Letter # 432 July 26, 1944

New Guinea
Wednesday
July 26, 1944
My Precious;
Hi, Tootsie Wuggles! How are you?  I'm tired.  It isn't the army working me too hard.  I was playing too hard.  We have two afternoons, Wed and Sat, off duty for organized athletics.  I told you the other day they were getting up a ball team and I was going to take a crack at it.  Well today the first platoon had challenged our headquarters platoon to a game.  There is as much rivalry between such units as between any teams you could find.  We had one of those games you always remember.  Our team was on the small end of a 5 - 1 score at the beginning of the 9th.  Then things happened.  Gebby opened up the race after we already had two outs by laying out a triple.  Another man, and then another hit singles. Then the old man came up and I hit a single which stretched into a triple by an error on the other side.  Next man also hit and I scored the tying run.  It went on that way for three more innings and we had to call it for darkness.  Not a bad game, huh?  I'm still not too old, honey.  I can hold my own with most of these youngsters yet. 
See what you have coming?  As I've heard it expressed, you had better take a good look at the walls and floor before I come home, 'cause you won't see much but the ceiling for some time after. 
Bragging again ain't I? 
While I'm at it, I might as well make it good.  Last night I had been to the show.  "Cover Girl".  A nice musical with Rita Hayworth.  Have you seen it? Well anyhow, in the course of the show, Rita, who is a beautiful redhead called "Rusty" had run out on her sweetheart and was going to marry another man, more for spite than anything else.  She leaves this guy at the alter and goes back to her one and only, so everything is fine and dandy.   
While walking back to the tent I was commenting about the show to one of the fellows.  He asked me if I would take a girl back after she had done that to me.  I said I guessed I would, cause my wife would have to do something a whole lot worse to even start a quarrel.  He took that up and asked if I meant we had never even had a fight of any kind.  "Hell no!" I went with her for four years and we've been married almost that long and never have been close to a quarrel.  "That's pretty good."  he said. "but I can maybe see why."  "You have as good a disposition as anyone I've ever seen."  That rather surprised me, however I didn't accept all the credit.  I told him you were even better natured than I.  Wasn't bragging about you either.  How's that for a long story just to blow my own horn?  I guess I must be pretty nice.  I really didn't think I had been very good natured or easy to get along with since I've been away from you.  Without you I don't have as much to keep me happy and contented.  There, that evens us up for the time you told about the compliment the Hood boy at the Standard station handed you.  "You may not be beautiful but you have a grand personality."   I still say he must be rejected because he is nearly blind.  I think you are beautiful as well as a lot of other very nice things.  I'm so in love with you darling.  I'm hurtin plenty.  Nice anticipatory hurt though.  We'll make up for it somehow, sometime, if it takes the rest of our lives.  It'll be an awful long time before I ever again accept you as a good, everyday wife.  You're a very special, intriguing, and exciting one from now on.  I'm thoroughly wakened now.  I sure was a dummy for a long time.
I was a little quick about requesting the Gazette.  I got two issues today.  May 23 & 26 and while they have the old  A.P.O. they have the post office department confirmation so I guess they will come O.K.  I also got your July11 air mail letter.  Nice one too.  At the time you wrote that one you had gotten nearly all the V-mail I wrote.  I hope the air mails come to you in good shape.  Yours are doing very well.  Seem to be about a 15 day proposition.  The time and distance as compared with service in the states is very good.  Three times as long for about 8 times the distance.
You said in one of your letters that you and Louise thought it funny that neither Mickey or I had said anything about women we saw.  well I can't talk for Mick, 'cause I'd think he'd be seeing plenty of them.  As for me I think I've mentioned every time I saw anything that I could recognize as female without a very close and repulsive examination.  I have seen a few native females with dried up or pendulous bubbles as the case may be, very immodestly displayed.  No more thrill at the sight than looking at a side show freak.  If these black females looked anything like the girls in "Stormy Weather" with Lena Horne --  well, you would be justified in wondering why I hadn't mentioned them.  That kind would probably look very white and attractive after several months away from home.  I'm safe as though locked in your closet at home.  You're my one and only wife.  I'm in love with you.
Your hubby.
Norm.