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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Massive rehearsal planned for Northwest mega-quake, tsunami ... Mental health plan stymied by lack of space ... Ticket availability ... Massive rehearsal planned for Northwest mega-quake, tsunami ... Mental health plan stymied by lack of space ... Ticket availability ... RELOCATIONS Herb Rothschild Jr.: Fletcher's mail Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jun. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM Posted Jun. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News For the next four weeks I’ll be on vacation from this column and from fretting about the myriad ways our species betrays its wondrous capacity for love and creativity. As a prelude to lightheartedness, a measure of which I hope summer will bring us all, I leave you with the following. If we don’t empty our mailbox in Talent at least every other day, it overflows with solicitations and catalogues, so our mail must be held behind the window for pickup. On those occasions I’m reminded of Fletcher. He died in 1995, but for several years thereafter we continued to receive mail addressed to him. The first letter Fletcher Rothschild ever received was from the Prudential Life Insurance Company. I’m not sure how the Pru got his name, but at that time he and I were living with my second wife, Carolyn, in Montclair, N.J., which is just northwest of Newark, site of its corporate headquarters. The letter offered Fletcher a chance to purchase term life at a very modest annual premium. I detected some interest on his part, so acting in his proper person, I filled out the form. I was scrupulously forthright. I explained that I was a schnauzer. And in the section asking about pre-existing medical conditions I confessed to a medium-size cyst in my neck, but added that my veterinarian had assured me it was benign. In due course he heard that his application had been rejected. My first impulse was to kick myself for having mentioned the cyst, but I knew Fletcher wouldn’t have wanted to secure the policy under false pretenses. His next piece of mail was a fund appeal from a Jewish hospital in Denver specializing in the treatment of asthma. In this case I couldn’t detect in him any interest whatever, so I threw away the letter. Please don’t judge Fletcher harshly. He was a caring creature. Further, he didn’t have an anti-Semitic bone in his body, nor was he a self-hating Jew. I think he just couldn’t relate to asthma. Had it been an appeal to support further research on seborrhea, I’m certain that no schnauzer would have responded more generously. After that, Fletcher’s mail increased in volume and variety to the extent that, from this distance in time, I can’t keep it all straight. One piece, however, has stuck in my memory. The Philip Morris Company sent him a survey about his smoking habits. On his behalf I replied in an offended tone. I explained that we dogs were far too intelligent to ruin our health by assaulting our lungs with carcinogens, and demanded that the company remove me from its mailing list. Several weeks later Fletcher received four complimentary packs of Marlboros. In 1990 we moved from Montclair to Houston. We had left no forwarding address for Fletcher. Nonetheless, his correspondence managed to follow him. I couldn’t discern whether that annoyed him or boosted his self-esteem. Highly expressive in most dimensions of his life, there were some things about which I could never draw him out. At the age of 16 Fletcher passed away peacefully. After she shed some tears, Carolyn’s thoughts turned to the insurance policy Fletcher might have had, save for his scruples. She was convinced he would have designated her his beneficiary. I wasn’t sure about that, but I let it slide. Herb Rothschild's column appears in the Tidings every Saturday. DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jun. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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