June 30, 1946

June 30, 1946

664 W 13th

San Pedro, Calif

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

Well, another Sunday has come. It is right after church now — not the usual Sunday-letter-writing time — but I feel like writing it now so I will proceed to get it off. It is a nice, fairly cool, sort of mistily-sunshiny day which would be good for working if you felt like working; but if you don’t, it’s almost ideal for just lying around loafing.

Friday night I went to a show, by name “Cluny Brown.” It was a sort of satire on English customs and manners and was really quite funny I thought. I went early so I didn’t have to sit thru the other half of the double feature which certainly started outi n a rather uninteresting way.

Saturday went off, at least at the beginning as usual. I got up, read till about 8:30, went downtown to breakfast, took some pants to the cleaners, did some shopping (I got a couple of ink brushes and some groceries etc) and went to the bank. Then I went home and read etc till 12:00 when I started off for mu first music lesson in resuming them. I believe I wrote to you last time that I intended to start in again. it was quite an interesting lesson and I believe that I will get much more out of these lessons than I did out of Mrs. Searcy’s lessons. Well, we’ll see. Afterward I rode out to Cabrillo beach and took some pictures while scrambling over the rocks. After some supper and a visit to the library I came home & worked on my scrapbooks till about nine o’clock, then took a shower and went to bed.

I didn’t get up till 6:30 today and drew cartoons till about 8:30, and read till 10:00 when I went downtown for breakfast. I don’t know what effect the lapse (perhaps temporary) of O.P.A. will have on meals here in San Pedro. If it has too great an effect I think I shall ask Mrs. Rosell if I could fix my own breakfasts here. I am almost sure she would say all right since she has told me I could use the icebox whenever I pleased. Church went off about as usual this morning. Next Sunday I suppose I’ll go to church with Vivian. I am certainly looking forward to seeing her.

This afternoon I think I shall listen to the broadcast of the atom bomb test from Bikini Atoll. Probably there won’t be much to hear, but it would be nice to say you heard it anyway. I am certainly waiting to see the movies of it when they are released. Perhaps toward evening I will go down to church & play for awhile.

I’ll take this opportunity of again wishing you a very happy birthday, mother. There was a bouquet of pansies in church today and, as usual, they reminded me of you.

With love

C.P.

June 27, 1946

June 27, 1946

664 W 13th

San Pedro, Calif

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

It is a nice, quite evening tonite. The day started off rather drearily but this afternoon it has been quite clear altho not too warm. Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday were quite warm days while I was working up at Dominguez, and it is always warmer up there than at Wilmington. Also, since I was preparing a pilot plant batch of catalyst I was using my muscles more (yes, I still have some), therefore I was perspiring more and feeling correspondingly warmer. I am afraid that I am slowly achieving a disinclination to exert myself physically even if I have to.

Well, a week from today Vivian should have set foot (or feet) on the warm, dusty soil of Calif. I suppose there are places where you couldn’t shake the dust from your shoes as for example in the Arctic Circle, but Calif certainly isn’t one of them. Shell Development no doubt has Thursday off but I haven’t heard about Friday; I doubt very much that we get it off. It will be a lot of fun to see her again. By the way, I think that is is beneath her dignity as a school marm to allow one of her pupils to court her. She will get tired of it & he’ll be hurt and nobody will be happy over the situation (or so it says in the book where all pessimistic predictions originate).

Last night Mrs. Eldridge asked me up for supper & afterward I helped her write another letter to the Treasury dept truing to get them [to] reissue the bonds they lost. In the first letter, one form was required, which was filled out and sent in. Now, three more, plus a statement, certified, about the bonds must be made. I wonder iv they will want some more filled out. I would really laugh if she and a treasury dept official got together. He would certainly be adept at mixing up people ans she is the most mix-up-able person there ever was (of course, she had a head start in that she never thought a coherent series of thoughts ever in her life). She probably could get even the treasury dept official mixed up if he didn’t watch out. I asked her about Vivian’s being there for a couple of days & she said it was o.k. only to let her know as soon as possible.

I didn’t get to my room till nine o’clock, so I decided to sleep this morning instead of going down to church and practicing, so I did so. I have located another piano teacher (a better on than Mrs. Searcy) so I think I will restart taking lessons in the near future. Perhaps I am foolish in doing so, but I’ll see how it works out.

I neglected to get a card this evening, so I will have to take this opportunity of wishing for you, mother, a very happy birthday, and many happy returns of the day. Be sure and go into the big celebrationa nd really enjoy yourself!

With love

C.P.

June 2, 1946

June 2, 1946

664 W 13th

San Pedro, Calif

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

Today and yesterday have been “Chamber of Commerce” Calif days — except of course that the days started out cloudy. This cleared up tho by about ten or so and the rest of each day was very clear. Like the radio announcer I heard say, “Summer has come to Calif for sure at last.” It will be nice if he is right.

