December 23, 1943

Dec. 23, 1943

Dear A.P.

I got your air mail letter today in the second mail call at 1700.  It was post marked the 20th and you can see that it came right along.  It really did save time as in normal times it takes 6 days and lately mail has been coming through is 8 and 9 days.  Your last letter of the 16th came in 8 days.  It must be due to the strain on the Railroad caused by the Christmas rush.

THe watch situation is rather tough everywhere.  The clipping I am sending shows that recently they hooked a lot of red tape on to getting a watch here.  Don't get a Swiss watch for $50 because I can get one (if I am lucky) for $30.00 or less.  The watches are available for a short time each month and the supply does not last long.

Well our classes are coming to an end soon, in fact most of the finals come tomorrow.  That is the reason I have not been able to write for the last 2 weeks.  We have had 5 classes a day with a test every other day in each one of them.  That takes a lot of studying and cramming as you can not prepare for a test and do all homework and get enough sleep in the time we have.  After Christmas we will have a little more time off and I expect to write again more often.

I imagine Mary will be quite changed when I get home.  Everything will be changed when I get home. I wish I could be home for Christmas but the Air Corp has no furloughs over Christmas or any holiday although they do give out 72 hour passes for Christmas and New Years.  You speak of ski boots and I think of snow of course and how I wish I could get a hold of a snowball.  We see snow on the mts. about 35 miles away but it never gets cold enough here to make it worth while to hear heavy clothes.

I rather like the idea of a community club but to me it seems that it is coming too late.  I know that I could have enjoyed it much more before the war.  But as for the future uses I am sure they are all for the idea.  I am sure if it is well supervised that it will be a great benefit to everyone in town who will participate in it.

I too have been studying code and have passed an 8 word check which has given me a a passing mark for the course.  However I can take 10 and 12 and 14 early in the morning when I am feeling alert.  I could easily pass 12 words if it were not for a few letters that come over and make me think and at that speed you can't think and get the letters.  While you think you miss a few and 3 misses are all you are allowed.  Code is something you have to study every day and do intensive study if you want to get anywhere.  Out here they give you 1 hour a day of study with extra periods if you can work them in.  Some of the fellows can take 14 words with no trouble at all and some can take 20 which is the ceiling around here.  At that speed it is almost impossible to print the letters.  I think I shall send you a code sheet we used here.  It is primarily a practice sheet and the letters and send in series of 5.  You can not receive messages too well with it but receiving the unrelated letters is better practice than receiving messages where you can guess half that is sent over.

I must close now.

With love

Austin