A FARM KID, (NOW AT San Diego MARINE CORP RECRUIT TRAINING )

 

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 all of the places are filled.

 

I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly

6 a.m. but I 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 nothing.

 

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 until 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's 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 school

teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school principal.

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. I only beat him once. He joined up

the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6'' and 130 pounds and he's 6'8''

and 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,

 

Sue Ellen

There's a huge council house near my street, The extended family is run by a grumpy old woman with a pack of fierce dogs.

Her car is not taxed or insured and hasn't even got a number plate but the police do nothing.

Her bad-tempered old man is famous for upsetting foreigners with racist comments.

A shopkeeper blames him for ordering the murder of his son but nothing has been proved.

 

All their kids have broken marriges except the youngest, who everyone thinks is gay.

 

Two grandsons are meant to be in the army but are always seen out in nightclubs.

The familys odd antics are always in the papers, They are out of control.

 

"Who'd live near Windsor castle?"

Pmsl, both of those made me chuckle! nice one. Oh and I can tell you from experience that the 'city boy' description in the first one is a pretty good description of a US Marine! They can lift 150kg (or whatever a big lump of metal weighs) whilst sitting on a bench but stick a 100lb bergen on their back and yomp them across the hills and they don't last 5 minutes. Must admit though they would have lasted 5mins longer if they hadn't started yomping with their bomber jackets on because they couldn't handle the cold weather in the morning!! dehydration here we come...