Lazy Days

League Island
February 2, 1919

Dear Mother,

You letter and the one you wrote to Connecticut came yesterday. I am more than glad to get the stamps, too. Will use one in writing you this morning. Am certainly sorry those brainless Post Office gobs could not have forwarded my mail.

Hope Father makes a world of money, for he certainly deserves it -- he has worked long enough to have some.

The weather has turned colder -- the thermometer is around 25 degrees now. I slept in this morning til 9 o'clock and thereby missed chow. However they said it was not good anyways, so I'll wait til noon. Haven't gotten your box yet but am sure they won't lose that. Have you gotten the little bundle I sent you for the girls? I haven't gotten the new thread for you bag, but will do so this week. I got a letter from Boone in Dallas yesterday, and he said he would send me the $13 in the near future. Unless I'm absolutely broke I'll send it right on home.

We don't do one solitary thing -- I am getting so lazy I'm afraid I'll never be of any use to anyone after I get out. We can sleep as late as we want to, and nothing to do til bedtime, when we have to do the hard work of sleeping. When we get on the ship, we will only have to stand 4 on and 8 off for two days -- then off altogether for 3 days, so that will be almost as easy.

If I had had the Kodak the other day when the Haverford, and English transport, came in with American soldiers, I could have gotten a fairly good picture of her as she passed up the river.

We (our quartermaster bunch) are to go over to the Blakeley about the 15th, and take a look at the signal apparatus, searchlights, etc. -- so we will know all about them when we go on board. Everything is the very latest type, and she is supposed to make over 40 knots per hour, which is nearly 50 miles an hour. She will be some destroyer. I am surely glad I am going to get to help put her in commission.

I saw Betsy Ross's home when I was out the other day -- also the grave of Benjamin Franklin. Am going to Valley Forge if I have time. I don't go to town over once or twice a week. It's not so bad to stay in when you know you can go out whenever you want to.

We get mail only once on Sunday, so I hope your letter gets here early so I'll get it today instead of Monday.

Why doesn't father drop me a note once in a while? I know he is busy, but you make him take time to write a note anyway.

Love from,
Heywood

P.S. The song books I sent along are the ones we sing from at the Recreation Center. The popular ones are Jada, I Ain't Got Weary Yet, and a parody on Smiles.

(Postmarked Philadelphia, Penn., February 3, 1919)