World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
unmentioned health is the best way to prevent worry, wait a year and
see. You need not try to persuade me to keep you informed on my health.
Meanwhile the war will continue as usual, I doing my part. Do not take
this letter as curt, it is just entirely lacking in romance. I am in
perfectly good humor; also I am thinking just a little clearer than my
parents did when they telegraphed around the world in war times to find
out if I had recovered from a minor attack of bronchitis. You must have
the same faith in me to look after my physical health as after my moral.
The _Tribune_ is coming and it seems good, but you would be surprised
how little current events are touched upon here. What we crave most in
reading is romance. The _Saturday Evening Post_ fills the bill more than
anything else. If you could send me a subscription of that for six
months, it would be greatly appreciated. There are plenty here, but by
that time will be sent to different posts.
I wrote to Robert today, and will probably write to him quite often.
Wish he would find time to write to me frequently, at least once a week.
YOUR SON.
_Ecole d’Aviation, Tours, September 30, 1917._
DEAR MOTHER:
Something pleasantly interesting happened today. Early this morning
Loomis in the bed next to mine asked me if I would join him in a party
with some friends of his. They were to come out to the school for us, so
I borrowed a blue French uniform and stuff and dolled out as fine as you
please. The friends came at ten-thirty in a touring car. The party
consisted of M. and Mme. Romaine, who were our host and hostess, and
Mlle. Gene Recault, and her future father-in-law. She was very pretty,
charming, and entirely French. Her father-in-law, M. Vibert, was as
jolly as a youth of twenty-five. They were all so cordial and generous,
and entirely agreeable. We went to Tours and called at a music store,
where Mlle. Gene purchased some music. Then we went to the hotel at
which we had spent the night, and she gave us the treat of a wonderful
voice. It was too strong for the small salon, but when she lowered, it
was delightful. She was the leading pupil in the National School of
Music at Paris, and withal, modest and charming. We proceeded to a café
in the Rue National where we had a good breakfast at twelve-thirty. The
meal was lively, and we were able to take an interesting part in the
conversation, thanks to the sympathetic courtesy of our companions. M.
Vibert was full of pranks and humor, so at the end of the meal I started
to use a nutcracker on a peach, and Mlle. Gene took it from me in
consternation and showed me how the French peeled a peach and cracked
nuts; so I cracked the peach nut and ate the kernel and showed them the
American method of cracking nuts under the heel. They were extremely
considerate of my ignorance. After dinner we got into the machine and
rode to a wine shop where we had some tea.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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