Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
9 November, 1943
Dear Aunty Clara,
Tuesday
From almost nothing to do there is now almost too much to do. That is the funny part about this job. Once in a while you will hit a period when everything is going along smoothly, there are no payrolls to do and life is peaceful and calm. Then, suddenly, you find yourself swamped with work. I had vague notions that I might possibly get started on my payroll today, but I lost them long ago. The root of all evil today were the rosters. First there was the informational roster which had to be checked and which took up the greater portion of the morning. Then came the laundry rosters (haven't had one of them since we left Oregon) which always are a pain in the neck because it is so easy to make a mistake on them. I had to type up three of these.
Now there is the prospect of three to four Air Cadet Applications, a few letters, the usual routine business, besides the work I enumerated yesterday which is not done yet. Sgt. Kuhn, Regimental Supply Sergeant, is in charge of the typewriter repairs and after I convinced him that my Remington was in such bad shape that is was impossible to type on it, he took it in to town to have repaired. He acts tough but is a swell fellow all the same because ten minutes later he brought in the Remington from his office and is going to let me use it for the next few days --- at least until I can get the payroll out of the way.
The movie for this evening is "Vivacious Lady" which they tell me is as old as the hills but entertaining, nevertheless. Lt Yantis asked me who was to run it tonight and I returned the compliment by asking him if it wasn't his turn. He declined, however, and said it was between Gordon and I so, naturally, I am the operator. He promised us that after the school was over he was going to take the machine at least two nights a week but he has not done so. He is still looking for the permanent projectionist who can devote his entire time to the machine, but it doesn't look as if he is going to have much luck.
Fourteen bags of mail came in today and who knows, but the cards may come at last. By saying that I have most likely jinxed today's mail so that I will not get anything.
I opened up the outer wrapping of the Mrs. Snyder's box of candy and, sure enough, it is from the Reeds. I am still saving it until we can get rid of the other stuff. Meanwhile, the Bull's Eyes which Dolores and Eleanor sent are the favorite candy of that box. And I also got around to eating some of the peanuts. They are nice and fresh and salty. Aunt-Aunt did a very good job of packing them for Anita (I think Anita said that Aunt-Aunt did the packing).
By the way, I haven't the slightest idea when the allotment will take effect and can only wait until it arrives here. But to be on the safe side and avoid being red-lined for more than one month, if that, I am reducing the $60 Class E allotment to $40 per month starting with December. That means that during the first week of January (when you ordinarily would get the December check) it will be for $40 only.
Last night I dreamed that I was home on a furlough and the dream must have lasted all night long, or so it seemed. The funny part about it was that it seemed like a permanent furlough because I don't remember coming home or any thought of going back to the Army. These dreams are the craziest things, aren't they? Sometimes a person sort of knows that he is dreaming and doesn't take it seriously, but at other times everything seems so real that when a person wakes up he can't comprehend for a minute that he had been asleep.
The PX hasn't any candy as usual but who cares now. Yours truly didn't get his haircut either because there just hasn't been time for it today. It's a regular mop on my head now and in this warm weather it isn't very comfortable.
So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman