Dearest
Kitten:
How’s the
most wonderful wife in the world? Fine, I hope, because your husband is feeling
fine right now.
I do not know
how long this letter will be as I have to take off to town with the Captain. We
are buying an ice cream and ice maker for the company.
You are
fortunate that the sewing machine company are good enough to loan you a machine
until your other is ready.
We are having
a hail storm right now. Ten minutes ago I was sweating my eye teeth out and
just as I started this letter it cooled down quickly, and started raining and
hailing. Some of the hail are as big as marbles and I am not kidding. The way that
the weather has been, it is a mystery to me how hail could ever be formed.
Australia is funny like that, it is a country of opposites.
You failed to
tell me how our account was made out, so I am taking a chance and having it
made out to the account of Robert J. Lemire & Irene A. Lemire. That is the
Class E allotment. If it is wrong let me know immediately.
The belt that
I sent to you for Xmas will go good with your sweaters & skirts. You should
be all fixed for coin jewelry with the coin earrings in the other box. The
piece of wood with the string attached is supposed to ward off evil spirits. By
swinging around over your head it will make a noise which is supposed to be the
voice of all evil spirits and warns them away from the person in the center. It
is a belief of the aboriginals of Australia.
What is Tess
waiting for? Hope it’s twins.
When you find
out Norman’s overseas address, let me know so that I may be able to look him
up. I could go for a talk with someone from home right now.
What a night
that was, the Xmas eve that we trimmed the tree at home. I doubt if I will ever
forget that night.
Bobby is too
good natured, that is why he is always getting beat up. There will come a time
when he will get sick of taking the worst of it and will he go to town then.
Sorry to
disappoint you but I used to like to see my brother fight, so I used to go
around looking for more trouble than I could handle just to make him get into
it.
The less said
about the way I felt over Xmas the better off I will be. I know exactly how you
felt and there is only one thing to do and that is to pray that this mess will
be over as soon as possible.
Sorry about
the cigarettes, but it is impossible for me to send any home. They would not
let them go through the mail. The Army utilizes a lot of valuable space to ship
cigarettes to the men over here and it would not be cricket to turn around and
send them home again.
Of course I
do not mind you sending dad a card with the pictures. I sent him a Xmas V-mail myself.
As yet I did not hear from him over Xmas but at least my conscience is clear.
Mother is
certainly going to town. I am glad for her. She has had so much trouble that I
am happy to see her get a few of the things that she never received when she
was younger.
Maybe the new
landlord will really fix the house up. It would be nice to have the ground
floor.
Enclosed are
some pictures that I told you about.
The two of
myself dressed up were taken by my commanding officer with his camera and I
used his camera for the other pictures a few days later. The four Lts are
Officers in the company who happened to be in the orderly room that Sunday
morning.
Sgt. Ryan is
one of my platoon sgts. and he was suffering from a hangover and refused to be
serious. He was trying to kiss me in the picture of the two of us. I was moving
into position when they snapped the one of myself.
Sgt.
Nicholson is my supply sgt. and T/4 Pound used to be the Company clerk. Pound
used to sleep right across from me, but has been moved to a different barracks.
Sgt. Nicholson sleeps right next to me.
T/5 Parson
Hill is second in command of the supply room and is a natural comedian. He
loves to drink and the more he drinks the funnier he gets. Everybody in
Brisbane knows and loves him. I have yet to hear him swear, drunk or sober.
When he goes
to town, he invariably gets slightly to completely high and on the way back to
camp on the tram he either holds an auction with stolen fruit, holds a balloon
ascension, or gives a sermon on the evils of alcohol. The people who live out
this way look for him on the tram because he is so comical and no one can get
mad at him.
One night he
was holding a quiz contest when I was on the same team. He would walk up to someone
and ask what their name was. When they answered he would shout, that’s right,
you are the winner of one rosy red apple, and he had a bag full of apples. All
kinds of questions like that. He spotted a woman with a gold tooth and told her
she was a winner for having a gold tooth. It is hard to convey just how funny
he is.
Well
Sweetheart, I did well but I must close. You have all my love so guard it well
until I return.
Regards to everyone
and kiss the babies for me. I love you Kitten.
On the back
of some of the prints are the number of prints that I want back with the
original with the censors stamp.
Your Loving
Devoted & Faithful Husband,
Bob
No comments:
Post a Comment