A Little Smile

[Phil_Ruffin]

Nothing like a little smile to get your day started right...

[Phil_Ruffin]

LETTER FROM A FARM KID, NOW AT SAN DIEGO MARINE CORPS*RECRUIT DEPOT

Dear Ma and Pa:

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer*the Marine Corps beats working
for old man Minch by a mile.**Tell them to join up quick before maybe all of the places are filled.*
I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly*6 a.m., but am getting so I like to sleep late.

Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth*your cot and shine some things.
No hogs to slop, feed to*pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothin.
Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water.

Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal,* eggs, bacon,*etc., but kind of weak on chops,
potatoes, ham, steak, fried*eggplant,pie and other regular food. But tell Walt and Elmer*you can always
sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their*food plus yours holds you till noon, when you get fed again.
It's no*wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route" marches,*which the Platoon Sergeant says
are long walks to harden us.**If he thinks so, it is not my place to tell him different. A "route*march"*is about
as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get*sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.
The country is nice, but*awful flat.

The Sergeant is like a schoolteacher. He nags some. The*Capt. is like the school board. Majors and Colonels
just*ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep*getting medals for shooting. I don't know why.
The bulls-eye*is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move. And it ain't shooting at you, like the
Higgett boys at home. All you got to*do is lie there all comfortable and hit it.

You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.**Then we have what they call hand-to-hand
combat training.**You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real*careful though, they break
real easy. It ain't like fighting with*that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except*for that
Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. He joined*up the same time as me. But I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds
and*he's 6'8" and weighs near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before*other fellers get onto this setup and come
stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
~ Gail ~

[Whirlydog]

;D ;D ;D Phil, AS bill and Ted would say. "EXCELENT"

I haven't had such a good laugh in quite awhile.

Shawn ;D ;D ;D