Friday evening the party for the Nyquists was held — it was rather dull but fortunately didn’t last very long. It was after ten tho when I got back to my room tho. Saturday I got up about six and went down to church and played on the piano till about 8:30; then went downtown for breakfast. Usually on Saturdays & Sundays I breakfast at Thrifty’s but they had shut down the restaurant part of the store on Saturday for some reason so I had to go elsewhere. This means that I will have to look around for another good palce to eat in the future. After breakfast I bought some lunch provisions for the next week’s lunches, went to the bank, bought some shorts (I got 5 pairs of knit shorts; this really surprised me) and a couple of T-shirts. I went to the library for awhile and then had dinner about the middle of the afternoon. In the evening I went up to My. Neiburg’s, the church treasurer, and helped him run down a discrepancy between his books & the bank balance. I didn’t get to bed till after eleven.

This morning I got up and read till time to breakfast & after church I played on the piano till after 2. I came back to my room, changed clothes, went downtown, had dinner, took a walk and came back about 5. Since then I have read etc till now, when of course, I am writing this. It is cooling off now so perhaps I’ll take a little walk and mail this.

That just about summarizes my activities to date. By the way, when is Vivian coming? if she wants to stay a couple of days down in San Pedro, she can stay at Mrs. Eldridge’s; she offered me to do so in church this morning. It might be nice since it is quite a ways by P.E. between Pasadena & San Pedro. Anyway, she can think about it.

This is all for now.

With love

C.P.

May 26, 1946

May 26, 1946

664 W 13th St

San Pedro, Calif

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

A couple of weeks ago I wrote in one of my letters home that I felt like homesteading in the Sierra Nevada, for various reasons. As you intimated, mother, I was really writing words rather than thoughts at this time, but nonetheless there is a measure of desire on my part for such an existence. Probably the most desirable aspect of such an existence, as far as I am concerned, would be the time available for just thinking. I used to believe, and that up till not too long ago that thinking only made you more perplexed and unhappy. Your thoughts would lead to conclusions unsettling to your previous placid, unthinking state of mind and would thereby initiate, annoy and disquiet you. However, what is the use of just letting your mind stagnate, even if it induces a surface calm in your spirit? It becomes more and more apparent to me as I grow older that even if thinking leads to an impasse it is still desirable — it surely shows where no definite statement one way or the other can be made. Then too, there is always the possibility that thinking may clarify the issue in mind, and that would be truly worthwhile.

Further it seems to me, that clear thinking is aided by simply being alone. You have to watch yourself tho, not to let your thoughts start running in a rut, which can easily happen. In this respect I have been quite fortunate since my scholastic training and experience in working in research have cultivated in my mind a natural tendency to an unbiased, unprejudiced approach to a problem. Perhaps natural tendency is the wrong phrase. It isn’t natural, I don’t think in anybody. It’s there all right in many, but it depends on circumstances whether it develops or not. Well anyway I think that a life of comparative solitude would suit me fine. I could spend a lot of time just contemplating, with the reasonable assurance that, because of my previous experience, I could control my contemplations so that they would not be idle, but instead truly constructive. Hiding myself in the mountains would certainly give me solitude.

I suppose everybody sooner or later attempts to analyze his own feelings, ambitions — where they come from, what they mean, whether they are worthwhile or not. I am no exception in this regard; perhaps I think too much about it (there, it slipped out; so hard to old ideas die). Anyway, I am sure that if a person approaches this analysis in the correct way, it can do a lot of good, in settling his problems. I have by no means settled the problems in my life, but I believe I can state that I have removed various worries (tho they still recur occasionally) from my thinking, and have therefore achieved a calmer and saner outlook on life. Perhaps it is just a consequence of growing older but I think not. At any rate I feel that I am a more rational being now than I was a year ago.

Most of the time since I was in high school I have managed to cloak the physical signs of the more violent emotions, as anger, altho I have lapsed occasionally, but less so as time passed. Much more difficult has been the attempt to attain a similar control of the actual emotions involved; the success has been correspondingly less. A certain amount of progress has been, I believe, been made however. A few topics still arouse tumults in my mind, but I am now able, with application of little effort, to control the mental attitude towards petty annoyances. Well, anyway, I have reached the point, or am approaching it, of emotional stability so that a life of contemplation would conceivably lead to the answers to the problems that confront me, or which I conceive to confront me.

In other words, I wouldn’t be wasting my time living alone. Not only do I feel that I could think clearly, because of education and experience, further I have removed in part attitudes of mind that would tend to hinder the same. Also, a life of solitude could not help but remove disquieting influences.

Of course you probably will say “What problems are there that would require such a program?” There really aren’t any, if you don’t want to meet them. Most people never even conceive of them, and many who do don’t consider them either because they don’t think they are worth the time or just aren’t important enough. Some think about them but only superficially. I’ll give you a couple of samples that have occurred to me (and to others before me) — perhaps I have mentioned them before — and that I think merit solitude for contemplation.

a. What is sin?

