Dear Helen

7/22/43

Dear Helen,

I received your very darling letter of July 13. I guess I must thank you for making such cute & appropriate excuses on the delay of my last letter. May I extend that statement a little further and say that you have an extreme quality of common sense & understanding, plus an excellent way of stating your thoughts. I wish everybody I write to could have just half as much as you have. I am afraid it would help ever so much.
I expect a furlough next month. At that time I will relate to some friends why I couldn't write so often & then I shall be forgiven, up until the time when something comes up and it will start all over again. I guess by this time you think my friend are just awful. So I will justify them by saying that I guess I felt the same way about men in the service when I was a civilian with so much time on my hands I didn't know what to do with it. There is one thing that I forget sometimes & that is, there are two sides to every story. That's why I justify or try to justify to myself when I say anything that can be made into two stories. I guess that's the safest way--Right?
Monday we started training again, but I believe it's only for a short period. One of the jobs we have been working on is not complete yet so we train one day & work on the job the next. Boy it's hard to train again after having it pretty easy for awhile. But I'll get used to it.
I went to a few U.S.O. dances but not so many. It's to hot to dance. Do you find (?) it that way? Last Sunday I went to one of the nearby lakes and we went canoeing. When it came the time to go in we had a little race to the dock with a few friends of ours. They had the race well in hand when something happened & over they went. I am sorry to say, but it sure was funny. I said to them, instead of helping them, "hold on I want to take your picture." I never had such a good laugh. But I felt kind of [sic] sorry for them because of their [sic] newly pressed O.D.'s
I just found out that I may still have a chance to go to an army college. But I'm not saying anything until it happens. I hate to disappoint anybody.
I am so happy you got your raise. I guess we both made a little progress in our respective jobs. I guess I can say we both got a raise even though mine is a bit small.
My 3 sisters are going on a vacation Aug. 14. I am a bit scared because my furlough should fall in about that time. I hope it works out O.K. I wouldn't like to ask my sisters to change their plans. That would be mean I guess. I know how much the planning there is in a vacation. Maybe [sic] it's fun. I haven't did it in such a long time I don't remember.
I got my teeth fixed today. I don't think the dentists are half as bad as the fellows make them. He treated me pretty well. And only 4 cavities in 7 months. That's pretty good for me.
I shall close now hoping you are in the best of health.
Sorry I forgot about the weather. It's hot. We didn't get rain for quite awhile believe it or not. Until the next letter, I remain

As ever
Tony