Death Be Not Proud (15 page)

My cold is all gone now and I hope that you are well also and not having any mysterious ailments.

love and kisses,

J
OHNNY

1944 opened with:

Jan. 10

D
EAR
M
UTTI
,

Here I am back at the old grind again! But, as always, it is much better than I thought it would be. This term is only eight weeks—and then comes three more weeks of vacation.

I can not find any snow-shoes anywhere in my room, and I am positive that we didn’t bring them up. There is plenty of snow, however.

Love,

J
OHNNY

Jan. 30

D
EAR
P
APA
,

Believe it or not, I don’t believe I forgot to take along a single thing; but the infirmary would like to know the results of the blood test I had at Dr. Traigor’s, so would you ask him to send them up.

Thanks ever so much for the wonderful time I had during the vacation—I don’t really think that I ever had more fun on one. I’m learning to do parralel Christies. Also, I’m trying to improve my grades, which Mutti said could stand improvement.

dearest love

J
OHNNY

The following are bits from letters to Frances:

D
EAR
M
UTTI
,

I read “Wind, San, and Stars” again and I think I understood it much better this time—and I really loved it. I gave an oral book report on it and got C+/A (C+ for the presentation and A for what I said). All-together I’m doing much better in English so far this term. On one thing I even got an A in the top (grammar, spelling, punctuation etc.) mark. (You know how we get 2 marks in everything we do in English.)

I guess you will have gotten my marks by the time this letter reaches you. Remember that both of the English marks together only count as much as one of the other three. I got 97% on last term’s Physics test, and may even get A for the term.

I hope your room isn’t too “painfully” neat. If it is, you know what can be done about it! Of course my room isn’t “painfully” neat, but it isn’t at all on the other extreme. In fact Mr. McGlynn, our corridor master, even commented to that effect, and if you were to see my room as I am writing this letter you would be quite astonished, for there isn’t anything extraneous either on my bed or on the floor.

Did you notice in the day before yesterday’s (Thursdays) Times that the British Battleship Hood was not sunk by the Bismark, but by the cruiser Prinz Eugen? I’ve enclosed the cup-ping.

love

J
OHNNY

P.S. I sent that question to “Information Please”

I’ve been doing my eye-exercises almost every day, washing my face diligently, and putting that sulfa ointment that Dr. Traegar prescribed on my spots and blackheads; and I try to be spontaneous, uninhibited, self-aware, and self-controlled;—but those vitamin pills, those sublimely wonderful vitamin pills!— well, thanks, for reminding me of them anyway. At least I hadn’t lost them, and I’ve really taken one every day (well, every day but one or two) since
I
got your letter.

I’ve been doing quite a bit of work on my stamps recently. I bought a bunch of Indian stamps, most of them very old, for $12 “blind,” that is, without looking them up in the stamp catalogue, which would have taken several hours, so that neither I nor the fellow I was buying them from knew how much they were worth. They turned out to be worth over $20! Don’t worry, the guy has gypped me several times too. I think I must have quite a valuable Indian collection now, including all the airmail stamps that India ever issued, and two of the only four stamps which the state of Alwar ever issued, and a stamp which would have been worth $75 if it wasn’t fake. Don’t worry, I didn’t pay $75 for it!—it came in that group which I bought for $12.00.

I’ve played a great deal of chess recently, and am No. 2 on the chess team. We had a match with the Greenfield Chess Club, most of whom seemed to be octogenarians at least, and they trounced us something like 8M-3!4. I was lucky to get a draw. I hope you have looked at that chess book I gave you, for it’s a very good one.

Thanks very much for that marvelous candy and that white shirt. That laundry hasn’t come yet but I have written to Nancy about it. There couldn’t have been much in it anyway because I seem to have plenty up here. The laundry often sends me a few of somebody else’s shirts anyway!

Has all the fertilizer arrived? And what about the water pump and the pruning and the spraying of the trees? I haven’t written Mr. Weaver about his fertilizer yet but I hope to soon. I might be able to take a weekend to do some more work on the place and perhaps plant some seeds, but I think that had better wait until after Spring Day (May 12).

As for tennis, I’m afraid it’s entirely competitive, and about a third of the boys going out for it were eliminated. Apparently they couldn’t get equipment for the new courts. I am going out for lacrosse instead and I’m really not doing so badly in it and it’s lots of fun. I couldn’t quite face track. . . . We have a test in Biology every Friday, and I’ve got 100% in all three so far.

I try to remember those little lectures that you gave me during vacation. Don’t get discouraged about them because I usually remember the general idea, subconsciously if not consciously. Sometimes after coming to a certain conclusion for a course of action after a long train of thought I think Good Lord, that’s what you’ve been trying to tell me for the last year.

