Our family seems to be having its full share of operations this year. I didn’t have any trouble at all with mine; here’s hoping the same is true with Mom.
Dad wrote me a letter while I was in the hospital. I believe that I have already answered most of the questions that he asked in it. I doubt if it would have been possible to have my hernia fixed up any sooner than was done. Considering the type of work I’m doing, it might have been months or years before it would begin to give me any great pain. It’s a big mistake to let a hernia go—there were fellows with older ones down there and they had more trouble than I did. I think that I got the best of care. I was in the hospital nearly eight weeks, which is two or three times longer than would have been the case if I had gone to a regular hospital at home—and paid several hundred dollars for the job and had my work or schooling interrupted.
And now that it’s all over, I’m supposed to be as good as ever, or perhaps somewhat better. I couldn’t possibly use this as an effort to get returned to the states; the Army is much too large an outfit to be pushed around by one buck sergeant. Anyway, I’d just as soon be here as a lot of places in the states.
Mom sent me two clippings from the paper that were of special interest. One of them had to do with the Spokane air depot. It seems that someone thinks it’s going to be a permanent industry. When we really get going in the Pacific, Spokane may be much busier than it has ever been before. There is an appalling amount of waste of men and materials at the average Army installation, but I guess it’s just one of those things and can’t be helped.
Also there was a write-up about that Guffey bonus bill. I’m not in favor of having the government spend billions like that, but if the thing is passed, I won’t refuse my share! That poor national debt; we will never be able to get that paid! One of these days someone will have to do some fancy bookkeeping at the Treasury and get rid of it.
[letterstohome copyright 2008]