92 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean 8 letters “Jean,” Barcelona and Málaga, September–December 1925, to his “Dearest Mom”; 14 pages, in-4 format (one on letterhead from the Nueva Pensión Frascati, three from the Restaurant-Confiserie Royal, and one from the Café Inglès in Málaga), and 3¼ pages, in-8 format, on letterhead from the Restaurant Savoy. On the Spanish coast, from Barcelona to Málaga. Málaga, September 6. “Your letter also helped lift the gloom I naturally felt upon my return. What can you do? Life is nothing but separations; we’re forced to come to terms with it. I’ve resumed my work with enthusiasm—and I need it, because right now, I haven’t stopped for a moment. I don’t know what this winter will bring, with staff numbers constantly dwindling. So I have to do double the work. […] I had terrible weather on the way here, and I was thoroughly shaken up. I left my boarding house in Barcelona, where I could no longer stand it because of the increasingly meager food. I have a room in town and I eat wherever I please and whenever I please […] I attended a magnificent bull run here last Sunday, attended by a group of lovely women in mantillas and shawls—it was simply wonderful”… Barcelona. – September 27. He suffered a sting on his right hand that led to an abscess: “I went five nights without being able to sleep a wink. I was able to continue my work, despite the fever and the pain, by steering with my left hand. There are so few of us! Anyway, since yesterday I’ve been feeling better. I slept from 7 p.m. last night until noon today. I’m back on my feet, and now it’s just a matter of changing the bandages. Besides, where I am, they know just how to make me happy, and I have three women taking care of me! So?! »… – October 7. “Today I requested a month’s leave starting December 20. I hope it will be granted, because given all the work I’m doing for them, I think it’s only fair. I’m making two trips a day right now—to Alicante and back”… – October 22. “We’re not taking any more passengers for the time being, since the mail load for Morocco is so substantial, and since I want you to fly with me from Toulouse to Barcelona—especially since it’ll be ‘on the house’—it’s best to wait a little while.” He recounts an amusing adventure with an Andalusian woman, whom he ran into while stepping over the balcony, and who caused quite a scene, but “I’ve gone up a notch in the eyes of the ladies on this floor—and better yet, I’ve earned the landlord’s respect”… – November 14. “Winter looks set to be very harsh for us. We’ve had dreadful weather these past few days. Yesterday, I was caught in a snowstorm. Blinded and buffeted by gusts, I was fortunately able to land halfway without injuring myself or damaging the camera. It’s been going on nonstop for eight days. The cyclones and the fierce winds show no sign of letting up”… – November 20. “I’m feeling a little tired. The dreadful weather—snowstorms, winds, rain, and the like—is the natural cause. For six days in a row, I’ve made the daily round trip from Barcelona to Alicante. I was finally able to get a day of rest today. It’s going to be a tough winter for us to get through, and I’ll be better prepared after my vacation to face our two worst months, February and March”… – December 4. “We’re having very bad weather, and when I get home tired, it’s just to go to bed and rest as much as I possibly can.” He’s worried about the franc’s decline: “I can barely set aside 1,000 fcs a month, […] I already have 350 pesetas in pension, and I set aside 300 for my living expenses. There’s not much left after that; it makes me angry sometimes when I think that a trip where I’ve sometimes risked my life every minute brings me 90 fcs—that is, 23 pesetas. That’s selling myself short. Anyway, you have to take it in stride. The best thing is to enjoy the moment while waiting to work toward something”… Malaga: “My ten-day leave has been granted, but it’s contingent on a colleague—who’s currently on temporary leave—returning to work. So I won’t be leaving for another fifteen days or so, […] we’ll see each other soon. […] I arrived in Málaga about two hours ago. A 7½-hour flight today. I’m heading back to Barcelona tomorrow. Still a lot of work. We’re never at full strength, and the work still has to get done, which means double and triple shifts. […] I just had three consecutive mechanical issues between Alicante and Barcelona. That’s just the beginning. Everything went well, with no damage. Anyway, things are moving along. As long as it keeps going”… Correspondence, Nos. 64, 66, 67