Sgt Roman F. Klick 36620923
HS 1393 Engr APO 709
c/p SF Cal
26 November 1944
Dear Aunty Clara,
Sunday
That lousy motion picture job is over now for this evening and I've got a headache which is a beauty. Me, the guy that doesn't get headaches too. The combination is just a bit too much for me to take. They have some kind of report to turn in with each film nowadays and I doubt if at the worst my writing has even been, it was any worse than my writing then. I was dead tired from the basketball game between Grauel and myself and fell asleep before chow and then after supper too. So what did I have to do? The other guys were up there but it was I who ran the movie off from the start to the finish. I couldn't hear half the words that were being said because I was next to that machine and was about a foot from the window. O well, the more I think about it the worse I'll feel, so I'll just drop the subject right here and now.
When my tour of duty as Charge of Quarters was over, I immediately went down to the barracks and changed into my dirty fatigue clothing (pants) and went to the courts with Grauel. Gosh, I never got so tired in such a short time in my life. Back home they consider basketball a rough and tumble sport in a cool stadium in the evening so here we played it in the middle of the day under a blazing hot equatorial sun. After going at it hot and heavy by running all over the court and trying to best each other out, we wisened up and got another fellow and then took turns shooting at the baskets so that two guys were always resting in between shots.
We came up to the office a little more tanned, just about worn out and thirsty and dirty as we ever will be. Once we were back up on the hill, we felt the beneficial breezes immediately and sat down in the shade while the winds cooled us off. After a long enough rest, we began drinking cold water to cool off our insides. Then to make the matter complete, we took a shower.
I've mailed out three I mean eight Christmas cards today - mainly to small children with whom it is imperative that the cards reach them prior to the great day and to soldiers who are probably gone from their addresses and that way will cause the letter or card to travel a good deal further than anticipated.
As I sit here writing this letter, I and a few other fellows are putting the finishing touches to the Special Assortment of Mrs Snyder's candies which Mrs Reed and Myrtle sent to me for Christmas. Over night I protected them by sealing the box up once again with Scotch tape. That way, no stray ants could possible worm their way into it. And it also kept the air from circulating about. They sure are delicious.
But now back to the picture again - this time, however, I'll stick to the pleasant side of which I could have enjoyed much more had I been sitting out there in the audience. It was "As Thousands Cheer" with Gene Kelly, John Boles, Mary Astor and Kathryn Grayson and as guest stars - Lena Horne, Gloria DeHaven & June Allyson, Virginia O'Brien, Margaret O'Brien, Marsha Hunt, Ann Sothern, Lucille Ball, Mickey Rooney, Kay Kyser and His Band, Jose Iturbi, Frank Morgan, Red Skelton, Donna Reed, Sara Hayden and others who I forget at the moment. I could sit thru one of those star-studded pictures all night long as each one goes thru a special number. The picture also was in Technicolor.
Gosh, my personality is becoming terrible. I get myself worked up in a lather over the way things are going and then I bark at some innocent bystander. Why in the world should I take my troubles out on someone else? I'm sorry for it right away the next minute but it still is wrong to let anything disturb one's equanimity.
So-long, /s/ Roman Roman