And

I really like Dad's post about God and people not knowing and not pretending to know the answers but that that did not mean they were atheists. It seemed similar to discussions I have had recently about religion and spirituality. Today is Easter Sunday and also our anniversary, 17 years since our wedding. I have started writing to reflect and see if I can remember some of the last 11 years and the different roads we ended up taking. It was not a planned out trip.
The title comes from my case with the IRS. We heard from the law student who is working on the case and she has sent in a document or argument to the IRS based on the word 'AND'. I think that may be the way that lawyering goes, it is in the details. So everyone who is not a war tax resister believes that indeed our arguments fit the definition of frivolous arguments as put down by the IRS, however there are two requirements for getting the penalty one is a frivolous argument the other is that the form is filled out in someway incorrectly. Between these two there is the word 'AND'. So it is an And and not an Or, one must do both of these things to merit the penalty. It will be interesting to hear how the IRS responds. I do hope that they respond before the student working with us is finished in May. I had looked at this statement a number of times but had read it as or instead of and, so I am very glad of the lawyers eyes.
I have been having the computer in a different space as it is a laptop and have not written for about a month. Habits are interesting.

July 28, 1944

7/ 28/44

Dear folkses,

            I can see right now that this isn’t going to be much of a letter I just don’t have anything to write.

            I reckon I can tell about the weather. It has been nice and clear and the sun shines all the time with a few little fuzzy white clouds now and then. Sometimes it gets hot in the afternoon.

            I have gone swimming a few times in the rivers. It is about five minutes walk and we have set supper back so that we have a half hour to swim in after work. I think if I go every night I may learn to swim before the summer is over. It sure is fun.

            We have had a very interesting guest here this week. Irene Pickard. She is an English Friend and she and her husdband worked for the AFSC in Genevia Switzerland for 14 years. I don’t know what all they did I guess there was a sort of school there that kids from all over Europe were brought to and I suppose they had something to do with the feeding that has been done as all of that has gone through Switzerland. They got pretty close to all the world politics meeting and the league of Nations and she is reall up on that sort of thing. We have had a couple of discussions around camp as to what part we as pacifists can and should play in the Churches. So many of us are discusted with the way the church has been doing, not only with the war question but everything that comes along that makes much difference. We had a discussion on that the other night. It wasn’t very satisfactory tho. I had the feeling that there were a number of men there that believed very strongly on a certain kind of God and they thought that the rest of us didn’t believe in God at all and they were trying to convince us that there really was a God. There are really very few men in the CPS that would call themselves Athiests. There are a lot of us that have gotten away from our old conception of God tho. We don’t know a lot of the things that some people think they know about God and God’s will and we aren’t willing to guess at them and call it faith. I hope we have some more discussions on this in the future.

            We are beginning to get aquainted with our new director. They are swell people.

                                                Yours with love and stuff

                                                            Bernard

Quakers, Oats, the Amish and taxes

We just finished watching the PBS show on The Amish, it was interesting and got me to thinking about change and the difference between Quakers and Amish. One of the things I have always liked about Quakers is that I feel there is a balance between the individual and the group. This seems to be a difference from the Amish who emphasis the leading or discernment of the group over the individual. In terms of war tax resistance our monthly meeting and yearly meeting passed minute saying they support individuals who are lead to not pay taxes that go to war. The group as a whole does not need to believe this is correct but they can support an individual who is spiritually lead in this direction. I suspect another obvious difference is the importance of the equality of women among Quakers, from the beginning there was support for women as ministers and even those who were lead to travel in the ministry.

In terms of oats, dad talks about harvesting oats and the combine instead of the threshing events that they use to have. It is interesting to note that this is in 1944 that they are making this shift on the farm. Thinking about how the Amish live and how their lives were not that different from other rural farmers until the last half of the 20th century makes me more aware of the changes in our society within my life time and within my fathers also.

Last the good news, the UNM law school will be taking our case. They will argue it not in terms of my position on war taxes or the IRS regulations but in terms of 'case law' and in relation to how the penalty was applied. I'll know more as time goes by. I was surprised at how much I was relieved at this news. I was a bit disappointed that they suspect it will take more than one semester. I fantasized that it was like a western movie scene when the cavalry would come riding in to the rescue, the IRS would look up from their desks and drop everything and run shouting 'look look it's New Mexico law students!', 'we give up'.   Evidently, this is not the case, we are not at the end, just beginning a new chapter.

