1612 Vista del Mar St.,

Hollywood, Calif.

March 11th.

Dear Bunny: -

A letter from Crownie this morning turning down the idea of a
movie department, and a check from Hughes of the D.A.C. News for $105
for five pomes plus the Ballad of North Dakota, which makes me solvent
again, but not rich enough to free myself from the body of this death.

Another thing I wanted to ask you. I now have enough cracks for a
book and I think it will be good enough to find a publisher. I am going
through all my stuff carefully, editing it, and bringing it up to date,
and purging it of its more offensive offal. Can you advise me how to get
it before a publisher most effectively. I would prefer Doran since he
would "plug" the book better than most, but of course Knopf has the
prestige for young men making their debut. Have you any blackmail power
over any publisher whereby you could use your influence? I will send you
a copy of my manuscript when it is ready, and submit it to your censorship.
I think I ought to include everything in the manuscript and let the
publisher take his pick, and you say that the idea is to submit a _good_
book, not a thick book. I am in doubt as to which course is the proper one.

A letter from Bement this morning asking that we write a biographical
sketch of each other in the vein of "Pistols for Two", and send a late
photograph. My latest is a sailor gob, slightly out of focus, looking like
the Boy Shelley. Unless you object I will write mine and send it to you
for approval. I am going to plead for as much time as possible as I may
want to ask you for some data.

Let me hear at an early hour what reports you have from the
East Front.

Yours,

Caramel-right -on the-ocean,

July 21st, 1924.

Friend Bunny:-

I guess you'll be pertty surprised to get a letter from me from
Caramel, or maybe from anywheres else, but I might as well tip you
off that I kind of bust my main spring during the month of June and
before, so I have gone to the woods of Caramel where I have a shack
so I can grow a new spring that will have the coils limber like in
the old days. I live here alone, cook my own gruup, saw wood for the
stove, ride horseback, swim, read things by famous authors, and write
stuff for print. Well, Bunny, you and Dr. Speer was right: this now
fast life dont pay a very high %. Before I come here I couldnt
get no sleep unless I knocked off about five shots of Scotch and I
use to wake up with nightmayors and the sweats and lost 20 (twenty lbs.)
so I thought maybe I had the t.b. and in the fear of having my
genius ruint and breaking faith with my public on acct. of same
ailment, I come here. That aint the only nor perhaps the biggest
reason, but it will do for a start. Well, Bunny, I aint got nothing
the matter with me except the heebie jeebies, because I gained already
about seven lbs. back and can sleep like a horse or any other
domestic pet. The night swets has stopped so I have to make up for
them by sawing wood every a.m.

Caramel is a dandy place to rest and do brain work in and
was name after a league of Spanish monkeys that come to Calif.
before the Gringo Indians settled here and they done a lot of
funny things here like building mud missions where a guy could
drop in during a hot day and cool his sweaty body, sink a cupful of
holy water, and drop a pinch of snuff or insense at the dogs of a
Virgin name Mary that use to live in these parts at that time.
They is also a lot of artists, musickers, and booky folks here but

they aint found me yet and wont likely either as my shack is
hid away in the woods and I can hardly find it myself on a dark night.
Harry Leon Wilson and Governor Morris, the snappy story writer, is
here, but I aint been knocked down to them yet. Here also was where
Von Wick Brooks wrote his "Raw Deal of Mark Twain".

Well, as I say, Bunny, I am going pretty good again and have took
a fresh intress in life you might say, leastwise I am getting all
hopped up again on writing a long work. It sure is fine to get up
early in the morning and look in the mirror and reckonize yourself
by the reflection. In Hollywood I use to look and think they was an
old man with suspenders standing back of me, but no it turned out to
be me. And I use to be such a pretty baby. I can remember pictures
my mother took of me necked--stummick dormant on a field of fuzz.

I done what you asked me to and sent the letter to Paula
whose husband's name is Steve Gates, and who lives at Ortega Hill,
Santa Barbara or at P.O.Box 420 if you are willing he should get the
mail. She is a fairly extraordinary jane, Bunny, and there is a good
deal to reeport in this same general direction not to mention the
entire field of California amours, but I will half to postpone same
info until I come East which I expect to do in October for sure.
You are right Grace Hendrick is an old pupil of mine and I only hope
she has learnt the principles I strove so hard to instil in her in
regards to erotic matters.

I aint done much in the way of writing for the last two
months on account of haveing the whoops and jingles, logos on the
bogos, fan tods, and similar complaints, but I should get going good here
where it is as quiet as a vaudeville house during a tumbling act.
Until last Sat. They was two badly trained nurses had a bungalow acrost
the way from me and I thought here was a sure make, but after making
their acquaintance by offering them a couple of cups of junket they
told me their job was to prepare dead bodies for the dissecting room

in the Berkeley University Medical Lavatory, so I got cold feet
being normal and never having done no sexual tricks like necro-
pholia and so on. They was a jolly pair of lady butchers though and
one of them played the catarrh real good, and I sung them some
comic songs, which reminds me, Bunny, that Sophy Tucker is singing two
of my numbers "Who'll Bite Your Neck When my Teeth Are Gone" and
"Rock-a-bye Dollies, Daddy's in the Follies", but she aint paid me
any jack yet and don't guess she ever will. My suit on "Yukon Jake"
is still hanging fire on account of they havnt released the picture yet
but my corps of attorneys is ready to slough them good as soon as
the film is shown. I really expect to get some heavy jack out of it
unlest they change the title at the last min. which they may do being
cagy jews.

Jimmy Gruen, local wise cracker, and me was going to gag some
two reelers for Hal Roach last mo. when his god damn studio burnt
down with $200,000 loss. That's the way it goes in the movies: either
the Jews trim you or you get set for something and a arsenic-fiend
burns down your lot, props and all.

What is the news from New York in the dirt line. I dont hear
nothing except vague roomers. How is the Rascoe menage coming on?
Where and the hell is Douglas? Has Mary been bumped off by the Ku
Klux yet. Did O'Neill read our Diplodocus play? When is your play to
be put on? What's happened to the three last of your series of
movement clarifiers in the New Republic? I thought the Rosenfeld-
Josephson one was so good I almost telegraphed you a hozanna, and
made everybody read it I could. It made clear for me exactly what the
dadaists were up to seriously.

Some time ago I send Nopf a line asking has he got any copies
of Pistols for Two and he said no he aint. Now would you mind sending
me yourn for a spell so as I can write up your biography for Bement
who is clamoring for same? I will take good care of it and wont dog

no leaves or nothing.

Well, Bunny, I guess this is all there is to report just now.
I hope Mary is going big in show business and that the writing trade
in New York is looking up. Out here it is lousy. I feel pretty sure
that I shall shove off from here about the middle of Sept. for a
winter in N.Y. We should ought to finish our play if it is any good
and I have some ideas for another besides.

Wishing you and Mary the best of luck like I always do, I'm

Your friend,

Ted

P.S. Yes, I read Ring's book and it's what they call in Hollwd.
"a Wow!" But Ruth Suckow's aint nor is "The Wife of the Center".