A Pain in the Neck

Sunday July 4, 1943 [“4” is a firecracker]

8:10 p.m.

 

Dear folks,

Here I am in study at the end of another weekend. I don’t know how much I’ve accomplished but I’m tired of studying so I’m writing this for awhile. I’ve studied pretty steady all day except for meals and about two hours. Last night after I finished your letter I wrote a card to M.S.C. to give them my address and a very short letter to Aunt Marie. Then I took them down to the post office at about 7:30 and went on to the show. I saw a newsreel which showed the Memphis Belle airplane, a short about Nevada, another short about odd people, a cartoon and “Mister Big” a picture with lots of music and jive and stuff. It was pretty good. After the show I had a milk shake. I got back about 10:10 and read Chem. until lights out at 10:30. I got up at 7 for breakfast – cheese on toast, egg, toast, butter, rice krispies and milk and muskmelon. After breakfast I went to work on my physics lab book and the experiment. I worked from 8 until after 11. Then I worked on History until dinner. For dinner I had potatoes, gravy, dressing, beets, bread, butter, milk and more canteloupe. After eating I went back to the History until close to 2 o’clock. Then I took two hours off to go to a show. I saw a newsreel, a cartoon and “Coney Island” in Technicolor with George Montgomery and Betty Grable. It was another musical and it was pretty good. It’s sort of like back home to chisel out a movie on Sunday only I used to go at night after my work was finished. I got back at 4:15 and swung into Physics on Dynamics. I read that until supper and after supper until I finished the chapter. I get parts of it but most of it is over my head. I had dressing, asparagus on toast, corn, bread, butter, milk and cake for supper. At 7:30 we came over here. I still don’t understand the Physics but I’ve read it and I hope it will clear up when we get into it in lecture. If they’d use English instead of Greek it would help. This a2=a1+oct (omega 2 = omega 1 + alpha t) is a pain in the neck. My work is in pretty fair shape. I have a little more chem. to read (it’s pretty easy so far thank goodness) and a geography test coming up for Tues. I can do that tomorrow night. So I guess I haven’t done too badly. I may not have done really an awful lot but except for the two shows I’ve been behind a book most of the time. I imagine you folks are up there yet. It’s been nice and hot here although a little cloudy around the horizon at times. For some reason I can’t think of much to write tonight. I didn’t do much to write about and I have no letter to answer. I didn’t send any laundry this week but I expect to next week along with a lot of junk and my shoes maybe. I haven’t much accumulated as yet except socks. I hear it costs the gov’t from $4 to $5 a day to keep us here so I guess I’ll have to give them their money’s worth. I still wish I were paying for my own education. We are supposed (we hear now) to get a choice of where we go so far as is possible. If I ever get a choice you know what it will be. It sounds now as if we’ll be here for 36 weeks or all 3 basic terms (if we stay). I really haven’t been able to decide just what the percentage of flunks will be. Maybe it will be pretty low after all. Well this is a heck of a letter and it probably looks as if I’m not taking much interest but I can’t seem to find much to write about. So for this time I’ll quit at 9:15.

 

Love,

Son