J42042
P/O Styles J.M.
N^o 1 AGTS
Maitland, N.S.

Dear Mom:

Well don’t fall over. Here I am again. God what a hole. There is nothing to do here except sleep whenever you have spare time. Brother. We are on a 36 this week end so we are sleeping. Some fun eh? Note the snazzy paper eh. I am going to increase my assignment to $90 per month soon. Do you think you can manage on that? Please write me. I have had no word from anybody yet and boy am I bored. They have the prettiest red mud around camp. However we went for a route march this morning and the mud was the usual colour farther away from camp. Yesterday afternoon we had the afternoon off and since the tide was out we walked out the shore for about a mile. Then it started to come in so we walked back in. Some excitement eh? By the way did you send that stuff I asked for yet? I have to borrow a pen every time I write you. Did I tell you that we can get beer here? One qt per week Also you can only buy 1 razor blade if they happen to have any. We still haven’t been paid yet so I am still broke but we have hopes of getting some on Monday. If we get our full pay I will walk into the bank at Maitland (only about 1 hr or 1½ hr walk) and transfer it home to you. If I do will you deposit some of it in my account (3% interest) and some into a joint account between us. It will probably be about $90 I send. If I keep it here it might go anywhere. As I sit here now and look out into the virgin forest I think how it must feel to live in the tropics surrounded by jungle etc. Some fun eh? By the way, when I increase the assignment will you deposit some in my account, in the joint account and use as much of it as you want. It might help you get down to see Norma or up to see Grandma or something but above all keep moving around and doing something. Don’t sit like a bump on a log like I am doing. Brother, to think that I might spend 8 weeks or more here. Boy oh boy am I disgusted. Why did I ever get my commission. If we get a 48 I am going to try to get up to Moncton to see Scotty and the rest of the fellows. Well goodbye for now and please write soon.

Your loving son
Jack