Cpl Roman F. Klick 36620923
Co "A", 353rd Engr Regt
A.P.O. #502, c/o Postmaster
San Francisco, California
31 October 1943

It is eleven o'clock in the morning of this lazy Sunday and I haven't been out of bed for more than a half an hour. The reason I got up so late this morning was because I didn't get to bed until one o'clock or later last night. Tom Campbell and I talked in the office until about eleven thirty and then I ran into Larry Isaacson who was on watch in the Regimental Tent. By the time I got into my own tent it was well past twelve o'clock and I found that John Edie had put two Chicago Times on my bed so I read those just before hitting the hay.

I had the most peculiar dreams last night. One was that we had come back to the United States but instead of going home or setting up camp in the states, we just got on board of a troop train and sped clear across the continent. The irony of it was that we were held over incommunicado for one entire evening in Chicago! When we arrived at the other end of the continent we were immediately shipped out to no man's land once again which turned out to be someplace in Italy. That is when my dream ended. And the best part about it was that you didn't know a thing about the transfer until I could write and tell you of the arrival in Italy.

Another dream I had was that I was riding a horse which is just as fantastic a dream as the one up above because the closest I've been to being on a horse was the ten cent pony rides when I was small. All I know is that the horse started going rather fast with me bumping up and down on its back without knowing how to stop the animal.

Just before coming into the office a short while back, I ran into Sol Gordon who says the movie has been changed for this evening and instead of the reshowing of "The Woman of the Year" we are to have "Night to Remember" with Loretta Young. That is both good and bad news. Good because the fellows will have a different picture to see, bad because now I will waste my evening watching the lousy thing when I thought I would have a free night again.

Coming out of my sleep this AM I noticed a newcomer in the tent. It was a friend of Burkard's and they were talking about the price of tomatoes and things. Then they brought up the subject of preserving and I entered the conversation. I started telling the fellows how many preserves you have and how we haven't any more room to put them. Well, my goodness, Aunty Clara, they just about laughed right to my face. They said that is about what they have left over from the year before and wanted to know how small of a cellar we had. That is when I realized I had made a mistake in talking to country people who just spend their entire summer and fall canning and preserving and fixing up a great big stock pile of food in their cellars. When compared to city folks, your reserve is immense; but when compared to the professionals at the game, it naturally does not amount to very much. It is funny how things like that can all be a matter of degree. It is just like monetary wealth. One person can think he is well off with an income of $2000 a year but a person who is earning $500 a week will just smile at $40 a week.

The results of today's mail are not known as yet but within an hour's time I will either have had some or not have had some. In a way I hope that I do not receive any mail from anyone but you today in order that I may catch up on the five unanswered letters.

Now that the Christmas packages are coming in you should just see the wrist watches sprouting up all over the place. The peculiar thing about them is that they all seem to be Swiss makes. Mersing has a brand new Bulova watch and I was amazed to see the thing in good condition for they had sent it to him in the small watchcase with just one piece of corrugated cardboard wrapped abound it.

So-long,
/s/ Roman
Roman