1999-07 – Letters from Leonardo

Hello!

Well, so far so good. Shredder and his Foot have remained elusive. We’ve beefed up patrols and still rarely see signs that our archenemy has returned. I personally haven’t seen a sign of Shredder at all, and what few groups of Foot that I’ve seen have fled when they caught sight of us. Raph says that this is a typical Foot tactic, and sooner or later it will obviously lead to a typical ambush… so I let him decide when we should and should not give chase. If nothing else, Raph is the current expert on Foot operations. He spent alot of time with those guys, and even if Shredder is at the helm now, Raph was steering the boat long enough to learn a few tricks of their trade.

What we’ve mostly been doing is cleaning up our surroundings. The summer always leads to tons of trash and debris, so we have to keep busy to maintain a clean homestead… VERY busy! Venus and Raphael have been helping alot, Mikey has been mostly goofing off with his friends and Don is always busy with his own work.

I’ve been making efforts to get along better with Raph. I know how hard the Foot’s betrayal hurt him, and I want him to know that I’m here for him. We may not always get along, but we’re brothers. I will never turn my back on him, no matter what happens. To be honest, I’m a bit ashamed of my behavior during all of the “Clan Sai” stuff… I should have been more supportive and understanding, maybe then Raph would have listened to my warnings about being careful. But live and learn. Although it’s been a painful year for Raph, in the long run the whole ordeal will help make us all a stronger family, which is all that really matters.

There’s really nothing to report, unless you like to hear stories about trash removal (and if you do, you need to get out and have some fun ;)

Well, I suppose it’s time to run another patrol. I know sooner or later ol’ Shredhed will be making his appearance, and then the sparks will fly. I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the day… we’ve defeated Shredder so many times only to have him return that it’s getting almost depressing. He’s like a constant thorn in our side. I understand more and more why Master Splinter despises him so. But we’ll do what we have to do… always have, always will.

Have a good summer, what’s left of it!

Be well!
Leonardo

Master Splinter

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