Dear Folks,

I don’t know just what happened to me last week except that I became somewhat involved with two books, “The Captain from Connecticut” and “And Now Goodbye”—Forester and Hilton respectively.

Down at the squadron a bottleneck is developing, I fear, at least in night flying. Not having had any yet in operational training one never knows when one will get it, but it looks as if the first night for our group may be next Saturday—rather inconvenient. If a really bad bottleneck develops in night flying, which is possible since our squadron stll has cadets and is assigned usually three nights a week, some of which may be rained out; then there is a possibility of having to wait after all one’s day flying is finished. Still I hope to be home in a month. The leave is apparently certain, but I daren’t count the days between now and then yet. One day last week all I got was one catapult shot, and on two others each an incomplete make-up navigation hop (because of radio trouble). The pilot, incidentally, does all the navigating. The rear seat man with the fleet is radioman and rear gunner, but with our men the case is such that we know more about radio than they do. What it amounts to is that they are being broken in just as we are—only still more so.

A week ago Sunday another fellow and I hired a canoe and paddled several miles up one of the larger creeks that join the river and back again. Practically the whole distance the banks were ill-defined and swampy, swamp hardwoods including red maple prevailing everywhere. Birds were disappointingly few.

This last week-end a second fellow, Stix again, drove up to Sea Id.—about 90 mi. He had saved up on gas when restricted from liberty as a cadet for disciplinary reasons. It was very pleasant though the people he knew were away; so we had to stay at the hotel (none too cheap). We met some nice people through a cadet friend of Stix who happened to be up there, and they gave us a nice “brunch.”

The island is mostly typical hardwood “hammock” country, covered by a variety of hardwoods such as live oak, hickories, magnolia and also some pines. Until about 15 years ago it was practically uninhabited, but under quick and very careful development it has turned into a flourishing and fairly exclusive resort. Anyone can stay at the hotel I guess if they have the dough and there is room, but the real estate is all handled by one outfit. Though not very different from Ponte Vedra it’s more of a year round resort, but its most expensive season is of course the winter. The beaches aren’t quite as nice as our Florida ones, but it is a nice spot. It is just a few miles north, incidentally, of the really exclusive Jeckyll Id. Know anybody there or at Sea Id?

Hot weather continues here. It reached 96°F on Saturday (officially)—the opening day of the local foorball season (N.A.S. beat Univ. of Fla.).

Love

T.R.

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