Editor’s note: On 3/15/39, Nazi Germany invaded Czechoslovakia.
3/15/39
Darling:
Yippee! Payday! Now I can eat again. I was down to my last $15 which wasn’t too terrible, but I was nevertheless glad to see the eagle walk.
Didn’t get your Saturday night letter until Tuesday anyhow. We’ve been having a hell of a lot of rain around here also. I got caught in a small cloud burst this noon, but discretion got the better part of valor and I ended up in a doorway. I think that an occasional show will help you a lot, especially funny ones. In fact, I think it is an awful good idea. In fact—aw, hell, you get what I’m driving at, hi.
Tell Conk I’ll brain him if I don’t get pictures, or at least a picture, of Betty. After all, I was practically in attendance at her birth! Thinking as much of Jo and Bill as I do, I almost feel paternal—or is it grandpaternal—about the two kids. You might remind him that he owes me a letter for this year, as well as several dozen from past years.
What else is new here? Oh, yes, I bought two more books. Honey, you probably will want to choke me, as they are more Wodehouse. The titles are Brinkley Manor and The Week-end Wodehouse. I am half through the first and the second will soon be devoured. It isn’t terribly expensive, though, as they cost a little over three bucks for the pair. I generally stick to 50 cent editions, but I splurged a little this time.
I was a good boy last evening. Do you remember that problem I spend so much time on for Wells-G* last summer, the one upon which I put in three weeks of solid calculating machine work? Well, I have another one of more general interest which covers exactly the same thing, although it is different mechanically. Mathematically, they are the same problem. There is little chance of solution, but it will be terribly useful if I can figure out a practical method of attack on the problem other than cut-and-try, which is the present method. I spent about four hours yesterday evening trying to beat out the answer. About ten, I gave up and went walking. After tossing three beers down the hatch in 15 minutes time, I went slumming. Honey, when I drink beer, I need your restraining influence. After wandering around the slums, which aren’t essentially different from those of other cities, I stopped in a hamburger joint. Don’t laugh, but when I asked for chili, they had never heard of it. The same thing was found in several other restaurants. There is little difference between the Greek joints here and in the middle west. The waitresses are not all there mentally and can probably be had for little price, the customers are always talking about the big deal they are about to pull off which will release them from all future work, and the proprietors are busy devising schemes of giving both the landlord and the customers less.
Sfunny, I believe today is the first day since I arrived that I didn’t get any mail. But my darling has been so darned good to me in the past three weeks that I could probably miss a week without losing sleep over it—better not test out this statement, or I’ll club you! Seriously, though, you have been fine. As you know, because of what has happened in the past, I was a little afraid to leave you just when I did. But I realize now how foolish I was. No one could write the completely unselfish letters you do and be other than wildly in love. In case you haven’t guessed it, I’m kind of proud of the gal I got. And I still think that I’m the first one who ever really “got” her—this going in every respect.
It takes me a total of about a minute to put the return address on the envelope and the letter. This is equivalent to about 2 cents. So I am going down this afternoon and have some letter heads and envelopes turned out. I suppose I shall get about 200. The letter-heads will be similar to Aikens, with my name and address in small type in the center of the page. The envelopes will merely have the address on the back flap. They both will be the same size as I now use, and on the same grade of paper. They should save time, and make my letters look a good deal better, both personal and business.
Well, darling, it looks like I may spend a week-end at home this week. Perhaps I shall get some work done, who knows. I don’t know how RCA is on fiction writing, but if I write under another name, which I would do for fiction anyhow, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. Any technical writing which I do will have to go through a bunch of red tape.
Gotta go, baby girl. Take care of yourself, because you must—for me. 35 more days until, just a little more than a month. How are the finances? I don’t want anything to get in the way of starting things as soon as possible (19th). I wouldn’t say anything about it to anyone barring Doris & Cliff, Fritz & Dorothy, and Wayne, until after it is all over. That will give your maw and the battle-axe as little warning as possible. Darling, I don’t see how they can stop anything, but keep me posted of all events. The old gray matter is yet active enough to be of some potential use in a jam. That’s where it was educated.
Love, Cy with more love than I can express.
*I believe he is referring to Wells-Gardner Electronics
Corp.http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/71/Wells-Gardner-Electronics-Corporation.html