Ans.: Sin is everything contrary to the Will of God.

What is the will of God?

Ans.: The Will of God is that all men should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

What is truth?

What is knowledge of truth?

If we cannot define truth, how can we be sure that what we consider to be true, is true?

Is “the truth” a part or the whole of truth?

b. Is man necessarily the end product of the biological development of life?

c. How can an individual be certain that he exists?

Descartes had the classic answer when he said, “I think, therefore I am!” but even so the question deserves a thought.

d. Is it possible to make two statements, different from each other, but inconceivably different to my mind?

or, stated in another way,

Is there such a think as an absolutely definite thought?

or

Can one thought be differentially different from another thought?

The implications of (d) are astounding if the question is answered (that is, for example the third form stated) affirmatively.

e. What is thought?

All physiological processes are more or less complex chemical reactions (i.e., no definite division point between “animate” and “inanimate” matter can be shown to exist)

Do, then, mental process fall also under the classification of chemical reactions?

f. Is it possible to re-think the same thought?

There are others, but those were serve as samples. Their important is easily minimized and they are not easily answered as they may seem to be at first sight. To me a life of solitude devoted to the attempt to answer these questions, even the few stated above, would be worthwhile; perhaps a given answer is only applicable to a given individual; if so, it would still be worth knowing.

This is all for now.

With love

C.P.

May 22, 1946

May 22, 1946

664 W 13th

San Pedro, Calif

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

Well, what do you know if the sun didn’t come out today after 4 sunless days! It dawned clear and bright today, but it has been sort of half cloudy, half clear the rest of the day. It still isn’t warm yet, this evening it is quite chilly again, but maybe if the sun gets the idea and comes out a little more, it’ll warm up some. So much for the weather — it seems to be getting a little better. The transportation situation doesn’t look so good tho. Perhaps by tomorrow the P.E. workers will be on strike. I hope a last minute settlement is effect so that the strike is averted.

As usual I’m tired tonite after working all day. Perhaps you wonder sometimes if I am ever anything else but tired when I am writing a letter, since I seem to be including that remark quite regularly in them. I guess if I am not tired physically I am tired of being bored here, which make being tired a condition to be expected of me most of the time. This is an inane paragraph, isn’t it? Sort of like chasing a not very good idea around and not getting a very good grip on it so that it sounds odd, logicless, etc etc. I guess I’ll stop the paragraph here.

Tomorrow night the church is going to have a goodbye party for Rev & Mrs. Nyquist. He preached down at church for 3 or 4 months before Roderick Johnson came last summer (or was it afterward, I guess it was at that). They are going back to Kansas for awhile I guess he is going to the Synod. I am supposed to bring some cream for the refreshments but I didn’t find out about it till tonite and I certainly do not know where to get any. I guess I’ll get a couple of cans of canned milk and let them use that. I hadn’t intended to go to the affair, but I guess I’ll have to now.

I have been managing to get a loaf of bread each Saturday, mother so my lunches have been about the same. Even if I couldn’t get bread, I could always get something — if nothing else I could fall back on a soup diet. I could go out to the Shell Cafe and eat, but it is sort of unappetizing out there & I can dream up a better lunch, even without bread, to eat out at work. Moreover, it should be getting warm soon, and lunches sort of disintegrate into very sketchy affairs when you don’t feel like eating much because of the warm weather.

My work continues about as usual.

This is all for now.

With love,

C.P.

May 5, 1946

May 5, 1946

664 W 13th St

San Pedro, Calif

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

Sunday evening again. It’s a nice evening — cool with just a little breeze blowing and the sun rather low in the sky. Usually at this time of day the wind goes down and you can listen and hear things just as well as early in the morning. Strange isn’t [it], altho it’s capable of being easily explained on a physical basis, that a truly nice day starts end ends with calm. I suppose you could get started on a metaphysical discussion starting from that point but it is much simpler just to sit back and enjoy it. I wonder how often we don’t get simple physical pleasures like the feel of a breeze against your cheek, like taking off your shoes and putting on your slippers, like sitting down after a hard day and letting the weariness sort of leak out of you become all mixed up and complicated with ideas about what we should do and ought to do both for ourselves and or the world and people in general. We bludgeon ourselves into striving all our lives to do things, to be somebody, to influence others; it’s all wrong and we would to better to look at things a little more contemplatively. Perhaps I’m just getting balmy or something.

This Sunday was spent much like any other Sunday, so it’s banal to repeat what I did. It was breezy enuf this afternoon so I didn’t much feel like taking a walk. I went downtown to dinner about 2:30 and my hair (I washed it last nite as a diversion) blew all over as it does when recently shampooed. I don’t like (tho why should I) to have my hair blowing all over so I postponed taking the usual Sunday afternoon stroll till this evening. I’ll take this letter down to the post office and mail it.

