171 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean L.A.S. “Ton Jean,” [Buenos Aires] Monday [October–November 1928], to his “Dearest Mom”; 4 pages, small in-4. My mother’s letter arrived “in 9 days, and I was the one who brought it. Now tell me that air travel doesn’t bring us closer together! In just two months, it’ll finally take us 7 1/2 days. Our seaplanes will be fine-tuned and put into service between the islands, and they’ll really fly—unlike those darn patrol boats, which I hope will be completely phased out within six months.” He’s leaving for Santiago, Chile, “on the Pacific coast,” and will “finally cross those famous Andes Mountains I’ve been hearing about for so long. So I have a lot to prepare, and I wasn’t notified until this afternoon”… He’s worried about his mother’s health and mentions Fernand Delty, whom he’ll try to bring over now that he knows his job well: “If only you knew—for someone like me who arrived without any connections, having worked my way up—how horrified I now am at the thought of taking advantage of the trust that has been placed in me so completely and blindly”… “My plans are more solid than ever. I’m waiting for replies from Paris. Expect me to show up unexpectedly—oh, but only for a very short time, because I’ll be returning to France in February to depart in April. Insh’Allah!”… Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family