Alliford Bay, B.C.
March 29, 1944

Dear Mom and Dad ---

Glad to receive your letter and thanks a lot for the swell box. The first underwear your sent was size 32 and these are 34 which is a little too big but I will take in the waist so they will stay up. I am fairly handy at darning and sewing buttons on now.

From the sound of Jim's letter it must be pretty bad over there at times. We had the picture "Journey For Margaret" here at the show last night. It gives one an idea of what its like over there. I will send Jim's letter back because you will probably want to keep it.

I got a swell letter from Percy but have not answered it yet. I am really surprised to hear Roy Miles is being married. He's not much older than me. Is he still training for air crew. We all had a medical examination for air crew. I passed it all right but I don t think I will ever hear anymore about it. Alex MacDonald was taking pre-air crew courses at Sea Island but he was sent to Pat Bay and had to discontinue them. In his last letter, he is being moved again to a new place called Comox.

By the sound of things, Billy Jones must be quite a man. He certainly has a good start at a trade. I am beginning to think there is no future in this part of the Air Force. I have heard that it is almost impossible for an ex-service mechanic to get a job with T.C.A. even sweeping hangars. This report was pretty authentic, too.

That sounds bad about the lack of work in Hamilton. By the way, I have never received an Army call yet, have I? I might just as well have stayed a civilian for all the good I am up here in the bush.

I thought I had my leave fixed up but the flight seargeant who says who can get out and who can't get out has been queering everybody's leave lately so I don't know when I will get out now.

I don't have any opinions at all on the duration of this war. Nobody ever says much about it up here.

We got our bowling alleys finished and the league started the other night. Am I ever rusty? The first night's scores were awful, but will improve. Are you still bowling.

I am saving up for my leave. One cannot help but save money here. I got to thinking about those gifts I should take with me, and I went to the only store that sold things like that in Queen Charlotte City. I got two sets of carved wooden candlesticks. I laughed long & loud when I got back to the station and discovered they were made in Kitchener Ontario. Nevertheless they look very nice and didn't cost too much. I only hope Kitchener does not ship as far as San Francisco & Vancouver.

I don't think its anything we eat that makes us talk in our sleep, we are just a leetle [?] bit bushed, that's all.

That song "Mares Eat Oats" etc., is pretty popular up here too.

I would like to have been there that Sunday and listened to all the latest gossip just like I used to do when the twins came in on a Sunday.

I guess Uncle Lev always did do odd things, didn't he?, so that last business isn't so unusual.

I hope they get rid of those robbers. They would make one feel unsafe half the time.

The days are really long here, too. There are all kinds of birds here now too.

Speaking of house cleaning, we do it all the time. One fellow cleans each room from 9 to 10 A.M. each day for a week at a time. I am on this week. On Friday nights, every body digs in and sweeps the floor, scrubs it with hot water & soap. Then we dust all the lockers & beds, clean the windows. We generally take all Friday evening preparing for barrack inspection on Saturday morning.

Well, I guess I will crawl into my sack for a little sleep now. Hoping you & dad and all the folks are all well, so long for now --

Joe