November 15th, 1943
Dear Mom:
Your letter arrived nearly a week ago and as per usual I am slow in answering.
You know that I not getting my furlough now so I will give you an idea of what is going to happen. First of all as I have already told you I am going to Berrifield [Barriefield] for 5 or 6 weeks. I will be leaving for there the first of next week about Tuesday or Wed. There is a possibility of coming back here for another 8 or 10 weeks if I can make the grade there.
Should I make the grade it would mean that I would not get my furlough until I finish here, again that would be some time about March. It would be swell to get home but on the other hand if I don't make the grade this time I won't get another chance so I am going to try to hold out until March.
Berriefield is only a mile and a half out of Kingston. The boys don't like the camp very much but I will see for myself.
As you no doubt know by this time I got down to see Aunt Lydia. The visit was not as long as I would liked to have made but I am going back again. I will be able to get down on a short weekend from Berriefield so expect to get to see them a couple of more times before I am moved to far away. (Excuse the pencil my pen ran dry)
Aunt Lydia is looking grand. Gee she is short she is just a little higher than my shoulder.
Everybody treated me just grand and made me feel right at home. When I left here I had no idea what any of them looked like but I soon found out. Aunt Lydia is just like the picture we have of her at home.
Beulah and I went out to a little place a couple of miles out of town Sat. night for a while and were back home by 12 so you can see we didn't try to make a night of it.
The main reason for that was because I did not have much sleep the night before.
The first train that I could get out of here left at 10 at night that got me to Kingston at 3:30 which was as near as I could get to Watertown [NY] so from there I had to hitch hike. That would have been find at any other time of day but as luck would have it I had to walk about 15 miles before I got a ride. After the sun came up I had no trouble at all. Well to come to the point I arrived at Aunt Lydia's at 11:30. So that accounts for my having so little sleep other than what I had on the train which was about 3 hours.
Well Mom I graduate on Friday afternoon I sure wish you could be here.
The way things are working out I will be in Berriefield for Christmas & New Years.
I am supposed to get 5 days leave at New Years so if I can arrange it I am going to try and spend it at Aunt Lydia's.
Well Mom I will close for now.
Love
Ted
