Dreams of Decent Food, Clean Places, and Other Things

July 28, 1953

Panama

USS Valley Forge going through the Panama Canal, ca. 1953

Hi Angel,

Well, we finally made Panama. We got here at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. We are still on the Pacific side. Tomorrow we go through the canal into the Atlantic side.

I was over in Panama City last night. It's just like all the other ports, except a little hotter.

They have a lot of Oriental merchandise for sale here, the same stuff we bought in Japan, but the prices are a lot higher.

Honey, that's a pretty good idea, taking the first and last week of my leave for your vacation, if you can get it that way. Some companies don't like to split vacations.

It sure will be nice to get home again. I think a leave will set me up for the rest of my time, unless I can get a few days at Christmas, I probably won't take any more leave.

Now, I guess you will know better than to put a blanket over a light bulb in our house. You might burn the "damn place down." HA 

We will be gone from Norfolk from about the 17th of August to the 6th of September, at least. Most of the time we will be qualifying air groups. We will only be in Nova Scotia about 3 or 4 days.

Yes, Darling, that apartment with you to come home to every night sounds good, but it won't be easy for me to get shore duty. In fact, to get it, I would have to extend for a year in the outfit and I don't want to do that. Four years in here is enough.

I would like to get married now and start raising our baseball team.

I dream of coming home to a sweet little wife like you having a place to sit down and someone to make love to and talk with. 

Also, some decent food and a clean well kept place. But those things aren't easy. I know as much as we love each other we could make it work, but I would like to make is as easy for you as possible, and in here, I can't.

The first thing I'll say to you the first morning you wake me up will probably be, "Go 'way woman and let me sleep another week." 

I never used to sleep so much, but since I've been a sailor, all I do is sleep when we are not operating.

I think we talked about 6 or 7 minutes when I called. I will call you again when we get to Norfolk. 

That dream you had sounds nice. Dreaming is something I seldom do. Guess I sleep too soundly.

Doll, we will talk more of getting married when I get home.

Norm, I gotta sign off.

Answer real soon.

I love you, angel,

Jim

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