November 23, 1943 to Mother

Nov. 23, 1943

Dear Mother:

I suppose you are wondering how I found ca.... Cousin Emma.  Well that is a long story.  I really intended to see her bur headed in that direction a little too late.  What really happened is that I over estimated my ability to get out of camp.  When it is Saturday night 10,000 fellows have the same idea.  Let's go to L.A. and one bus line with all special busses can not take care of the rush.

Many of the fellows found that they could get rides out of camp to L.A. for $2.50 but I decided that was too much to pay for a ride of only 30 miles.  As a consequence I got to L.A. too late to go anywhere.

We went to the end of a long line of fellows trying to get to Santa Ana to get the Pacific Elective into the big city.  We waited here for over an hour and got real hot thinking of the time we were wasting.  When we did get to S.A. we had to wait again for a long time so instead of waiting we paid $1.50 for a ride to L.A.  The regular fare is $.75 so we didn't get to bad a ride.  It was very late when we got there so had very little time to get a room and get settled.  I did get a chance to see the city a little but it was after dark.  

Same picture as on Nov 21.  The card is bent from writing on the bottom diagonally to the top right corner

I am sending a picture of the place we ate.  I marked the table on the picture and you can get some idea of the places they have here and they are inexpensive.  I had a very good meal for $.90 and had music to accompany it.  The music and singing came from a little balcony you can see in the upper right hand corner.  The place was a rather good place to eat and I think I shall eat there again.  The little yellow (orange) paper I picked up was in the middle of each table for those who wanted them.

I forgot to tell how you enter.  As you can't see where we got our food.  You entered at the front and walked around the side in a kind of long tunnel that was lined with gold fish cages.  The tunnel is between the falls and the table.  The falls were very beautiful and viewed through a curved glass window so that it looked like no window at all.  William would have really loved this place if unique mess is his fancy.  I don't think you will see anything like it in the East.

You seem to find such things all through L.A. Nothing quite compares with them.  You would really love the country.  Is is all so different that I can hardly believe I am so near to home.  I feel near home although I guess I am really a long way away. 

I am sorry that the card got broken but a young lady sat on my lap and crushed it.  Now I suppose I will have to explain that.  Well, we were walking down the street when a car with two delightful girls pulled up beside us (5 boys) and asked us if we wanted to go to a party.  Well I kind of hesitated because I didn't think all western hospitality was this but the car looked good, the girls looked all right and a party seemed the thing so we all piled in.  They were U.C.L. girls and they took us to a college dance.  It seemed that men are scarce out here also.  They had all uniforms at the dance.  Navel ROTC and Marine ROTC and a few regular Navy and the Army Air Force (us).  We met the house mother who was a kind old soul and helped us get a room up town to sleep in.  Guess what they drink at such parties.  Hot tea, with fruit juice.  Not very wild.  However we had a swell time.

Seeing we were a mile from the center of the city we convinced the girls that after the dance they would have to take us back to the city.  They decided at 12:00 PM (civilian time) that it was time to close down the dance so the 5 boys and 4 girls piled into the car (result: crushed picture) and went to a small diner in a ate some hamburgers and drank pop.  They left us off up town and we went to our room for a good nights rest.  It was about 2:30 and I was glad to hit the hay.  We slept till 9:30.  It sure is wonderful to sleep late once in a while.

There wasn't much to do after getting up Sunday so we went and did a little shopping and got some insignia (if you got the ones I asked for and haven't sent them you better keep them).  We came back early and slept on the train all the way.

It sure is a kick of a way to spend a weekend.

Now; "What is the difference between the Army Air Corp and the Army Air Force"?  Well you may ask a lot of people in the Army Air Force and they won't know but from what I have been able to find out it goes this way.  The Army Air Corp is the branch that corresponds to the United States ARmy and the Army Air Force is the same as the ARmy of the United States (You don't see.)  Before Pearl Harbor the Air Corp was very small and was only a part of the Army but now it has expanded to such an extend that is is a force in itself and is almost a complete, self sufficient outfit.  Don't let it worry you because in most places they are the same and the expansion is the reason for the change.  I don't think anyone cares about the difference.

I don't know anymore answers because I forgot all the questions so if I don't write the answers to your questions, ask again.

That watch will be very valuable out here because everyone elses is in the repair and you have to hunt to find out the time.  I hope you get the most for your money and get William's ideas on the subject because I will know what I want that is round.   Well I leave the rest to you and the family.  Don't spare the money because there is a lot more where that came from.  The government has lots of it and I have got a raise in pay.

The food is a lot better now.  It seems to come in spasms.  We get Roast Beef quite often with mashed potatoes and gravy and vegetable.  I am just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the buest bu not one can tell.

I will have close now because I have a lot of other things to do.

With love,

Austin