Yesterday I went down to the beach and sat on the ocean side of the breakwater (there is quite an accumulation of sand about the rocks composing it) and read Time. It took more than [an] hour to do so, probably nearer two, and today my face is kind of sunburned altho perhaps it isn’t as much so as it seems to me.

Did you ever know that you could make pickled eggs? Last week a fellow out at work had one in his lunch. He said that his mother used to make them and that he likes them very much. All you do is hardboil the eggs, peel off the shell and soak them in a mixture of beet juice and vinegar, altho I don’t know how long. The white of the egg becomes a nice purple color, but the yolk is hardly effected, probably the diffusional process in it is much slower. Someday I am going to have to try to make some.

My work continues about as usual. Thank you for the clipping, dad. The Shell company also provides fellowships in various institutions, but I don’t know where they are. Usually when they grant them, there are no strings attached in any way so that it is entirely up to the schools to administer them.

This is all for now — I have run out of anything to write about, not of course saying that I have written anything anyway.

With love,

C.P.

April 28, 1946

April 28, 1946

664 W 13th St

San Pedro, Calif

Dear Father, Mother, “Hotspot” (our third baseman) and the rest of the folks at home,

I was very sorry to hear in your last letter that Marold had not been feeling well, mother, and I trust that by now he is feeling better. It would really be the cake if he did get the measles (and had one big measle in the middle of his back). Probably it was as you suggest only an attack of the flu, aggravated by an afternoon of picking up corn. From what I can remember of picking up corn it is second only to potato picking as a 1st class aggravator.

It is quiet and peaceful tonite but it has been rather cool all day. Yesterday it was much warmer and sunnier. Today the sun has been sort of half hidden by clouds all day. I took a walk in the afternoon and wishing I had worn more than the jacket I took along. It was nice walking along tho. I wandered out to the bluff overlooking the harbor at about 19th St and then walked down to the U where they were having a Vesper Service at 4:00 p.m. The Norwegian Luth. Church Chair gave a program. It was fairly good I thought. Afterward I stopped downtown for a hamburger and a cup of coffee before hastening home to hear Fred Allen, only to find out that he is off the air for the season or something because I couldn’t find him anyplace on the radio. So I sat down to write this letter home (after reading awhile).

As usual I didn’t get very much done yesterday. I got up about the same time as usual went downtown for breakfast and accomplished the errands I had to do, such as taking my dirty clothes to the laundry and going to the bank. In the afternoon I went to a show but it was so stinky that I left after an hour or so and went to the library and browsed around. After supper I came home and got to talking to a fellow who is also a roomer here and has a room next to mine. He is in the navy, but he is improving on his odd moments by enrolling for several music courses at the L.A. Conservatory of Music [part of CalArts since 1961]. He was quite an interesting fellow. Afterward I took a shower and went to bed.

My work is coming along pretty good. Friday night I felt rather happy. One of the catalysts I had made was turning out (at least on the basis of preliminary results) better than any other that had been made & tried on the current problem. What was best tho was that the opinion of the two groups who came down from Emeryville was the same as that I had in making the catalyst. This week should be a fairly busy one since the mechanical department should have the new catalyst manufacturing setup ready to Dominguez and the first preparations up there will get under way.

I wrote to Verner Sat. I got a letter form him, and I felt really ashamed at not having written to him sooner since he has sent a lot of letters to me that I haven’t got around to answering. He isn’t like Vivian. When you don’t write to her, she lets you know about it. It is almost fun to hold off writing to her so she will get her dander up and write a “huffy” letter telling you off.

I guess I’ll go down to church tonite. I don’t know why I go but it certainly isn’t to hear him talk. But then it is easy enough to think about something else and not listen to him. Sometimes I wonder how much of the time I have spent supposedly listening to sermons has been spent thinking entirely different from the subject under discussion. Probably the best excuse for a sermon is that it forcibly provides you with a period of time when you can’t do very much else than indulge in contemplation, as a means of self-defense.

With love

C.P.

April 18, 1946

April 18, 1946

1046 W 24th St

San Pedro, Calif.

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

I got your letter written Monday, mother, today and I could just see you “fenced in” as you wrote it. From the sounds of things you have certainly gone in for some very considerable painting, papering and renovating activities this spring. I am surely looking ahead to seeing it all come next August when I am home on vacation. Calif is looking a little greener now as a result of the late rains we had, but even so it isn’t too green. On the way to work, I can look out of the P.E. and see the sweet corn patches the Mexicans have planted, where the corn is just beginning to come up — very reminiscent of Iowa, except that it isn’t checked in.

This week hasn’t seemed much like spring here. Most of the time it has been rather cold and dank. Almost every evening, great banks of fog have rolled in from the sea about six or seven in the evening. One night the P.E. was later at the Watson station in the evening and I just about froze before it got there. Today has been slightly warmer so perhaps Easter will be a nice day.

