Mar. 29, 1945
Dear Mother:
I suppose you have now been to N.Y. and back by now so have a lot on your mind. I hope you had a pleasant trip and I am sure you have. I wish I could have gone because I know I would have had a lot of fun.
You wrote about Mary having a tooth pulled and I felt rather sorry for her. Well yesterday I had one yanked which was pulled purely on my own say so. Since I am 21 they can't pull my teeth unless I give them the go ahead. I guess I am glad it is done but 24 hours ago I was wondering about the wisdom of my momentous decision.
The tooth was in bad shape and was giving me quite a lot of trouble. It was quite painful at altitude and I had reason to believe that the filling was bad and not the tooth. Usually they have a paste that is very irritating which causes pain at altitude, and some times it is just a pin point of air under the filling. The "doc" made an X-ray and said that the tooth looked bad but not until I told him I had frequent tooth aches did he recommend that it be removed. He didn't say it would have to be removed, and said that a non-flying member of the army could get along for some time in its condition. However he said that flying aggravated the situation and that it would get worse until in a matter of months or a year it would have to go. I don't know where I will be in a few mos or years so I told him to go ahead.
Well he got out the hammer and tongs and the big needle and put the whole right side of my face to sleep. Of course when he went to work he didn't spare the horses and got it out but I almost went out too. He said I was a good patient because I didn't scream and scare all of the others I guess. It had the biggest roots on it I have ever seen and it must have left my head hollow. When he got it out and looked down into the hole he said that it was abscessed and was a good thing to have gone.
At least I won't wake up nights and wish it were gone, it won't prevent me from getting sleep I should have. It was a kind of bloody thing and I thought I never would stop bleeding but last night it had pretty nearly stopped. I didn't sleep too well and I finally took two little pills this morning and got about 3 hours of sleep when no one was looking. The weather socked in around here so I haven't missed anything. I have no idea what they put in those little white pills but they almost put me to sleep on the spot. I don't know what plans are being made for a replacement so I will have to go see the dentist pretty soon and see what's up. I hope that now I have one gone my other teeth will get a little more space and maybe be easier to take care of.
Last night was the first night I ever dreamed of starving to death which goes to show you how hungry I was. It seems that no matter what happens I am hungry. I guess I could eat even if I were too sick to see the food. Maybe I just inherited a few things form my pop. Actually the food around here is none too good although we pay $1.50 for it. It is not too well prepared but I guess plenty of it. The meals are well balanced so you get your calories but sometimes they are unidentifiable. They have pretty girls serving so maybe that is why I eat so much. I don't think I have gained any weight and if not my clothes are just getting small however not much smaller.
My pilot bought a car yesterday and I financed him to the extent of $160, which may be a foolish thing. However I expect him to be around for some time and he says I will be paid on Monday. Payday comes up pretty soon so I shan't be short of money be a long shot. At the rate I have been saving money in Lincoln and here I guess I could finance year at B.U. in a couple of months. You can expect some money to come along very soon. I don't know yet what I shall put it into but War Bonds and the bank seem to be two rather investments in these times. Maybe you can find something better. I think all this money is spoiling me for good because it will be hard working for a living. (you will have to wait while I go eat).
If you waited while I ate you would have waited a long time. I went to the show last night and to a show at the club. I went to see "God is My Co-pilot" and I might say that it is a good show. Of course they have too many technical errors in it for anyone in the Air Corp to swallow whole but as a picture it follows pretty closely to the book. All of the shots taken in the air are taken over Arizona about 10 miles from Luke so all of the ground and mts. look very familiar. In fact I could identify a lot of the places where I had looped and dived and rat-raced just like they did in the movies. I have flown off the runways they pictured so the picture was not so exciting to me. It is a picture you should see if you want to see the old AT-6 in action because that is all they use for Jap. I enjoyed the picture and I guess you would too.
I have got to go fly in 1/2 an hour. We may not fly because the weather looks bad but we may get up. It makes little difference to me.
I will have to close now and go mail this so until I have some more time
With love
Austin
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