10 Sep 1939
John and Dorothy Griffin to the Griffins / Arlington, VA
Dear Mother,
Both you and Dad owe as a letter, I believe, but I guess it we all waited for the other to write no letters would be written.
It surely seemed good to get off the plane and find Bob and Dot waiting for me. Bob seemed to know me, at any rate he called me daddy and came to me and put his arms around me. Dot looks fine, in fact she looks better than at any time since we've been married and so you must have treated her well out there. She said that she had a swell time and a good rest but missed me a lot. It's always nice to be missed.
I went over to the Instate Commerce Commission to work last week, It is a civil service job at the same salary I was making, and will not have the continual threat of folding up like it did at the PWA. It looks like I got out of the PWA just in time as they laid off about 40% of the personnel this last pay day/ With the war here, I doubt very much that congress will vote any more money for PWA work.
I am being assigned to the Philadelphia office and though I had hoped that I might go somewhere in the west, I as glad to go to Philadelphia, instead of down south somewhere, I have the same job as Grant Syphers has in Salt Fake City. There is not much chance of coming out there as long as he is there. He has been in the service for several years now and is well liked and I don't think will be transferred unless he wants to be. He might get a promotion some time though and that would leave a vacancy in Salt Lake, City.
No, doubt you are pretty worried over the folks in Europe. I would not worry over them too much. I feel sure that Ben knows the ropes over there and knows what to do best. I see in the paper today that the government is sending a bunch of boats over this week to bring Americans home and no doubt they will be on one of them. I don't think the Germans dare touch any more boats with Americans on them. I have not heard a word from Europe for several months, so if you have any news let us know about it.
Dot and Bob are waiting out in the car to take this over to the airport. Dot wrote you this morning, and I didn't want it to go off without a word from me. I'11 write longer sometime later when I have a little more time.
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