My work continues about as usual. Davidson went to San Francisco Wednesday night but will be back sometime Friday. Most of the activity here has been recently diverted into a new channel and it looks as if Plant I will soon be restarted. I’m not sure but I rather think that Shell is pulling another fast one that is going to surprise a lot of people that are at present sitting too complacently in their status quo.

I think I shall be moving sometime this weekend. I believe I shall move to the place I had mentioned previously. The lady called up last Tuesday and said she had a room available so I thought I might as well take it. I’ll send the address along when I am moved but you might as well continue to use the present address till then, since any letters etc can be forwarded. Mrs. Eldridge can take care of the butter if it comes and I can pick it up later sometime. The place to which I am moving is closer to downtown so I won’t have to depend on the unreliable bus service so much. Y’know that may be why Calif is such a hopeless place — everything is so slipshod, makeshift, overcrowded, irregular etc etc. and the people are no exception.

I seem to be running out of news so I shall stop.

With love

C.P.

April 14. 1946

April 14, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif

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

It’s quiet and still this evening — so still that if you just sit and listen you can hear sounds from all over the neighborhood — dogs barking, people talking, cars going by far away etc etc. It’s been sort of cloudy most of the day and not very warm, like it was yesterday and in marked contrast to Friday and Thursday which were quite warm. They almost reminded me of summer.

As usual I didn’t get very much done over the weekend. Friday night I went over to Mr. Neiburg’s and helped him fill out the financial report (he’s the church treasurer) for the first 3 months of the year to be sent in to the Home Mission Board. we got that finished about 8:30 or so and then sat and talked till about ten o’clock. As I may have told you before he is a longshoreman and he was talking about the strike they think they will be going on. Right now an average longshoreman makes 50% more than a high school teacher here in Calif and Calif in general pays its teachers better than other states (at least before the war they did). But of course that is a very unjust situation for the longshoremen who must heave heavy boxes all day — much more important work than educating the future citizens of the U.S. Maybe that’s what the U.S. needs, more strong backs and weak minds — I really couldn’t say.

Yesterday I took Mrs. Johnson the pound of butter which I had not yet taken over there, having put it off on a couple of occasions. I also took over some Christian Heralds which she wanted to read.Mr. Johnson is about the same, but seemed to be in fairly good spirits while I was there. Mrs. Johnson told me that her daughter is going to have a baby in May sometime. She told me to greet you from here. I think she much have somebody that comes and stays with Mr. Johnson because she comesto church almost every Sunday.

Afterward I went downtown to get some money and buy some stuff — some manila folders at the stationery store and some lunch for next week. In the afternoon I went to the library for awhile and browsed around and took out a book on the “Continent of Mu.” This book advances the theory that the Pacific Ocean once consisted largely of a continent, called Mu; much as Atlantis is supposed to have existed in the Atlantic. It is a very interesting book and the theory accounts for a lot of anomalous facts and discoveries, but the writer doesn’t present his case too convincingly. He probably could have done a better job if he had written more coherently, altho who am I to criticize? Probably as more and more archaeological discoveries are made the theory will be either disproved or substantiated. Later I went to a show. The main feature was no good but the companion feature — a Dick Tracyadventure was funny, possible because it was so corny.

Today I haven’t done much. I went to church as usual this morning, had dinner down at Thrifty’s, came home loafed and read, listened to Fred Allen, and played on the piano awhile and took a nap.

Could you send me (now hold on the the table or chair or something) about 20 lbs of butter? The word has leaked out that I got some butter from home for Mrs. Eldridge and several other people have asked for some. If you think it’s too warm now to end it, say so and I’ll have an excue for saying it can’t be done. If you do decide to send it, you’d better make several packages out of it. If it’s too much bother just say so too and I’ll not ask you to put yourself out to send it.

With love

C.P.

April 11, 1946

April 11, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif

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

Today has been quite a warm day here in Calif. According to the weatherman it was supposed to be warmer today than yesterday but I don’t think it was — at least it didn’t feel that way. Yesterday it got up to 90°F in Los Angeles and I believe it was nearly that out at the refinery. It certainly was like a summer day back in Iowa. It started to blow towards evening but has stopped now (about 8:30 pm).

Mrs. Eldridge asked me for supper tonite so I didn’t stop down town this evening. The P.E. was late tonite so I didn’t get home until almost six even so. After supper I sat down and played on the piano for awhile, read the newspaper and looked at the Saturday Evening Post and am now writing this letter. Inspiring, isn’t it?

I didn’t feel so good last nite so I went to bed early. I felt o.k. when I left work, but I got detained on the way out for awhile and so I just about missed the P.E. In order to catch it I ran as fast as I could for 2–300 yards and it gave me a headache. I guess I’m not used to exercise like that. The P.E. is always on time if you’re not, that’s a cinch.

