A Lot of Pots and Pans

If I hadn’t gone to a movie you would have had a longer letter but I couldn’t resist the chance to get away from the thoughts of army & K.P. for awhile. Everybody tells us we are crazy to stay on K.P. but I don’t see what we can do. I’ll try to write more next time.

 

Sunday March 14, 1943

10 min. to 10 p.m.

 

Dear folks,

This won’t be much of a letter. I got off K.P. at 7:30 and could have written quite a bit but I went over to a movie at regimental headquarters mess hall. I just got back. The show was “Lady in a Jam.” It wasn’t too good but I don’t care much for Irene Dunne anyway. That was my first movie since Camp McCoy. I thought I would be able to sleep til 7:00 tomorrow but they haven’t changed the time for breakfast so it will be 5:30 as usual. They turned the lights on at 5:20 this morning before they even woke us K.P.s up. I dressed, made my bed, and washed and went to work at about 5:45. I spent the day from then until after 7:00 tonight washing dishes. I never knew there could be so many. My hands show it too. I am going to work the dining room tomorrow and let somebody else do the washing. My fingers are blistered from so much hot water and they look like a person’s back when it is sunburned. They are pretty withered too. These turkey dinners are nice to eat but they really make work for the K.P.’s. For breakfast I had a dish of Farina and pancakes and syrup & milk. I washed dishes til noon. For dinner I had potatoes, carrots, green beans, dressing, bread, butter and small 5 or 6 pieces of ice cream. The lights are out now so I am writing all by myself over in the day room. They had turkey but all that was on my table was dark meat and I didn’t want it very bad anyway. A turkey dinner really means a lot of pots and pans. I washed and washed dishes right up to supper time. For supper we had a cold lunch. I had potato salad, cheese & bread & butter sandwiches, pickles, and cake. After supper we turned on the steam so we would get done as soon as we could but the best we could do was 7:30. One of us will go off on 24 hour pass tomorrow noon. The passes will be from noon to noon instead of 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. I don’t know which I do like the better. I don’t know which day I will go but it will be at least by Thursday. One of us goes every day so we work 3 days and get one off. I sure hope something comes from that training. If it doesn’t come before April 1 I don’t expect to hear anything before the end of the school year along in June sometime. I didn’t get any mail from you folks today but I got a card from Aunt Edna. I got your Wed. Feb. 10 letter last. Well this is the shortest letter you have gotten from me yet but at least it will give you a little to read and I am keeping my promise. I don’t do much to write about now anyway. I will close so I can go wash and get to bed. I hope I get off tomorrow noon but it probably won’t be til Wed. for me.

 

Love to all,

Arlington