October 7, 1943

10/7/43

Dear Folks,
Got your letter today. I have been going out to the “Big Creek” spike camp this week to set up a foreman’s quarters. We got done tonight. We rode out in a truck every day it takes about an hour each way. I didn’t like it very well. We made the building here in camp, it was the prefabricated kind.
I think I am going to get to work in the wood shop for a while at least till I get it fixed up again. I don’t know whether I want to stay here this winter or not yet. I should make up my mind and cancel my application to the Coast and Geodetic if I stay. I like the shop work better than anything else but if they keep me fooling around on buildings I’d just as soon be surveying. The surveying looks good cause I’d get to see some other parts of the country. Right now I think I’m in favor of staying here more than going.
Twenty men just left on a fire before I got in from work tonight. I was a little disappointed not to get in on it. But I have been on three so I guess I shouldn’t be a hog. Maybe they will need some more then I’d get to go. Its kind of nice having a bunch gone, I had three cups of milk tonight. But the fire eats are much better quality.
I’m inclosing my shoe stamp. I don’t need it and I’ll bet some one of you can use it. The ration board has all of our books and they issue us a special shoe stamp when we want to get shoes so all I did was fill out the blank to get a pair of shoes and I got the stamp and I guess its nobody’s business if I send it home. I’m sure that you can get rid of it.
Say but the country is really filling up with new babies around there. I’ll bet Bob is strutting around like every thing now.
Well, I guess I’m about out of anything to say.
“Abundant Living” is good stuff. I suspect that skipping around is a pretty good system for you Dad. Some of the stuff at the first got a little monotonous. I just passed page 100 a day or so ago and there is some good stuff there. I read today or yesterday about the human mind being made to do creative thinking and work and if we get into some thinking or work that we don’t think is creative we aren’t living normaly. I could think of people and times when I had seen that happen but didn’t know what was happening. It seems that a person has to be making progress or he just isn’t happy.
I reckon that I’ll have to start telling Dad not to work too hard again now that bean season is on. Just don’t get into a mental sweat, life is too short,
With love and stuff,
Bernard
P.S. I almost forgot the cookies. Thanks a lot Mom. They are just as good as ever after that long trip. The fellows like them too. They got here Monday