Mr. Downs,

You promised to burn down Princeton if they did not accept me. Well, it’s still there! But please don’t do it now. Let’s be nice to these professors, at least until they reject me next year!

Thank you very much for writing me a recommendation, especially when you say it is your masterpiece. I like it even without reading it. It’s a rare opportunity to be a subject of a masterpiece.

 Pavlo