Show f Kathleen TT athleen 11 Norris Says Bill Bill Bill- 9 l Tin Im n Tf Writing j t Bell Dell Syndicate WN Features C I I i 1 d t l 1 F t J b g S gi The faraway boy acknowledging this birthday gift said that not only he himself but every one of oJ his hiJ pa pals liked to listen to the home recorded record over oter ter and over oter again By KATHLEEN NORRIS HEN you write to the W WHEN dont don't feel that the letter letter letter let let- ter need necessarily be long Write regularly and briefly If he he- heis is on foreign service send the letter by V mail which is to say by air Dont Don't let your boy feel himself forgotten These letters to our boys are not too easy to write On one side we dont don't want them to 10 think we are lonely and gloomy and on the other nothing nothing nothing noth noth- ing is so desolating to those far faraway faraway away from home as to believe that they arent aren't loved and missed It is for tor you to be ingenious enough to steer a path between these pitfalls Many ye years rs ago my father told me that when writing to a regular correspondent it was a good idea to mention time and ond place I 1 still find it helps a letter You give him the whole picture Tell him that it is just before dinner Dad is giving Bingo a walk around the block and Sis is setting the table I cut a lot lotof lotof of f gold and bronze chrysanthemums today and with the fire and the lamps they make the room look lovely Im I'm wearing my old blue jersey but Sis is going to the movies with Roger who Roger who may be called any day no now by the way way and and looks lovely in her black velvet velvel I can smell cornbread baking and hear the Watsons' Watsons baby rebelling against bed time as usual That sort of thing takes him back home What Not to Write On the other hand what does he hegel heget heget get gel from pages and pages of stuff like this Well I suppose you are surely having an interesting time it is all but winter here we listened to 10 the Presidents President's speech and sincerely sincerely sin sin- hope this dreadful war will soon be over Winter is upon us you will probably have no snow where you are as ns climatic conditions conditions condi condi- differ There is no news town as IS dull as ever everything is just the same samer I am going to work with the Red Cross as os usual tomorrow Make your letter a little home borne magazine Watch the papers for items that concern the friends he hei i 1 ed or the sports that interested 4 und d paste the actual clippings which are much more Interesting mere mer quotations of them than tr r in th letter jotter If It there Is a good tl- tl joke or a picture In one the Illustrated weeklies that Is la of f striking or amusing put those In too One mother In our town takes the of ot the Sunday comic sections sec sec- 32 pages every week and binds them with gummed paper BO so that they I Ibave i have bave some body and malls them to toan toan ton adopted soldier In Alaska Grown an n follow tollow comics with avid enjo enjoyment enjoyment en en- persons jo tt every man In the family bas has hl We- We favorite series aeries and the sol sol- filer citer to whom these bound pages are reports that they circulate until until un- un seat eat ent til tU the they thel are reduced to rags Record Great Treat Another pother large family made a rec- rec record ord a a. few months ago ngo and shipped adored son of the house the it u to away away- Grandfather and ond who ho bo I Is tar far ar Grandmothers others cousins aunts broth broth- if sisters brothers law brothers in laty and a few et er friends brought the ts to 31 one of the girls In ta the wrote jingles appropriate to toIro group Iro nun rv Pe personality and the faraway ry eve every acknowledging this birthday Y v boYr w said that not only he himself g gut of his Pals liked one to but t t every and over again ac bUt listen en to tor 6 LV it over it over r I Nothing lifts the heart like the right sort of letter and nothing creates such a penn permanent anent ache of discomfort as the wrong sort Even at home here in our protected lives we all know the little prick we carry about with us all morning when hen we have heard from poor Carrie Carde who I says that Mama is very blue The beef and coffee shortages are something something something some some- thing awful George wasn't accepted because of his deafness and the weather has been something awful And on the other hand a letter with cheerful news In it a letter with a laugh here and there full of affection and confidence and ond courage courage courage cour cour- age will buoy one for days even though it comes thousands of miles from across the world from a writer one may not hope to see for a Q long long time mind running through those Ds D's again a young soldier said in my hearing years ago We were standing in the camp post postoffice postoffice office and he was watching the mail mal sergeant going through a bunch of letters The man shook his head nothing for Private Davis Little Niece Had Right Idea Gee that's funny the boy muttered muttered mut going away with a little droopIng drooping droop droop- Ing tog of his khaki-clad khaki shoulders He was right here in America his people peo peo- pIe at home knew where he was Another man showed me more than once showed once showed all of us more than once the letter written by his 12 year-old year niece Kate hadn't forgotten forgot forgot- ten him anyway I Kate had included two snapshots of his Airedale and had informed him that she was learning to cook She would make an Ice box cake for him as soon as ashe ashe ashe he came home Kates the only one who's written he said The mother of ot an year old soldier sol sol sol- dier sent him a box this Christmas with the usual cigarettes and cookIes razor from Dad fountain pen from I Mother In this box she put 12 small I Inexpensive gifts gUts so that Tom if 11 he asked a few pals in for a little Christmas celebration would have something to give them as ns souvenirs of ot the occasion She remembered that a boy of 18 hasn't outgrown all his small boy characteristics and would Immensely enjoy the excitement excite excite- ment meat that a distribution of pencils pens wallets pocket knives handkerchiefs hand band kerchiefs and garters would crea create te Collect Interesting Items We want them to believe that we weare weare weare are thinking of them all the time and the best way to do that is actually actually actually actu actu- ally to think of them constantly sa save V up bits of good or amusing news for them as we used to surreptitiously carry home to them the small cakes and candy from a party War to every everyone one of of them is a desperate and thrilling adventure but even the most extraordinary experiences have their long dull stretches |