Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
3 August 1943

Dear Aunty Clara,

It is twenty-five minutes to eleven so I haven't much time left to type this letter before the lights go out. I have just come back from the projection room where I watched Lt Yantis run the movie machine and later on helped him run it. During "Stage Door Canteen" I watched him and then during several training films after the show, he stepped out while I took over. It is a simple operation to watch a machine and the minor breakdowns which may occur are not hard to handle at all. The rewinding of the film back in its original order is what takes a bit of time. Ordinarily it would take no time at all but this evening there were three training films besides the four reel picture. That meant seven rewinds in addition to the splicing of several spots which had broken and splicing back certain parts which had been taken out. Therefore on the nights when I do handle the movie myself, that is if he still wants me to, it will not take very much longer than the usual time from my evening. Tomorrow night I may go with him to another outfit and show a picture just to get further practice in handling the machine and also to get used to a different set-up than we have here. After that it seems to be his intention that I run the machine say on Tuesdays and Thursdays which is ok by me.

"Stage Door Canteen" was really full of stars as you probably know. The soldiers, including myself, got quite a kick out of the first part of the picture when they showed a troop train and how the soldiers acted in it because it was so true to life. We also got a great kick out of the picture of the soldiers in the camp itself. The picture gave a person just the feeling that one has after visiting a USO in a strange town.

Well, I was right. Since I had not received any letters by the time four o'clock rolled around, that meant I hadn't received any at all. I know that tomorrow will be a different story because never do three days in a row go by without my getting at least one letter.

I'm glad that things have been humming once again with work piling up in all directions. Combined with the movie projection work and the imminent payroll the days promise to move by rather swiftly. The more activity one can crowd into his days the faster time will move and the sooner we will be together again. Strange as it may seem along with time moving faster one lives a fuller and seemingly longer life by continuous activity. A person who does nothing in his lifetime has but one pattern to look at even though he lives to be a hundred years old; whereas a person who has crowded a brief twenty-five years with many and various experiences has, in retrospect, a longer and fuller life to look back on than the other individual.

This money which I received yesterday will dwindle away rather rapidly if I keep up the tactics of today. The PX had in a fresh supply of Tootsie Rolls and Chocolate Mints. As a result I have supplied myself well for the day when they will not have candy on sale. The only trouble is that having the candy on hand just means that I'm going to eat more. It is very seldom that I can resist candy laying right under my nose.

By my latest census of letters which are due to people from me, I arrived at the figure of eight. I hope that for one week I receive no letters from any other people besides you. I think that in that time I will be able to answer that backlog of eight letters. Then there are those letters I should write but never get around to.

There is one good advantage to being the operator of the movie machine and that is that when the ground is damp and wet you are perfectly ensconced in the booth which has a nice wooden floor and a fairly decent chair-box to sit on. I'll bet you're thinking what I'm thinking right now. We never thought I would learn how to run a movie machine in the army. Right?

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman