Send That Apron Along While I Still Have a Whole Pair of Pants

Monday Oct. 11, 1943

9:35 p.m.

 

Dear folks,

Back again in late study as usual. I finished your letter last night and went to Analyt. until about 10:30. Then I went back to the barracks and worked until about 11 when I went to bed. I was up but mighty sleepy at 5:30. After reveille I crawled back in and had a notion to skip breakfast but I was hungry so I went and got my farina, toast, butter, milk, and orange. I came back and made my bed and swept. Then I looked over the chem. experiments for today & some of the English assignment. At 8 we went to Analyt. I got a 10 (perfect) on last Fri. quiz (1 problem [formula]. Pretty isn’t it. He rambled on as usual. At 9 we went to Chem. lab. We only had 4 experiments to do today. I got 2 done so I went behind this time. One of them seems to be way off. Nearly every one is. I think they gummed us up somewhere. You see we were to find out what the molecular wt. was of a liquid & then check with them. I think they gave us the wrong answers because most of us aren’t even close. I couldn’t possibly be 50% off but I am nearly that much. They are going to have the lab open for us Sat. from 1 to 4:30 so we can work. I told the fellow that was fine except we don’t get through until about 3 o’clock. If I can I think I’ll go over. Otherwise I’ll have to right in these experiments without doing them in order to keep up. We are doing reactions now instead of quantitative work so it is easier to answer them without actually doing them. We got that lab quiz back & I got 32 out of 38. That’s about 84%. It isn’t too good but it’s all right for a start. We had another one today & I think I did much better. This one was for just stuff we had done. If I’ve done it I usually remember it. We get quizzes now every week which will be bad. I’ll have to hold my grade up in lecture to counterbalance. At 12 I ate – potatoes, carrots, green beans, bread, butter, salad, milk, & berry pie. Then I started reading my English for tomorrow until we went to military at 1. We are on defense against air attack now. At 2 we came back for P.T. We did some calisthenics & then I played volleyball the rest of the time. At 3 we went to Physics Lect. At 4 we came back to the dorm. I studied on English until mail call. I got your Thurs. & Fri. letters & a nice birthday card to Nephew from Aunt Marie + $2. I believe that’s the first Nephew card I have gotten or is it? I read my mail & went back to the English. There was about 20 pages but its all old stuff so I didn’t have to do more than read through it. At 5:40 we ate – steak, potatoes, gravy, spinach, beets, salad, biscuits, butter, milk & jello. I’d call it a good meal for a change. At about 6:25 or so I went out & played some doubles for a few minutes. My partner & I got beat 6-2 by two kids who were just learning so you see how good I’m getting. At 7 we came to study. I finished the English, started History, and then switched to Analyt. until I started writing this. I’ve covered all my Analyt. now except 61 review exercises at the end. They are good practice but it would take from 5-8 hours for me to do them so I’m just skipping them. Right now I’m all caught up in everything but History & Geog. By tomorrow afternoon I won’t be able to say that as I’ll have Chem., Physics & etc. to do. Every night I intend to write at least one extra letter but it never seems to get done. Maybe I will though someday. Tell Mrs. C. not to get discouraged (as if she really cared anyway) (oh well maybe she does.)

That covers today I guess so now to the two letters I got. Thurs. Oc. 7 – I can just see what this little remembrance will be if it’s underestimated like you usually do. Two or 3 packages – Say! I seem to be able to get Listerine O.K. here. We get oranges quite often although there are more apples now. We get quizzes on our own experiments in Chem. now so it isn’t bad. Anyway the backward (?) boys are on the ones we did first now so it doesn’t make much difference. It’s the first chem. lab I ever had where the emphasis was on speed. At State boy we had to go slow & work for accuracy. I pulled a B on that military test finally. There were only 3 B’s in our class. There were 15 C’s & 15 D’s, no A’s. It’s possible, in fact as good a bet as any, that we may be instructors someday. The way Bart talked he is about ready to ask to go back to his outfit. He is from a searchlight battery at San Mateo, south of Frisco down towards Palo Alto. I’ll have enough money to get home if I get the furlough (and I intend to get it). I decided to send those W.D.C. patches. They aren’t any good to me here. I can’t wear them so you may as well have them. They were on my blouse & field jacket when I got here.

Friday Oct. 8 – The name of that picture would discourage me from going. Also Bill saw it when he was home & he says it’s lousy so even if you hadn’t mentioned it I still wouldn’t have gone. It may have already be here although I’m not sure. Harry James is coming in a picture pretty soon. I wonder where all that acid came from. I don’t remember slopping or spilling any. My Haggerty does have trouble. I’m sure he deserves everyone’s deepest sympathy. I had several books at M.S.C. written by teachers out there (Chem. & Eng.) but they were good books. I was A in everything at home but that “ain’t” here. If I were taking German at as fast a clip as everything else I’m afraid I wouldn’t learn it very well. What do you mean “if I stay here all term?” Don’t let me scare you by some of my cracks. If I flunk out, the ASTP will be completely washed up so send that apron along while I still have a whole pair of pants. I’m not going to flunk out anything even if I do sound like I am sometimes. I just get disgusted and let it run away with me. I’d work awfully hard to keep from washing out (a lot harder than I have yet) because I know what it means. I’m afraid Yugoslavia & Belgium are a few hundred miles apart. Yugoslavia is in South East Europe across the Adriatic from Italy & north of Greece. Belgium is one of the Low Countries southwest of Holland and across the North Sea from England. Oh I’m prepared for most anything but I certainly don’t expect to flunk out in anything. If I flunk there won’t be enough left to keep the ASTP going. So don’t let me get you excited by kicking about my grades. Oh I always thought I wanted a radio but things are different I guess. Circumstances alter cases or something. Gee, how are all these guys you mention getting out of the army anyway?

Well that covers your two letters & today. Its 10:30 and time I folded my tent & silently stole away. So for another time

 

Auf zeider sehen (I can’t spell it)

Son