Danced

Ben is at the University of Connecticut in the Army Specialized Training Program.     He reports to his sister about the happier time he had on Saturday night in Willimantic, CT. 
 

November 21, 1943
Letter to sister, Ruth
Sunday

Dear Ruth,
Well, I’m writing this letter in a different mood than the one I wrote you last weekend.  I went to Willimantic yesterday and had a swell time.  I saw “Sahara”, which I thought was very good.  Then I went to the U.S.O...... and danced!  Not very much, I admit, cause there wasn’t much time.  Nothing is doing at the U.S.O. before ten o’clock, when the first show lets out, cause practically all the soldiers go to the show.  Then they start piling in.  It gets more crowded each week. 

They had a 5 piece orchestra there for the first time.  I met one of my roommates who can’t dance, but he had his girl, so we danced a couple of dances.  Then they had a Paul Jones, so I got in a few more dances.  Then I met the girlfriend of another roommate who went to Hartford this weekend, and I danced with her. 

But I couldn’t dance with any of them like I can with you.  I guess I’ll have to learn to lead better.  When the dance was over at 12, we went out and had something to eat and drink.  Then we took the girls home.

All in all, I had a swell time, probably the best spent Saturday night since I’ve been here.  But I can still do a lot of improving on myself.

The weather here is beautiful today.  Just like Spring.  I bet you wish you were up here instead of being in the dreary weather Rochester is experiencing.  I was sorry to hear about the package, but it was probably the mishandling of the packages by the Post Office.  When I worked there, I used to see them throw them all over, sometimes missing the basket and hitting the floor.

Love,
Ben

Tension

Ben is 18 years old.  He is at the University of Connecticut for A.S.T.P. school.  Here he tells his folks not to be shocked if he cheats on his upcoming exams because he doesn’t want to be out of the ASTP before he gets his furlough over Christmas.   Florence, Ben’s wife, could see how much a furlough meant to him and the other soldiers.  And she says, “Within our 53 years together, I never saw Ben cheat or heard him lie.  In fact, he was brutally honest.”

November 20, 1943   
Storrs, Conn.
Friday Night

Hello Folks,
It’s me again.  No special homework to do except reading, but I can do that Sunday so I’m taking it easy tonight.  We got brand new desk lamps yesterday, which makes it much easier on our eyes.  That twitch I had in my eye has disappeared, so I’m all right physically, the only thing wrong being that I’m not too happy most of the time.

 As I think I told Ruth; sometimes I feel like I want to stay here but then I think of all the work, and tension, and the way I’m always tired and I want to be shipped out, but then I don’t know what’s ahead of me, so I’m in a hell of a state of mind.  That’s why I’m not too interested in my studies anymore, even though I make a stab at it every night.  It doesn’t do to pay any attention in Physics anymore, cause I’m so hopelessly confused, though I passed the exam.  I’ll have to cut out sleeping in class, though -- getting too many hotfoots!  We give them to everybody that goes to sleep.

And some nights, some bug gets into all of us and we have a riot in the room.  Pushing kids down the hall on top of dressers; throwing bags of water on the kids in the room below when they stick their heads out of the window; having battles with coke bottles; and one night, when two of the fellows were in bed, another showers them with the refuse from the wastepaper basket.  All such nonsense as that.  It helps to lift our spirits.

The other night we had a 15 minute blackout.  A fellow from another room came in with his blouse & garrison hat on & told us to keep away from the window & to shut off the radio.  In the dark, we thought it was the Sarge. But when we found out______!!  Today was just like a Spring day.  It was lovely.  But from our window we can still see some of the ice left on the lake from a couple of days ago.  What changeable weather.

There are a lot of planes always flying around here.  Sometimes they circle around & do some stunts for us.  Like today, there was a trainer that was circling & banking right outside our window.  So low we could see the pilot. 

I haven’t received the box as yet, but my mouth is watering for that salami. About the exams ---  The only thing I flunked was math, which I expected.  If I’m still here for the next exams, I don’t mind telling you that I’m going to cheat as much as I can.  Don’t be shocked.  It’s no longer a matter of knowing the stuff yourself, it’s so you’ll be able to stay around for the Christmas furlough (Friday night to Sunday night) and for the furlough at the end of the term.  After the term is over, I won’t care about flunking out at all.

Some fellows in the Air Corps that flunked out this time, left a few days ago.  They’re supposed to read another shipping list next week sometime.  Well, that’s about all.

Love,
Ben