Monday night a meeting of the Board of Administration was held as usual. I stayed downtown after supper and went to the church and played on the piano there till it was time for the meeting to start. Personally, I don’t think that anything is ever accomplished at them. At every one the same things are hashed over again, with the same conclusions being reached.

“Little Abner” is really quite interesting these days. Don’t you take the Des Moines paper at home nowadays? It seems to me that I recall you do. At any rate if you don’t read about “Fearless Fosdick” you’re missing something. Last week, Time had a little article on the subject. I can’t recall when another comic strip was so honored.

I see by the Gowrie News that one Marold Strand was going to handle the “hot corner” in a game between the Gowrie high school baseball team and the Somers. This was indeed a surprise to me; I can’t recall that Marold had embarked on a sport’s career. How “hot” was it, Marold?

That’s all for now.

With love

C.P.

April 7, 1946

April 7, 1946

1046 W 24th St

San Pedro, Calif

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

I don’t have much to write about but I guess I’ll write a few lines — enough to make a pretense of a letter anyway. Today has been a fairly nice day, altho rather cool and cloudy this morning. At this it was considerably better than yesterday which was cold and threatening. It didn’t rain but came very near to it about six in the evening. I started to go downtown for some supper about that time but decided I’d rather go without supper than risk getting wet so I went to the corner grocery store and got some cookies and stuff and made my supper on those. I was sort of tired so took a bath and went to bed early.

Friday night, I went to a show called “Saratoga Trunk.” Sort of a messy picture, I thought altho it was supposed to be good, both according to reviews and comments of those who had seen it.

I didn’t feel sleepy when I got home so I laid in bed and read till about eleven. I had got a book called “Novels of Science” last Saturday, but had not got around to reading it, so I read most of it them. It was really quite interesting. I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t feel sleepy Friday night since I usually do as soon as it is nine o’clock or so. In addition I was tired when I left work, both physically and mentally; perhaps the nap I took on the P.E. served to revive me. Truly it is marvelous what the human body can become accustomed to — sleeping on the P.E. is surely one of them.

I have located another place to move to — at least I think so — when I have to move from here. I answered an ad in the paper, but the rooms were all taken. However the lady said she expected a vacancy or two by June or before which I could have. It looked like a nice place to stay and it certainly was kept clean so it should be o.k. It is also nearer downtown so I don’t (or won’t) have to depend on the buses so much. It is on 13th street but about 3 or 4 blocks closer to the waterfront than Mrs. Johnson’s. The lady took my name and address & said she’d let me know as soon as the vacancies developed.

Mrs. Eldridge & daughter went to a show this afternoon so I took advantage of the opportunity and played the piano for awhile. It is always more fun to play when no one is around. The latest piece I have tried which is very nice is from the opera “Le Cid” or something like than by Jules Massenet. Easy to play too, which is an indispensable characteristic of anything I like to play. It won’t be so nice when I move and don’t have a place to play occasionally. Perhaps I should try advertising for a place where I could before I plan to move to this other place.

I suppose Vincent is home now. Ask him what “C.Q.” stands for. I could never figure it out. Also ask him if he got the books I sent him for Christmas.

This is all for now.

With love

C.P.

March 31, 1946

March 31, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif

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

Sunday evening again, and another week soon to start. Almost like Carl Anderson used to say — “Another day, another dollar.” Another day spent more or less unprofitably; another week of days ahead with nothing to commend them except that they will probably pass faster because they are more filled with work, daily routine, etc. Oh, happy day.

Yesterday it rained off and on, mostly on, all day. Sometimes it really poured down. Today it cleared up tho, but has remained rather cool with a brisk breeze. This afternoon I took a walk down to the beach and then back downtown. I can’t remember when the air has been so clear here. Usually the ocean merges indefinitely into the sky. Today the horizon was as clear cut as an outline. you could even see Catalina Island quite clearly, whereas most of the time you can’t begin to distinguish it. The waves were considerably large than usual because of the wind.

This morning, as usual, I went to church, which ay explain why I am so moody and disillusioned tonote. As usual it was a profitless excursion.

I brought some data home with me over the weekend but I didn’t do much with it. I did, however, formulate some plans for an experiment I plan to do in the near future. I spent most of Saturday morning (with the exception of an excursion down town to cash a pay check) working rather desultorily on it, and this morning when I woke up about five-thirty I laid in bed thinking about it until I felt like getting up. It may work but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I haven’t had much time to work on the synthetic gem manufacturer, but my quartz samples seem to be coming along fair. I’m afraid tho that they aren’t crystalline. Perhaps if I heat them up to near melting conditions I can get orientation into a crystalline structure. I think tho before I try that I’ll make a new batch, trying to get it purer. I was talking to Davidson the other day and he told me some things he had heard up in Emeryville which may prove helpful.

This is all for now.

With love

C.P.

