March 13, 1945

March 13, 1945

949 W 12th St

San Pedro, Calif

Dear Mother, Father, and the rest of the folks at home,

Tonite I feel tired and disgruntled but actually I cannot think of any reason why I should feel that way. In fact, I can only think of reasons not to feel that way, but nonetheless I feel that way. Perhaps it is that all the nice long letters that I get from home paint such a desirable picture of things there that anything here seems dull and uninteresting by comparison. I know you’ll say that things aren’t always so nice there and I should be satisfied where I am but it isn’t as simply done as all that. Well, maybe tomorrow I shall feel more like enduring this land awhile longer; just now I am thoroly fed up with it.

My work is coming along very nicely at present. By the end of the week it should have been more or less completed so that I can start on something more interesting — namely concentration and isolation of sulfur compounds found in petroleum stocks and fractions by various means. This work has been in the offing for sometime but other work has kept intruding. Not too much work has been done with some types of sulfur compounds so the work should prove interesting.

You are going to think me very foolish when I tell you one thing that I have done. I have bought another car. I hope this one turns out better than the other one. it is a Model A Ford coupe (1929). I paid too much for it of course — $295 — but it was the only decent looking thing I have been able to locate (and I have had the car-buying bug again for awhile, but haven’t told you since I was pretty sure you would throw cold H₂O on the whole idea). I intend to drive it to work, since I am almost certain that I can get the gas. Dwight will ride with me. On the whole I am fairly well satisfied with the whole deal even tho I did dump about 15% of my savings in it. Mrs. Johnson approves of it, but I think she is prejudiced in favor of it, since I can take her up to Pasadena to see some of her friends occasionally. I hope you don’t think I was too terribly foolish in doing this.

The weather has been sort of ½ rainy the last two days. Tonite it is sort of chilly, but the paper says it should clear up tomorrow. Dwight thought it would rain, but I thought it would rain very little and I was nearer to correct than he was since altho it has look[ed] very threatening at times, it hasn’t done much about it.

Mrs. Johnson laughed when I thanked her from you for making me get some rubbers. She is very nice but she isn’t you, dear fat mama.

I think I shall take a hot bath and go to bed and read

With love

C.P.

P.S. Only 9 more months till vacation time