July 21, 1944

7/21/44

Dear folks,

            Another week and another letter. We almost had a break in our weather. They did get a nice rain north of us around Eugene a couple of days ago. Here it has been cooler and foggy or cloudy for a while in the mornings and not quite so hot in the afternoons. I guess it has been a little hotter than usual for this month in Oregon.

            Thanks a lot for the fiver. I was getting a little low too. I had bought a few items, shirts and socks. I got a pair of swimming trunks from another guy which would have taken nearly all of my cash. But your letter came in the nick of time. I don’t mind being broke if there isn’t anything I want. I think that I had bought about all the clothes I need. Maybe I’ll learn how to swim a little more this summer. A lot of the guys swim in the river on Sundays and sometimes in the evenings.

            Evelyn sure got a bad bruse, I didn’t know the extent of her injuries before. At the rate she was doing she is probably still in bed. It is good for her to loaf around a little I suspect. That is as long as she is cheerful about it. I certainly hope it clears up soon. It is a shame she didn’t get to Myrt’s wedding. I was counting on a detailed report.

            I get the impression that your eye is better Mom. Good. When Evelyn gets back on her feet youns will be pretty physically fit. Unless something else happens.

            Guess I’ll comment on crops a little. That piece of oats didn’t make a very high yield did they. But good quality is something. You had a very lousy season too. I didn’t hear anything about you guys liking the combine just fine for oats. I know Harry is crazy about it but how about the rest of you. I imagine Mom likes not having to get a big threshing dinner too. I bet I’d sure mis the good old time threshing. I guess them days is gon fer ever.

            Some of the fellows were listening to the Democratic convention yesterday. Then they heard Roosevelt shoot the bull last night. We jokeingly call Roosevelt the ‘Great White Father’ around here. We are doing a little talking about who we will vote for. We are all against Roosevelt but differ on who we will vote for of the others. Some say they won’t throw their vote away on Thomas and others feel that they must vote for him. I don’t know what I think. I’d reckon that Dewy is as bad as Roosevelt but a change would be awfully good. I certainly hope we get some kind of change. Three terms is too many and four is terrible. I guess he has had three now hasn’t he? I sure don’t know much about what goes on do I. I’m getting a little more interested tho.

                                                So long

                                                            Bernard

P.S. (over)

P.S. On my way home I bought a cheep pair of sisors which I must have left upstairs. Well, they don’t do me much good there. Would you mail them to me. I tried to get another pair but there don’t seem to be any in Eugene. Also I’m about out of the “Via Air Mail” stickers if you have gobs of them stick a few in your next letter. I prefer the standard air mail envelope but they havn’t gotten any out yet I guess any(?) they don’t seem to get any here. I’ll probably send you a couple of books soon. I just finished reading one and have the other about done.

                                                            Yours

                                                                        B. A.

Attached:

-EDSEC Newsletter, July 17, 1944, Vol. 1, No. 14

-Project News, July 17, 1944, No. 11

Wood turning and visiting the Law School

I missed last week. Every so often I am on a conference call for a committee on Sunday evenings and I end up without time to post a letter or to write. I'm trying to schedule another time for this blogging. So in today's letter Dad took a career test that did not put him high in carpentry which is what he spent his life doing. He mentions that he actually was more interested in wood turning. I remember the year when he got back to doing some work on the lathe. I think Carol may have already graduated from high school and she helped him to wrap the presents. He had his shop which was away from our house so we were not aware that he had been working on these presents. When Christmas came we found these presents under the tree and they said from Dad but were not in Mom's hand writing so we knew something was up.  For Carol and Mom he made platters and Bonnie and I each got a round wooden jewelry box. This would have been in the late 1960's. Many relatives and Friends were to receive wooden bowls from that day on. Every craft sale fundraiser for AFSC would find a collection of Barney bowls for sale. At one point he joined a craft coop and I offered to put in the hours at the store. I think the coop did not last long and Dad just went back to giving the bowls. This Christmas Jenny said she would like one and so I picked one of the small platters to send her. Glad to see that she values these family treasures.

Back to the continuing saga of the IRS and my war tax resistance. We got an interview with the UNM law school clinic and drove up to Albuquerque and presented our case to them.  The student who interviewed us seemed interested and we should hear later this week if they will take the case.