P.S. A check for the butter is enclosed. Thank you very much for sending it.

March 24, 1946

March 24, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif

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

I got your card today, mama, saying that Vincent had written to say that he would be on his way home. It is certainly swell that he is finally getting to come home at last. Perhaps he will even have called you before you get this letter, if he gets to S.F. by April 1st as he expected to. I suppose it was indeed a happy week for you — first Robert Edward arriving and then this. Are you going to take a trip to Aurora to view the latest addition to the Strand relation?

From the sounds of things, spring has come to Iowa. Even here in Calif you can tell it’s spring (if you look hard enough). The most noticeable thing is the longer days — but it is also warmer in the mornings, and it is already starting to be less clear in the forenoons. Today it has rained off and on, but I think it is over for the time being. Again it obligingly let up as I went to work, altho it rained while I was on the train.

The package of butter came yesterday, in very good shape. Is it butter from the Gowrie creamery? It doesn’t have the usual package on it. I’ll send along a check for it next time, I’m too lazy to get up and dig up the checkbook right now. Mrs. Johnson asked me to come up again sometime so I’ll take her one of the pounds.

My work is coming along about as usual. There has been a considerable change in the last week or so in the work being done here, the emphasis being shifted to some work that Plant IV has been doing. One of the periodic veerings of work that occur every so often seems to have happened again. I guess that the reason was that they had let a $5 million contract for an ethylene purification plant in Housin, and didn’t know what to do with the ethylene. Incidentally, Shell Development is building a large new laboratory etc up at Emeryville costing $3½ million. I’ll have to bring home a copy of the “Shell News” and send it home so you can see what a progressive company I work for.

There seems to be a singular paucity of news so,

Good night

C.P.

P.S. Thank you for the letter, father.

P.P.S. Congratulations on your anniversary, even if the wish is a little late.

March 24, 1946

March 24, 1946

1046 W 24th St

San Pedro, Calif.

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

I feel sort of lazy tonite but I guess I’ll write a few lines home before I go to bed. There is no reason to feel lazy but I feel that way nonetheless. Perhaps ambitionless would be a more correct term to use.

Today has been sort of cloudy. This morning on the way down to church I almost thought I had been foolish in not taking a raincoat along because it looked so much like rain. However, it cleared up to a sort of undecided halfway state later on and remained that way. Yesterday was clearer but sort of cool and not very nice either. Most of the day I felt sort of punk so I went to bed early.

Mrs. Eldridge and her daughter were gone over the weekend to Los Angeles to visit some relatives. They left Saturday morning and got back this afternoon. Gloria’s (that’s the daughter’s name) poison oak is almost gone now. What finally happened was that she got scabs all over her arms and ankles and the doctor scraped them off because they were beginning to be infected, and then the new skin healed quite rapidly. I guess it sort of hurt tho when he did it. She’ll have a hard time making up all the school she’s missed.

I was planning to go to church tonite despite my aversion for the pastor but I got to talking to Mrs. Eldridge and ended up by not going. Perhaps listening to her is preferable to listening to him, but not very much so I’m afraid. Sometimes I wonder how her husband stood it; perhaps he died in self-defense. I played on the piano for awhile afterward, but not with very much enthusiasm or satisfaction, then wrote this letter. I bought a piano piece yesterday when I was downtown in the afternoon. It was a popular piece — “Begin the Beguine” by Cole Porter. I am afraid that I picked out too hard an arrangement tho. It has too many triplet in the most awkward places in it. Otherwise it wouldn’t be too hard. Probably I should have got the other arrangement they had, but it probably wouldn’t sound as pretty.

This is sort of a punk letter but I’ll try to make up for it some other time.

With love

C.P.

March 19, 1946

March 19, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif

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

Today has been sort of a rainy day in Calif. Last night I woke up about 4:00 in the morning and it was raining then — not hard but quite steadily. I got up and closed the windows even if it wasn’t blowing. It had stopped by 6 tho so I got to work entirely dry. Something went wrong with the P.E. this morning so I was half an hour late to work; I think the power failed again (anyway, about 21 cars pulled into San Pedro all in one bunch — sounds more like a wreck someplace — but I overheard a couple of guys talking about it and they said it was the power). It was lucky I wasn’t later, because it started to rain shortly thereafter and kept on, off & on, all day. It is partly clear to-nite, and the forecast is for clear so I guess we should have some nice days ahead, they usually are after a rain. The rain was much needed around here, so I guess it was a blessing it came now as the rainy season will not last too much longer.

I got your letter today written last Thursday, mother. Thank you very much for it. Yes, I am saving all of Verner’s & Vincent’s letters. You told me not to send them home so I am keeping them and will cart them along when I come home next. By the way, did I tell you that I ask for my vacation in August this year, so I should be home to celebrate the August birthdays? Perhaps if Vivian comes out, I will postpone it, and come home later. If Vincent comes home via Los Angeles, maybe I will have a chance to see him en route, altho maybe it couldn’t be arranged. I am sorry to hear that his homecoming has been delayed again. I am also sorry that dad’s anemia is cropping up again and I hope that he will feel better when he gets his teeth again.

