Letters from Uncle Fred

When I published "Denizens of New Boston Road," Fred asked me why I had listed our brother Joseph Patrick Kiley Jr. as the author. It was not a mistake on my part; it was the only way I could get on with the project because I had been badgering him for weeks to allow me to list him as the author, which he was. At that time, he was still teaching at Trenton State, and I assumed he was reluctant to let his students and associates see his published works. He mellowed after a short time because everyone approved of his writings. The publication of "Denizens" led to a discussion of his other writings, and that brought up the subject of the letters which we had been exchanging over the years. He told me that the letters meant a lot to him because he used them to force him to continue writing even when the mood to write wasn't "on" him. He also told me that the freedom he enjoyed in writing letters was the limited audience to whom he was writing: friends and family. In this publication, I am violating that limitation by allowing you to enter into the audience that can see and read the thoughts he had intended for a select few.

Fred felt that in letter writing there could be an intimate bonding between the writer and the recipient; in the best case, a touching of souls.

Fred was still an innocent in many respects, even after the war had stripped him of most of his innocence. He wrote using humor, sarcasm, and other artifices to conceal his true message, which was love. He had a love for natural beauty, children, and animals. He had admiration for talent, honesty, and integrity. I hope that you can discover that by reading his letters. He was my big brother, and I loved him.