517 8/5/1943 Helen Carlson to Sadie Erwin

Helen Carlson 401 Alexander, Monroe, Louisiana Thursday, August 05, 1943

Sadie Erwin 1120 Cole St., Enumclaw, Washington

Dear Folks, I had a nice letter from you today telling about Jimmie’s telephone call. I was hoping he wouldn’t be sent to Salt Lake City but maybe that won’t mean he is going overseas. In the last war Charlie Bray was working at an air base repairing planes so wasn’t in the actual fighting so they are a little safer that way unless of course the air base is bombed. I hope Jimmie will get his furlough. I want to get home so darn bad and especially if Jimmie is going to be there but what in the world shall I do about it as long as we don’t know just when we are going to move. Maybe something will work out. Elmer has been home the last two days from work. I guess he has another kidney stone passing through like what happened once before in Holly Hill. A fellow had to drive him home from work yesterday morning and he was in terrible pain and wanted me to call the doctor so of course I did and the doctor gave him a hypodermic and that put him to sleep and he slept all day. When he woke up the pain was gone and today they x-rayed him but couldn’t see the stone. Elmer seems to think it is still there as it hurts him when he has to go but he feels much better than he did. Today I made an appointment at the dentist and the earliest time he can take me is September 20th. My teeth don’t bother me but I know I have a couple of cavities so made the appointment and if we are still here I’ll keep it. They had to take Elmer’s mother away and put her in the sanitarium in Rochester. We had a letter from Florence yesterday and she said the mother had been getting sick about twice a week and had bitten her tongue almost off and had done such terrible things that she couldn’t even write about them. It upset Elmer pretty much and for the first time since I have known him he told me all about his mother. He is really relieved about them taking her away because he said Florence wasn’t safe in the house with her baby alone with the mother. He said it used to be so embarrassing when he was in grade school and bring kids home with him and his mother would start throwing things at them and acting terrible and then the kids would go back to school and tell everybody how his mother was. He said she used to run over to the neighbors with no clothes on and they would have to go and drag her back home. He said she was at times very dangerous and has been getting more so all the time and lots of times his sisters have come screaming into his room to help them hold his mother down. He can never remember when his mother was well. She has thrown knives at them and threatened to kill all of them. It must have been terrible growing up in a home like that. It is terribly hot out tonight but we can sleep quite well out on the porch. I’m going to take Jimmie out for a walk pretty soon and he can hardly wait until I get started. My egg man never did show up again so he must have known the eggs he sold me weren’t any good. I better stop for now but send me Jimmie’s letters when you hear from him. Goodbye for now and I’ll write a longer letter next time. With Love, Helen