Dear Darla,
Thank you for writing—it was quite pleasant surprise to hear from you. So your cousin Dawson told you about our correspondence, did he? And you thought it would be festive to get some corresponding advice for you and your girl friends? I mentioned your letter to Nancy, and she said something along the lines of why not? Although she might be looking over my shoulder a bit more with these letters
Because I don’t know your particular situation yet—I assume your next letter will fill me in—I think I would like to start by discussing the ecosystem your relationships are in. Or lack of relationships, as the case may be.
And so what do I mean by ecosystem? Relationships are like plants—they grow and flourish according to their own internal logic, meaning that a tulip grows as a tulip, a redwood as a redwood, an orchid as an orchid, and so on. Plants reproduce after their kind, which is the internal logic. But relationships (like plants) are also dependent upon external factors, like climate, soil, etc. Certain plants won’t grow in certain places. Huckleberries don’t grow at lower altitudes. Most lilacs don’t grow down South. Orchids don’t grow above the tree line.
