Sgt Roman F. Klick 36620923
HS 1393 Engr APO 709
c/o PM SF Cal
15 July 1944

LETTER MAILED TO PAT 16 JULY 1944, DATED 14 JULY 1944.

Dearest Pat,

Friday



Hello there and how you? I'm afraid my last letter didn't get to first base as far as the answering of your letters was concerned; so, I'll have to try all over again with some of this, that and the other and with what comments and answers might be appropriate.

We've had another good picture in our theater. We got it last night and everyone enjoyed it a great deal. The title of it was "A Guy Named Joe" with a whole cast of good actors and actresses including Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Irene Dunne, Lionel Barrymore, Ward Bond and Barry Nelson. In it, they repopularize that old, old song "I'll Get By As Long As I Have You" and make it sound good too.

Last Sunday the Adjutant (he is something on the order of an office manager in civilian life) let us have his jeep for the entire day and three other fellows and myself had a whale of a time traveling up and down the length of the island looking for points of interest. What we did find was a perfect tropical bathing beach complete with white sand, blue ocean and swaying palm trees. We've requisitioned a truck for this Sunday and we are going back there with a lot more fellows for a swimming party.

Today was my dentist day but now that it is over with, things don't look so bad. That is one thing which I do not care for at all and that is the drilling of the teeth.

Have you begun working yet? My younger aunt (Florence) just got herself a job at Western Electric but, according to her, "they are regular slave drivers" compared to other places she has worked at. Perhaps the best places are the smaller concerns.

We've caught a couple of jungle birds within the last few days and brought them into the office. The birds realize that they can't fly away after fluttering about for a short time and soon they will sit calmly on a person's shoulder even while he walks around. The one we had in yesterday was all brown, called Gremlin, and the one in the office now is all green and they call him Pete.

When you spoke of St. Charles, it brought back pleasant memories of picnics we had out there some years ago. One of my friends has relatives living out there and he spends quite a few week-ends and summer vacations out there. I imagine that if you and your friends went there as planned, you must have found it quite enjoyable?

For notes on Pete the Paraqueet . They are filling up a tablespoon with water and letting him drink from it. He is doing it too!

In your list of studies for next year you did not mention any commercial subjects or any language course. Is that so, or did you merely omit them? Do you still take your Greek lessons on the outside? By the way, what is this Social Science 3b? My third year of social science studies was American History but it was abbreviated Ha. Have they changed the abbreviations or introduced additional courses? Do you enjoy Math anymore than before? To stick to it into a third year, you must. That was one study which I never did grow tired of and I managed to go thru as far as Calculus before stopping. Do you know Miss Walker? She said she took Math all the way thru Calc because she thought it was a challenge to her and wanted to prove that she could master it. She didn't like Math. I worked my Physical Science courses the other way around and took Physics in High School while taking Chemistry in College. A certain number of the laboratory experiments were interesting but I never did become enthusiastic over the course.

Please tell me about your sister and brother. Are they still turning your hair gray with their mischievousness? What are their names?

Your plan to read the books and write the reports on them during the summer vacation so that you will be that much up on your work when school does open up sounds like an ambitious undertaking and more power to you. Without having the pressure of other school work and not having specific deadlines to meet, you undoubtedly can do a much better job on the reports than would otherwise be possible. What books do you find that you enjoy reading the best? For that matter, what book are you reading currently? As for myself, I took most interest in historical novels and biographies. The only trouble I had was that I kept collecting all the books I liked (in addition to a countless number of reference books) and at the present time I have more books around the house than my Aunty Clara cares to think about when she gets the idea of moving. If you like biographies, I would recommend Carl Van Doren's "Benjamin Franklin" as one of the best. In the fiction field I enjoy John Galsworthy's books most.

Have you gone on any more outings lately? By the way, Pat, did I ever ask you before if you golfed? If you have, you know what a swell game it is. If you haven't, you can't appreciate nor realize the fun you've missed. Golf is my favorite sport now for it has long since pushed aside tennis, swimming and bowling as other favorites.

It is beyond me how or why I have written on and on like this tonight or why I have asked so many infernal questions. I guess it was just because I felt like writing and because you are such a nice person to write to. So for now it is good health, good luck and good night.

So-long,
Ro.

ED NOTE: This letter was handwritten on the sides of six half-sheets folded in book form and stapled together. Sent airmail.