26 Jun 1941
John Griffin to Mother / Tucson, AZ
Dear Mother,
I have been going to write ever since I received your letter and here it is almost the end 6f June, but things happen so fast these days I have a hard time to keep track of them all. As you see from above I'm down here in Tucson, and boy is it hot. The man on the radio this morning said that they had had a cool spell in Phoenix, that the temperature only got up to 100 yesterday. It feels to me like it went above that today and the forecast for tomorrow is fair and warmer.
The desert in the summer time is hot and dry, and the wind blows forever. There is still something fascinating about it though and it is interesting to see it in the hot time of the year. Everything down here is air cooled, but same of the cooling isn't up to much. You can buy air conditioners for as low as $49 and they really work. Of course it is awfully dry down here and the air can stand the moisture that comes from cooling. They would never work in Washington.
Tuesday morning I received a telegram from the State Department ordering me to report for active duty on July 7. I about passed out when I opened it. The telegram said that I was to be assigned to the 3rd Division in Fort Lewis Washington As soon as I got the telegram I went down to see the colonel and found out that I could resign my commission, and so after talking it all over with Dot I decided that was the thing to do. It was surely a hard decision to make after all the time I spent getting it. If I had gone though I would have been assigned to Camp Lewis and to an active unit, Dot would not have been able to go along as they have no quarters at the fort for wives and families and the fort is over 20 miles from any town. Then too, it would have meant about a 100 dollar a month cut in pay, and with the events coming up I did not see how I could stand a cut like that. Some of the follows at the office and the col. though I was plumb crazy to resign my commission and said that he did now know for sure whether it would be accepted. I think though that if I can prove that I have dependents and no other source of income they have to accept it. So now I am back in the hands of the draft board. The Col. says that the War Department has plans to give every man between the ages of 21 and 35 a year's training whether they have dependents or not. I don't know whether he was putting pressure on but anyway I decided I'd take my chances.
I received a letter from Patsy saying that she had been layed off down in Salt Lake and would come down the first ride that she could get. We have not heard anymore yet arid dont know f r sure yet whether she is coming, but we hope so. I suppose Marian is there by now. I hope t hat she arrived OK from the east without accident. Dot is hoping that she can come down for a visit before going back.
We are hoping that Dot's mother will come out for the big event. She says that she would like very much to come but is not yet right sure whether she will be able to. I hate to leave Dot alone when I go away on these trips, but I guess until the visitors start coming there is nothing else to do. Dorothy leaver today( school is out at noon) and I suppose she will be alone this week end. I wont get back until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week the way things look now. Tenn found a house at last and has moved in. I have not seen him for a week or so and do not know what he has decided about his farm. May is anxious to get the boys down here, though I believe they y will be better off there on the farm busy than down here with nothing to do.
It is time to turn in, if I card sheep in this heat. The air cooling is sure punk in this hotel.
John.
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