What kind of a stone did you order for Vivian? Synthetic rubies and sapphires are quite cheap (they shouldn’t cost more than $10/carat at the most and a carat stone is pretty good sized (look in the M.W. or S.R. catalog, they usually have a picture of various sized stones). I found a reference saying that they cost $3 to $5/carat but that was back in 1931. Yesterday I was talking to Zene Jasaitis, who is sort of an amateur jeweler and he said that you should be able to get a 5 carat synthetic ruby or sapphire mounted in a ring for $50 or so. The synthetic stones are artificial, and in fact, the synthetic gems are superior in quality to most natural stones. In fact, one way (one of the most important ways, incidentally) of detecting natural stones is by cracks, flaws, foreign matter in them that do not occur in the synthetic stones. If you are looking for pretty stones, a garnet is much prettier than a ruby or a sapphire. The latter two depend on color alone for appeal while the garnet has the power of dispersion of light so that it “glitters” more. In fact, in this respect, it is only slightly inferior to a diamond. Since garnets are relatively common, they are not highly regarded, but actually, for intrinsic beauty, they are one of the nicest of gems.

Davidson called up today & said that he had got another I-A classification advice regarding me and that he had notified the San Francisco office again as usual. When I got home, the notice to me personally was also awaiting me, which makes it about the umpteenth time I have got one. Well, we’ll see how it comes out this time. Personally, I don’t much care how it comes out, but I have an idea the company will yell loud enough to get me deferred again. In the case of one fellow here they have even appealed to the president for his deferment when the appeal board turned him down and secured his deferment that way, and I am (not bragging either) his mental superior, both as far as experience and quality of work is concerned. The truth of the matter is that whether you are very good or only mediocre they still want you, because the available supply is so limited.

Contrary to your very excellent advice, mother and yours too, Uncle Carl, I have no intention of getting myself emotionally involved now and probably not in the future. I must confess that Ann Marie caused a momentary wavering, but since then my reason has reasserted itself and I am back where I started. After all, life at best is only to be tolerated; to be complicated with responsibilities etc would make it unendurable. Somehow or other I feel that the only really sincere wish I’ve ever had was that I’d somehow managed never to be born. To embark on an adventure entailing the propagation of life feeling as I do about the undesirability of it would most certainly be wrong.

With love

C.P.

February 24, 1946

Feb 24, 1946

1046 W 24th

San Pedro, Calif

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

My cold is completely gone now, but I am afraid I gave it to Mrs. Eldridge, who has one now. Yesterday she stayed in bed most of the day after getting up for a short while around breakfast time. The weather lately has been rather cool and damp and it is quite easy to pick up a cold, particularly on a crowded bus (which is the usual condition of them in San Pedro). Friday was a nice day but yesterday was a relapse into the cool weather we have been having. Three days this week the forecast was for rain but it did not materialize.

Yesterday, or rather Friday, was a holiday for Shell Development, as I believe I mentioned in a previous letter. I worked on a report till noon, then went downtown or some lunch and went to a show in the afternoon. It was only fair tho. I also went down to the bookstore and got the book I had ordered, “Beginnings of Christianity.” I have, by now, read half of it. It is written by a professor of theology at Harvard University. In the evening I had dinner with the Eldridges which more or less concluded a typically uneventful day.

Yesterday was spent in much the same way except that I read in the afternoon and played the piano awhile in the evening and had supper downtown. Today I suppose will also be a colorless day, at least it is starting out that way — gray and cloudy, somewhat warm, so it may be working itself into a rainy mood.

Thank you for stowing the bonds I sent home away in your safe deposit box, father. Out here, as with so many other things, it is impossible to gain access to one, since they are all rented out. Also thak you for the letter. Besides the usual letters form mother, I also got a letter from Verner (via Vivian) this week.

Yesterday when I was downtown I noticed that the new Plymouth and Chrysler were in. The Ford and Chevrolet have been here for some time, also the Nash but this is the first appearance of those two. It reminded my of Jr. College days when However, Harlan, John Woodard & I went down in the spring & inspected all of the new models. The new cars do not appear very different from the last ones made in my opinion.

I have been looking around somewhat for another place to stay in San Pedro, but with no success so far, since I’ll have to move sooner or later and it appears I am stuck in Calif for awhile at least. Some Saturday I’ll have to go up to Compton and look around. It would be just as convenient to get to work from there but it would be a job getting all my stuff moved up there. Compton is on the PE, 3 or 4 miles on the other side of the Watson station.

Time to shave, get dressed etc etc so I will stop.

With love

C.P.

P.S. If you think I’m bored this morning you’re absolutely & entirely correct.