Return to Don Campbell's bio.
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A Letter Home: |
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Don Is |
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LETTER PAGES |
TRANSCRIPTION |
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Somewhere in Belgium Dec. 5, 1944 Dear Dad: The time, it seems goes by faster than I realize. Here it is a month and half since I left the States, and I'm really surprised to find it's been so long, now that I stop to figure it up. Days slide by so easily that a week is gone and your laundry isn't even ready to go out! As yet I haven't been on any combat missions, but I don't have much longer to wait. I've been going on training hops fairly frequently with boys from the squadron, getting the kinks worked out of my flying after a month's inactivity and learning how they fly over here. Also we've been getting some ground instruction. And all this makes breakfast, dinner and supper roll around with amazing celerity. |
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-2- In the evenings we find sufficient amusement, too. As sort of a corollary to my playing the piano, I've become quite friendly with the group special service officer -- who has his own jeep and innumerable connections! A few nights ago he took Louie Hamilton, of of the old boys in my light, and myself down to a home in the nearby village where a piano and a fairly musical family is -- he had some new sheet music from London which he wanted me to try. The next night he took Gerry Brewer and myself to the "Countess's." the Countess is the real McCoy -- one of the oldest families in Belgium, with a hereditary chateau strictly in the European tradition. We went for dinner and had roast pheasant (shot by the Count himself) and fried chestnuts served in a spacious dining room complete with chandelier and yawning fireplace. The experience was a memorable one, and I'm looking forward to returning |
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-3- for a big Christmas party the Countess is giving for American officers. The following night I helped Louie celebrate his first lieutenancy at the club, in the course of which he just about went broke buying drinks for everyone who came in. And last night Captain Quinlan -- the special service gent -- drove up to a fair-sized city near here (not Brussels) and we had a great time doing the town. Just as everything was closing up a Belgian gent came over and asked the four of us -- Louie and Pete were along -- to come up to his house. We did, had some wine, made the best of our linguistic differences, and had the best mid-night snack I've seen in a long time. Again, a very pleasant evening. I have considerable time for reading also. Right now I'm working on John Barrymore's biography, "Good Night, Sweet Prince," and...and -- don't laugh -- a volume by a gent named Ramacharaka entitled "Fourteen Lessons |
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-4- in Yogi Philosophy." It is a very weird specimen, to say the least. Louie has several books on the subject, and I promised I'd look over this one, a sort of elementary text. I just started it, and I'm rather anxious to see what it's all about. I'm very well, and enjoying myself no little bit. As yet I've received no mail, except one stray letter from Mimi, but it will catch up with me shortly -- I hope. I home you're well and weathering the winter okay -- I'd sort of like to be weathering it in New York myself! Give my regards to Emily. Love, Don |
