Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
September 18, 1943

Dear Aunty Clara,

Saturday

Well it looks as if I have finally caught up on all the immediate work. All that remains to be done now are four OCS applications, the paycards, a few entries in the Service Records and then I can figure out new systems for keeping work in order and new ways of filing information in roster form.

Jack Molyneaux used to laugh at me back in June when I dated and addressed a letter a day for over a month in advance and even when I wrote through all those letters he laughed when I dated another bunch away up to and including October 12, 1943. Yet today he has addressed to his wife enough V-mail forms to seemingly last for the duration of the war and well beyond the six months. The one fault of the V-mail is the four addresses which must be written on it and by fixing them up in advance one gets rid of that trouble all at once.

I told Lt Yantis that the film which I showed last night up the Island was not "Night to Remember" as scheduled but "Street of Chance" a picture we saw once before. He then said that he wasn't going to stand for such a switch on while he was in town today, he would see about getting the film originally scheduled. If he does that, I suppose I will have to waste my evening by going to the show. Remember the days when I went to show so often that I could count up a year's attendance on the fingers on one hand?

Just as I was writing the above sentence Lt Yantis breezed into the office and stopped long enough to say that he managed to change the film but before he could answer our question as to what it was he breezed out again. Perhaps before this letter is finished he will blow back in again to let us know.

Incidentally, that was Eleanor who we saw pass our camp twice a few days back. Jack says she was dressed up in a typical blue uniform and gave the boys a characteristic grin and wave.

The latest development in the way of construction in our office is a false ceiling. This will lock up the hot air at the top of the tent similar to the way an attic works in a bungalow and thereby make the lower portion of the tent more bearable during the afternoons.

Whether or not I received any mail today, I do not know since I have not been down to the company as yet. I will have to wait until mail call after supper to find out. I suppose because I received two letters yesterday I will not receive any today.

Here it is, "Great Man's Lady". Who plays in it or what it is about I do not know and no one else seems to have heard of the picture before. I've discovered, however, that you can't tell how good or bad a picture is just by its title. Many times the lousy titles turned out to be good pictures.

There is a big argument going on now whether Field's or Macy's is the largest department store in the world. Naturally the New Yorkers think their store is the largest and I tend to agree with them because it seems logical. The article I told you about says that Field's is one of the two largest but does not say whether it is first or second. When they look at the picture of the building I tell them that across the street, connected by an underground passageway is another building called the Store for Men which is also part of Field's.

Another argument which goes around is that about the set up in New York City. The different sections of the city like Brooklyn, Long Island City, Manhattan et al claim that they do not live in New York City and that they are towns by themselves yet in the same breath they will admit they are part of New York City. That place has one of the most complex set ups I ever saw. It covers five counties and has absorbed innumerable cities which have seemingly remained autonomous under New York rule.

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman