Today I am a Man (?)
Thursday, October 14, 1943
6:15 p.m.
Dear folks,
I’ll start this while I wait for chow. Well today finishes 21 and starts number 22. Today I am a man (?). I don’t feel a doggone bit different than yesterday so that is that. For some reason I didn’t get any of the packages tonight. You’ll get this on Mon. along with my Fri. letter so if I get it tomorrow it won’t give you a chance to worry. I can’t see where it is though as your letters have been fast all week. I got Tues. letter postmarked yesterday morning, tonight. There must be some reason but it ought not to take 5 days. Well if you read this letter first you stop here & tear open Friday’s to see if I got them then.
I got to bed as soon as I quit writing last night. I was up at 5:30, out for reveille and back to bed until breakfast. My eyes were stiff & tired when I got up and I’ve had a half headache all day. I’ve looked forward to mail call all day too and that sort of let me down a little. For breakfast I had oatmeal, milk, toast, butter & grapefruit juice. After breakfast I swept & made my bed and slept until about 20 to 8. At 8 we went to Analyt. but I can’t say I learned a great deal. At 9 we had a Physics test. He gave us 5 problems – I got 3 right, one pretty close so he’ll probably count it. On the other one I did it right all the way through to the end and then what do I do? I multiply 6 by 2 and get 16. That really burned me up. I still got as well as anyone in the class according to what they all say then did but he doesn’t seem to grade on class average. My method was right, I just made a foolish mistake in arithmetic. He should give me some credit for it but he may not. He is sort of hard to predict. After that I was really disgusted. I can study all night and it won’t eliminate those kind of mistakes. In fact I think it helps cause them. I’m not getting enough sleep to really be on my toes like I should. At 10 we went to Chem. Lect. There’s the usual test there Sat. and 10 problems to do. At 11 we had study. I worked on Analyt. I don’t know what will happen on that test tomorrow. We are going so fast it’s hard to know what I do & don’t know. I could spend 2 hrs. on it every night if I had the time but I haven’t got it. Then we ate dinner – potatoes, cauliflower, salad, bread, butter, milk, & peach cobbler. It sure wasn’t what I’d have been eating if I were at home. I came back about 12:10. I started to sleep but I was afraid of a test in History so I got one Chap. read during my noon hour. It was a good thing I did. We discussed 2 chap. and then he gave us a 50 question test. Most of the questions were on the chapter I read. The rest I answered from what he said in class or I already knew from before as I hadn’t read the last 2 chap. I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss more than 10 and maybe less. If I hadn’t read what I did it would have been too bad. I hope I did as well as I think I did but maybe I’m kidding myself. I’m sick of this driving for last minute tests. It’s not my way but I can’t seem to get away from it. Well time out for supper and from there we go to study (6:45).
Back at 9:15. At 2 we came back for P.T. We did some calisthenics and then played volleyball. At 3 we went to English. He gave us a short quiz on parts of speech and another on recognition of sentence structures & stuff. It wasn’t bad and I did fairly well. Next time we will write a theme in class on how to do something or how to make something. At 4 we came back for drill. We drilled from 4 to 4:45. Then we quit til 5. Then we drilled & went through retreat with the air corps until about 5 to 6. We are supposed to have that parade for Col. White next Thurs. Next Tues. we are to go on a five mile walk or hike. We got through at about 6. I came in for mail call. I got your Tues. letter a day ahead but that was all. My mail has been a day ahead all week. I read that and then wrote until supper time. 9:35 in latrine. For supper I had potatoes, green beans, pickles, bread, butter, milk, & cookies. From there we went to study. I spent 2 hours on Analyt. & quit and came back at 9. I mentioned to Ferd & Helle that this wasn’t the way I usually spent my birthday. I was writing on this a few minutes ago when in they come with a little square cake with 21 matches stuck in the top. It really surprised me because I wasn’t expecting anything like that at all. We made quick work of the cake but I thought it was pretty nice. They deserve a piece of the one you sent when I get it. Now it’s after lights out. I’ll finish this, take a shower & get to bed early for a change. I think I’ll do a lot better if I’m rested than if I try to cram a lot.
Now to your Mon. Oct 11 letter – Why should I be embarrassed to get 3 packages at once? I am not the only one who sticks to the work. Lots of guys do more than I but most of them don’t. P.F.C. comes at the end of the 3rd term if we go into advanced work. I’ve noticed the moon the last couple of mornings when we went out for reveille. I didn’t ever think to ask for stamps here. I guess I thought it was a hick place that wouldn’t have them but then they should.
Tues. Oct. 12 – Was it dad’s green work sweater that he lost? Well Gram finally got her birthday card. Probably if I had stayed out this long I’d be rejected now on my eye also but I’m in now & stuck for the D + 6. George must have had a delay in traveling in order to get home. He must have been alone & not in a troop movement. Is he going to a school or something? Everything sounds good – no more dimout on the coast, etc. I imagine Frisco seems much nicer with the lights on. You haven’t sent too much of anything yet.
That briefly covers your letters. Its 10:10 so I think I’ll call it off for tonight. I wonder what will happen during the next year. Last year they were starting to send me questionnaires. Well good night for tonight.
Love,
Arlington
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