P.S. I’m breathing out copiously too.

With love and spontaneity

Johnny

These are from notes to me:

D
EAR
P
APA
,

A certain Mr. Mayer, father of one of the boys here, who was in Switzerland at the American Legation, came up here and told me that he knew Aunt Billi, who gave the message that she was well and happy, and said that he could bring back a letter to her. He is leaving soon so if you write a letter to her and send it up here maybe it can be sent to him.

Thanks for that letter and the clipping. Is Texas really that tremendous? (or do you say that about every state?)

I arrived safely, and so, in fact, has everything else—the things from Best’s, the trunk and even the Smith report, which is fascinating, but I haven’t had a chance to read it carefully yet. The lamp is not flourescent, but
PERFECTLY
adequate. It contains a 60 watt bulb, a shade, and some very flexible metal tubing (like the old broken one) so that I can shine it on any part of the desk I want to, even the typewritter, which is more than I could do with a flourescent one. Tell Mutti that people read and wrote before there were flourescent lamps.

I have graduated from waiting on to dishwashing (usually referred to as “slops”) which is much better—the total number of meals to do is less, and it’s not nearly so nerve-racking. You don’t actually wash the dishes; they have to be sent thru a machine which theoretically does it for you. It really does fairly well, unless there is something like peanut butter. But we don’t have peanut butter very often anyway.

I have also graduated, at least temporarily, to the Junior soccer squad. For the first time I am not on the lowest team of any particular sport since Lincoln. I hope I stay there. Our coach was also my English teacher my Freshman year and he is very nice.

I have an ideal schedule, with study halls and subjects alternating all the way thru. The Physics teacher gayly told us it would be very easy if we spent two hours a night on it, but for me anyway it hasn’t been at all difficult so far. In French we have a teacher who’s been to France and really knows the language.

I have plenty of clothes so never mind the rest of the laundry. Good luck on the last 8
%
states!

Thanks for all three of your letters with those clippings. I did read that story by Wylie and last summer I read “A Generation of Vipers” by him also. Quite a book! But Mutti told me not to take it too seriously and I didn’t, so don’t worry over any affects it may have had on me.

The following are excerpts from letters to his mother in the autumn of 1945 :

D
EAR
M
UTTI
,

Papa got the Smyth Report on atomic power for me and I am reading it. I will explain it all to you when vacation comes again. Do you know that no actual particles of matter (electrons, protons etc.) are turned into energy in the reaction? Every element weighs slightly less than the sum of the weights of the neutrons, protons, and electrons of which it consists. The loss in weight is known as the “binding energy” and it is less in U235 than in the elements into which it breaks up, so the total mass is lowered, and a corresponding (E>mc
2
) amount of energy is released.

I’ve joined the Chess Club, which has started already, and have played a number of games. Aside from that, I won a dollar by beating Steve six games straight. I don’t as a rule play chess to enhance my financial assets, but I offered the bet (even money that I could beat him six straight) as a sort of joke and didn’t want to back down when he accepted.

I got 95 and 98 respectively on the only big physics tests we’ve had so far—I hope I can keep it up. I’ve also been reading a great deal in the Science Library on Physical chemistry, atomic physics, the quantum theory, relativity and sundry other subjects like that which seem to have a peculiar fascination for me. Every now and then I get grandiose ideas for experiments or theorys which would astound the world, revolutionize science, etc., etc. Also, on several occasions I have suspected things which later, by deeper delving into the subject, I found to be true; something which is very gratifying.

The package to which you referred came the next day. What a beautiful bathrobe! Thank you very much.

These are the last two letters I had before his illness:

Sunday, Jan. 13

D
EAR
P
APA
,

I arrived safely and have started counting the days to the Spring Vacation. The winter term is the shortest one and we only have about forty actual school days. The suitcase has arrived, but the coat hasn’t, but
I
guess it will in a few days.

Thanks a lot for taking care of the experiment. As long as there was any water in the acid the reaction probably went like this:

The net result being the elimination of water as hydrogen and oxygen. After all the water was eliminated the action either stopped there or continued thus

the net result being the changing of sulphuric acid into persulphuric acid and hydrogen. When all the sulphuric acid was eliminated it may have stopped there or God knows what may have happened before it finally stopped. Anyway,
I
’m awfully glad you took care of it so well.

love

J
OHNNY

P.S. Coat just arrived—marks will go out in a few days

April 16

D
EAR
P
APA
,

School again!—but its really not so bad after all; in fact, its lots of fun, no matter what you think over vacation.
I
found my key, just where I thought it was, and have resolved not to forget it again. Thanks for that clipping on Alekhine.