Lt. (j.g.) Gilbert
Steingart
U.S.S. Ocelot, F.P.O.
San Francisco
Saturday 24 February
1945, 7:15 PM
Dearest Eleanor,
Hello Sweet,
here I am again. Today was just another
day as usual. Worked all morning and
finished up at 11:25. Went up to my room
and washed up for lunch. The mail
brought five letters today, four from you and one from your mother. Yours were marked 11 and 15, so 12, 13, and
14 are still due.
After lunch I
censored some mail and extracted a tooth. Then four of us went ashore to
celebrate a birthday. We had plenty to
drink but returned all secure and put away a nice steak dinner.
Last night's
movie, "Experiment Perilous," was OK, see it. Tonight we have "Enter Arsene
Lupin" but I don't have much hope for it.
This
afternoon when I got back to the ship I found some more mail. A package from you with "vitamin
pills," American Weeklies, and Pictorial Reviews, a Journal of the
Southern California Dental Society, Alumni Association Magazine and American
Dental Association Bulletin made up my total bag. Please don't send any more reading material except
for books. We have oodles of magazines,
etc. Also no more candy. I now have two full boxes and the bulk of the
"vitamin pills" you sent .How about some sardines, anchovies and
other stuff suitable for "horse ovaries." Now your mail.
As I've
written before Marty sent me a program from the Center banquet. I do hope Dave makes warrant officer but I'll
believe it only when I see it. I've
heard enough about Mary and Willie and their troubles. How about a new episode?
Ruth and
Harry have no one to blame for Dick but themselves. Leon is no model to hold up to any growing
boy but I doubt that he had very much influence on Dick. All I can say is yapity, yapity, yap, baloney!
I see you got
called to teach again. With all these
calls you should be able to get by without digging into our account much (I hope).
I'm glad that
Linda is through with her thumb sucking.
As a matter of fact, from your letters I gather that she has become
quite a young lady. Wish I could be
there to see her and Norma and you too!!
Those pictures of the kids before the Xmas tree were swell though they
could have been clearer. But then who am
I to complain. I played back the
recording you sent and had the same trouble as with the previous ones. Please cut the records deeper and play them
back before sending them. Then the
grooves will be more defined and the roll of the ship won't cause the playback
arm to jump across the record and ruin it.
You seem to
have the impression that there is a naval base with all the refinements of
civilization here. Well there
isn't. Wish I could get you some hose,
but all I could get would be men's cotton ones and I don't think you'd wear
them. The same goes for valentines,
there just ain't no such animule.
So honey I'd
better sign off. All this rattle and
prattle probably doesn't make much sense but blame it on the drinks I had
ashore.
Bye, my
darling, if you were here or I were there we'd sure have fun tonight. See you in my dreams.
Love,
Gil
