B007RT1UH4 EBOK (6 page)

To Edith Gaddis

Cortaro, Arizona

[6 April 1942]

Dear Mom—

Well—back at last, and what a trip. I got here yesterday afternoon about two P.M., having got a ride thru from near Yuma.

That hitch-hiking works out well. I “cheated” once—took a bus from L.A. to Indio; I never could have gotten a ride out of L.A.

And so now I’m going to start looking around here for a job. I could have got one out on the coast but I don’t like it a bit out there, and it seems any thing but healthful.

What I’d like to do is work around here until the beginning of May and then start out and see the north west and west and work east in June.

There’s an ad in the paper today by a ‘large electrical firm’ for ‘young men 18 to 22’ so I’m going to see what’s cooking.

Came back from L.A. with three dollars so my one week’s thousand mile trip wasn’t so expensive after all—and I got a hair cut!—First since January fifth!

Love

Bill

P.S. How do you like my new ‘G’ in Gaddis on the envelop? I think it’s better.

To Edith Gaddis

Cortaro, Arizona

[8 April 1942]

Dear Mom—

Well this is just to tell you about the latest intriguing offer and plans. There is a couple here—an elderly deaf woman and her feeble minded son (!) from Saint Louis Mo.—and they plan to return the fifteenth. However they want someone to drive them—that is share driving with the son—only about 200 miles a day apiece! They have a ’38 Buick—and have offered me the job!—They pay all car expenses—and my quarters at nite—leaving me only meals to pay for—so I think I’ll do it.

As it looks now we leave the fifteenth—Wednesday—and so around the twentieth I can receive mail at Gen’l Delivery–St. Louis.

Love

Bill

To Edith Gaddis

St. Louis, Missouri

[20 April 1942]

Dear Mom—

Well here in St. Louis at last—we got here Sunday afternoon—and what a trip. You see this woman is hard of hearing—and her son Otto, who’s about 23—is sort of—simple. He went thru college—then started in at Harvard (!) and then cracked up it seems.

Anyhow we got here—after going thru Carlsbad Caverns etc.—and I figured on staying here with these people until I could get myself a job—or a river boat down to New Orleans—then back to Tucson; but chances for jobs on boats were very slim, and I finally ended up down on the river where the government is building a levee—so tomorrow morning I am to go down and see about a job there—it looks good, and I saw the boss yesterday and he said that if I came back in the morning he thot chances looked good. It is 55¢ an hour—you board and room on the boat there—and it amounts to about $22 a week cleared. I figure that if I work there for about two or four weeks I can make a good enough stake to get back to Arizona.

I know just how things are at home—I mean no car—and George, Henry Cliff and probably Arvid gone—and I’d thot about it that way—so here’s what I figure. You see Ross may buy an old car and start east around the thirtieth of May, so I may go with him. That would get me home around the middle of June—just right to see some of my old friends graduate etc.—and then, Mom—if you’ll do me a favour, and please see Gerald Haggerty and see how much chance I’d have to ship out in coastal or South American waters around June twenty-fifth—or do you think it would be better if I wrote him myself? At any rate that’s what I want to do. That would just round things out right.

Well that’s how things stand now—of course I may not get a job—then I’ll do as you said and go to a nice hotel and send for money. But other wise things should work out well; I have $4. which will keep me over until I get this job—then things will be fine.

I saw De Mills’ secretary and told her to send you the bill (and also told her what I thot of his $5 a call services and what they’d done for me!); also to the laboratory, for similar purposes!

I have shipped a box by express from Tucson (my old overcoat and a pair of steer’s horns)(collect) and intend to ship my big suit case today—I don’t need the shirts and pants in it (by express)(collect).

Will write tomorrow and let you know about the job—in the mean time don’t worry—I’m not.

Love

Bill

[
on back of envelope:
] P.S. When does Harvard June session start?

Otto: the name of a major character in
R,
who likewise went to Harvard and eventually “cracked up.” But see also notes to 29 October 1950.

Carlsbad Caverns: a popular tourist attraction in New Mexico.

Gerald Haggerty: unidentified.

De Mills: apparently another doctor WG consulted

To Edith Gaddis

Water Tower Station

2102 East Grand

St. Louis – Mo.

U.S. Quarterboat #1

Tuesday afternoon [21 April 1942]

Dear Mom—

Started work last nite at 4 P.M.; am on the 4–12 shift working eight hours a day. It is some job. I live with about seventy other fellows on the quarter boat—a big boat tied up here on the Mississippi east bank across from St. Louis.

I am getting 55 cents an hour, and after paying board here on the boat it comes out to about $21 a week. I think that after a couple of weeks I’ll have enough to go back to Tucson. Or perhaps I’ll work longer if I like it, tho I doubt this. You see Ross plans to get an old car and we might drive east together about the end of May, taking a week and a half or two I suppose. Then I might go to sea from New York, if it could be worked out, or get work in the east somewhere—perhaps on a dude ranch—or even come back west.

But then of course if you think it would be good to enter Harvard in June, that would change everything. I might come east from here, or get Ross to drive east early.

And so please send me the date for entry in June; it was probably in that
Accelerated Programmer
book, but I think I sent it back with that bag I shipped. So please tell me which you think would be best—Harvard in June, or a little more working around, until fall.

I seem to be in good physical condition; I had a physical exam and the doctor wrote ‘good’; the work is pretty hard (building a pipeline for a dredge in big hip boots etc!) and I’ll watch myself and if anything looks like it’s going wrong will go to the doc—however I think this work will build me up—
if anything
will, and it is an experience. The boys here are a ripping bunch, and the food good and plenty (4 meals a day). And they all think I’m an Arizona cowboy! We do have fun!

Love

Bill

To Edith Gaddis

St Louis, Missouri

[26 May 1942]

Dear Mom—

I know you had a hard time getting the birth certificate—and as for shipping out of New Orleans—I wouldn’t do that even if I did get down there—and I don’t expect to do that now—unless I’m fired and it should work out that way conveniently.

However I am planning on coming home in June—very definately unless something radical should happen—then we’ll plan from there—and at least have time to talk over the sea before I go, if I should.

We paint and scrape daily and pretty hard too, down below deck, but Frank (the captain) doesn’t seem to think we’re fast enough—so I may leave (by request!) any day! And say tell Granga I expect to be leaving this town about the eighth—she said she might come out here and I’d like seeing her. I expect to work thru the weekend of the 7
^th
—then leave and come home slowly—stop in Chicago—Indiana—Ohio—but of course the job may move or end before then, so I can’t be sure.

We go out once in a while but not often—I haven’t had a day off since I started so can’t do much and work next day. The time passes fast enough on the job it is rather monotonous and so this evening I went down to some 2
^nd
hand book stores—saw a
beautiful
copy of Omar Khayam’s
Rubaiyat
—leatherbound—I’ve read it and like it a great deal—but it was $6 so I left with a copy of Ibsen’s plays to help pass the time—

Love

Bill

Omar Khayam’s
Rubaiyat
: twelfth-century collection of Persian poems, especially popular in Edward FitzGerald’s nineteenth-century translation.

Ibsen’s plays: his
Peer Gynt
(1867) plays an important role in
R.