Monday afternoon

[May 24, 1943-jlt]

Dear Mavis,

Received two letters in the mail this morning and I am so glad that you are doing alright. I suppose I owe someone an apology, for Muriel wrote me an air mail letter Thursday night, but she must not of mailed it until Friday morning. Anyway I have cooled off now that you are doing alright. I suppose I will know more when you are able to write me a four or five page letter.

Mama got letters from Hiram, Ruthel and Mary Emma this morning. Hiram is in Greenville, Pennsylvania. He said it was a new camp and very muddy there. The trees are just beginning to bud out there, so it must still be cool up there. He said the place was just a place where they formed Divisions, and then transferred them to some other camp before going across. Ruthel is coming down on the eight o'clock train tomorrow night to stay a few days before going back up there to work. Don't know if she has a job or not. She said they had rented two rooms in the house where Zora and Emma live for thirty-five dollars per month. They will have plenty of room now to fuss about. The three rooms will cost them fifty-five dollars, guess that is cheap enough for a place like Memphis. Mary Emma always wants to know how son is getting along. I feel sorry for her when he dies. I thought he was going to pass away last night, but he is still alive today.

I saw a good show last night, the name of it was "The Hard Way", with Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan and Joan Leslie. It was a drama picture. It had a wonderful plot, about two sisters and what they wanted out of life and what they had to pay for it. It had a good moral lesson in it.

If you were here I would let you try to guess how much they charged me for the little work they done on the car last week. Just thirty-four dollars and eighty-eight cents. Can you imagine it? I thought it ought to be around twenty dollars.

Here comes the weather report. There is a very dark cloud in the north, and it is thundering. I would like to get a little more work done before it rains if I can. Just like a a farmer, for you know they are never satisfied. I have a few more potato plants I want to get out before it rains. The cotton, corn and beans are growing so fast now that it is a pleasure to cultivate them and watch them grow.

I wonder what my little Johnnie is doing and how he is behaving while his mama is in the hospital. I bet he is such a sweet little fellow that his Mama and Papa Shinn will not want you to bring him back to Mississippi.

Don't think that there is anything wrong about many letters coming your way, but if I can give you just a little information of how dull a farmer's life is here on Dry Bayou my time won't be wasted. I hope it won't be long before you will be able to be up.

With lots of love,

Ruel