Mar 13, 2016

Wed, Mar 13, 1946: work is secret

"Officially the work is secret; but even if I told you about it there wouldn't be much of interest.  The Library of Congress is receiving thousands of books, documents, and pamphlets from Japan.  They have to be classified; so we are assigned to the job of writing brief synopses of the contents.  The variety is unlimited. I've handled things ranging from the church records of the Nishinakachō (Catholic) Church in Nagasaki to a Japanese French dictionary. We don't have time to read - just scanning - and it may get very boring after a few months.
"My new home is an apartment with three other boys from Boulder... So far I’ve done all right on my turns at cooking (We rotate on the evening meal and fix our own breakfasts.) However, I'd like to spring something different sometime; so maybe you can give me some tips, Mother.  You can't cook much on a hotplate -- but maybe you can give some ideas besides hamburgers and canned foods warmed.... Do you have any bacon or other hard-to-get stuff which could be sent from home?"
-- Letter from my father, Washington, D.C., to his family, Bloomington, Kans., March 13, 1946.

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