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Dec 20

Dear mother, dad and sis

I've been holding off for the last few days in hope of receiving a letter from you. But our mail service is so disrupted by the constant moving about, that I received no mail from you last week.

The vicissitudes of army life are upon me once again. Local living circumstances have been improving steadily recently. The officers finally have a roughshod table to eat on and are being served in a porcelainware service available to us for that purpose. The food itself has also been improving. We've been having fresh meat almost ever day — hamburgers, roast beef, swiss steak, french roast — our cook bakes excellent pies for us and often — we've also been having a surprising frequency of fresh eggs and real potatoes — all sorts of canned vegetables — oranges and applies — and even such delicacies as french dressing, ketchup, etc.etc.

In addition to all this, I've been working like a beaver fixing up my tent — putting a floor in, building utility shelves, desks, bookcases etc until we now have the place almost inhabitable. It all remains very very primitive — for all the attractiveness it may seem to have in the above description. But it does contribute a modicum of livibility to these uninhabitable surroundings.

And now comes the rub — Just when I am beginning to cease complaining I am today notified that starting tomorrow I will go on detached service some miles from here in one of local ring-worm and constipation palladia — in short, a dispensary — and I have to move out lock, stock, barrel, typewriter and pajamas. This will not, of course, change my address — so that mailing problems are not added to the situation.