SOMEWHERE IN NEW CALEDONIA
March 6, 1944.
Dear Howard,
I was just down to a French bicycle shop getting a front wheel and an axel for my bicycle – I ran it into a bank one evening and it hasn’t been right since. I hope this new wheel fixes it up – it’s already got a new fork on it – the other one snapped off like a rotten twig.
I got your letter a few days ago, but have been recuperating from the Dengue fever here of late. You should get that! Boy, it sure leaves you know how worthless you really are – every muscle in the body aches with that. I stayed in the sack for three days.
Evelyn Boyle writes me intermittently – she says she goes with some Pedley; that wouldn’t be the boy that was bowling with us, would it? I think Evelyn sort of likes to play the field, if you ask me, but maybe I wouldn’t know either.
By the way, I met Jackie Denneff down here – he hasn’t changed a bit – told me that he quit a job in Milwaukee just when he was getting a deferment – joined the marines. He’s in love with a 20 year man to me. Jackie smokes cigars just like his old man. Julia Anne is married and his two twin brothers and Ivan are having the time of their lives running around the country.
That sure was tough about Timmie Welch – yes, I knew him real well – we used to go swimming together at the pool. He sure was a swell guy.
Yes, we’ll definitely go up and see B.J. Mother said that he was asking about me after I left the last time. I have hopes of getting home again by August perhaps. That will be a day to look forward to for me. I’ve got sixteen months away from the states this last time already – the first time I had 20. As long as I stay in pretty good health and all that I don’t mind it so much – that little trip I had to Sydney in October didn’t hurt anything either.
Eloise Ostrander (Fowler) writes me once in a while – her husband is in Iran. She says that she writes to 54 people (mostly service men I guess) – also says she’s happily married and that there’s nothing like it. I can imagine it would be swell with a husband about 10,000 miles or so away. (It must be like drinking soda pop through a ten foot straw). Old Louise is a good writer though – she surely surprised the old maestro.
They don’t have any bowling alleys or anything like that here – at one time they were lucky to have fresh water (that was when we first got here – in ’42). The French people don’t have any amusement of any kind except the movies – they hole up the rest of the time. Of course, that’s all the recreation we have too, but we have them every night. There are about six different types of creeds and breeds around these here parts. There is the Javanese, the Tonkinese, a couple or three different varieties of natives and God knows how many kinds of French. Some are of the fifty fifty basis – half native or half Javanese or something. Oh, yes, I also met a Chinaman here once.
The French people themselves are a very religious sort – they think more of their religion than they do anything else with perhaps the exception of their bicycles – I think they all own one of them.
They have some nice looking women here too, but I don’t take any interest mainly because I haven’t the time. Most of them know English too, but they don’t like to let anybody know it.
Well, Howard, give my regards to the family – hope your Mother and all are fine. I’ll be expecting a letter sometime – don’t rush yourself, but when you get time take down the rusty old pen and drop me a few lines – I appreciate hearing from you.
Until later,
Pat
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