483 4/25/1943 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 401 Alexander, Monroe, Louisiana Sunday, April 25, 1943

Sadie Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, Easter is just about over now and we had a nice day even though it wasn’t exciting. Elmer got up at five this morning and went fishing but came home with just two of them which were so small I didn’t think they were worth bothering with but he fried them and ate them and thought they were wonderful. This afternoon he went out and played softball with the men from work and Jimmie and I drove over after Jimmie woke up from his nap and watched. Elmer is getting in some exercise with all the sports he goes in for and I am glad because before living here we never knew many people since he usually worked alone or with one or two others. He has a lot of fun now and I do too. I ordered some ice cream a few minutes ago and had Olney Dean come down and have some and he and Elmer are sitting out on the porch talking shop so I didn’t think I would be missed very much if I came in and wrote to you. I would have gone to church tonight if they had evening services but they don’t. Tomorrow I have to be sure and call Mrs. Herring because Jimmie is going to be circumcised at eight o’clock in the morning on Tuesday. Dr. Bendel lives just a block from us and I used to take Jimmie down to his office about once a month to be weighed and he never charged me anything so he came over Saturday to look at Jimmie and said he really did need it badly. He said it looked as though there was a lot of pus back of the skin. He couldn’t even push the skin back. He could but he said it would just hurt Jim. I sure hate to have it done and probably if I had been thinking rightly about it all this time it would be alright now but anyway I’m glad Mrs. Herring is going to work for him. Dr. Bendel said it would be all over with in ten minutes and he is going to give him some ether and said it wouldn’t hurt him at all and probably wouldn’t even bother him afterwards. Anyway I’m going to call the girl who is having the bridge game Wednesday and tell her to get someone else so I can stay with Jimmie. He certainly is a real boy. He pushes his truck all over the house and makes a funny noise the whole time he pushes it. Everything he picks up he starts to push and make that funny noise. Sometimes it is a shoe and today he started it with the dustpan. I let him play with the bread box because since the weather is getting hot I keep my bread in the ice box to be sure no roaches will come around, and I keep every bit of other food in glass jars with covers on tight. Food that doesn’t go in the ice box. We had a lot of roaches here when we first moved in but by spraying every night I have practically gotten rid of them and just see some off and on. I sure hate them and I guess they are worse in the summer time. If we have a lunch before going to bed I have to clean up every crumb and sweep the kitchen floor good every night. I guess it’s a good way to make me keep my kitchen clean. Sarah’s folks live in Shreveport and Sarah and Tug and Jimmie and I are going and spend a week with them pretty soon. Her folks will come down and get us and then bring us back again. I think it will be fun and I would like to get around a little as long as we are here. Saturday I bought Jimmie more training pants and he wore those all day today and just wet about four of them but I don’t think that is so bad. I hope this circumcising business won’t spoil these months of training him. If it doesn’t I think I will let Annie go because I get tired having her around all day even though it is only twice a week. I might at first just cut it down to once a week and see how that works. Well Folks, I hope you had a nice Easter. I thought of sending you a card but waited too long to get a pretty one and I don’t think you care do you? Florence sends us cards for everything and I never think about it and she gets mad but you know I think about you anyway. Please send me Uncle Carl’s address. Love, Helen