To Ruth Alexander [Letter 167]

10000 Tampa Avenue
Chatsworth, California

March 18, 1945

Dear Ruth:

Congratulations on your syndicated column! I was delighted to hear that you got it—and I wish you a long, successful career as a columnist. I hope the Hearst papers here will be among the first to carry your column—but if they don’t I’ll count on you to save me copies of it, I want to be among your first constant readers.

As to your being a doctor at the bedside of a dying patient—well, a doctor does what he can, but never tells the patient that he’s dying. Even a doctor knows that there’s always the chance of a miracle—which is not really a miracle, but merely the first time that a certain patient recovered, when all others in similar circumstances did not. I think this particular patient will recover—he has achieved miracles before.

I have inquired about the registration of your story “Christine” with the Screen Writers’ Guild. The best procedure will be for you to send me the copies and I will register them in your name. Keep one copy for yourself, send me one to leave with the Guild and send me as many other copies as you wish to get the registration stamp on. I shall then mail them back to you, properly stamped.

David Selznick’s address is: Selznick—International Studios, Culver City, California. It’s best to send him the book at the studio, not at his home.

Thank you for the lovely time we had with you here and for dragging me out into social life. We both enjoyed so much seeing you again, and we really hope that it wasn’t your last visit to California. Now we’re looking forward to seeing you when we go to New York this spring. Until then—best regards and love from both us to both of you,