October 8, 1944

Roswell Field

Oct 8, 1944

Dear Mother:

Worry no more about the box; it arrived today.  I was somewhat surprised but pleasantly so.  I did not know I had such beautiful sisters.  In fact my roommate and my buddy next door were very much interested.  I doubt if I will send them home; I shall find some way to get them in a folder and put up so I can see them.  I still doubt if they are my sisters; they look too much like someone else's children.

I got the ring out and then didn't know which hand to put it on.  You know I can put it on the left hand and turn it over and then fool all the girls.  It sure could be a safety measure to make sure I get home single.  Maybe I am just an egoist; nobody but my mother would have me.  Anyway it is a swell ring so thank William, Esther and Mary for me. Maybe I should write each a separate letter.

Now your handy work looks really good.  I have not put them on yet but will just as soon as I get cleaned up enough so that I won't get them soiled.  I am really getting to be a clothes horse.  I only wish I had more so I could wear my good clothes all the time.  I would have an awful cleaning bill but I guess I can afford it.  You may get a couple of more some day with all the instructions.

The powder came through but not quite intact.  It was a good thing that it was well wrapped because some of it spilled out and really would have messed things up if it had a chance.  I guess you have had experience packing such things before.  You see once I packed a can of powder in the middle of a  BKs bag and found out just how thoroughly it could get into things.  Well I guess you can't guess how glad I was to get the box.  I was a little anxious for a while but everything came through all right.

Well I don't know what I can write about what I am now doing except that we are getting an awful lot of ground school thrown at us in preparation for flying this week.  Our first class was at 7:00 this morning and the last one ended at 6:30 this evening.  You can see that we are going pretty steady and strong.  We are getting a lot of engineering and engine courses with radio mixed in all over.  We have to learn to use 5 set instead of the one as before.  It is a awful big plane and we have to get about 72 hours on the ground before we can even go up.  They are throwing things at us so fast I wonder if I shall remember any of it.  I only hope my memory is a little better than I think.

I had time to go to a movie tonight.  The movie came between the beginning and end of this letter.  We saw "San Franscisco, I Love You."  {Actually San Diego, I Love You. Check out a clip with Buster Keaton.}  It is one of the funniest pictures I have seen in a long time.  I don't know what the critics would say about it but I do know I enjoyed it more than any picture in a long time.  I think everyone would enjoy it if you all had a chance to go.

I do get time for a movie now and then and I hope you don't mind my going rather than writing the letters you look forward to.  It's not that letter writing is a burden because I like to let you know what is going on but that I like to relax and forget what I am doing once in a while.  Maybe you should be able to live thing thing 24 hours a day but I just can't live it 7 days a week without a break.  I must say that the life I lead is a very easy one and one I like.

Well the "sack" looks very good to me so I will "sign off" for the evening.  "Station Austin going off the air for the evening"

With love

Austin