April 23, 1943

Dear Mom,

I hope you have a happy Easter with the little ones. I am going over to the Millers' for dinner. I went over last Sunday to see them, and found them well but very lonesome without Barse, who is in Australia now. Little Helen is extremely out of hand; her mother has almost no control over her. While I was there I had to act as chaperone for her and some youthful sailor she had picked up on the street. I think poor Mrs. Miller is getting worried.

Your last bag is found. Apparently it had lost its tag, for the S.F. baggage room had to force the hinges to get some identification. They found my address, and called me up today. They will repair it if you give it back to them after removing your things. The character said he had been able to find no record of anyone's having lost a bag of this description. It shows a remarkable case of inefficiency.

I saw Pinafore in S.F. last Saturday. I am going to see Porgy and Bess before long.

I hope Dad is remaining well. I'd like to see him if he comes through this section of the state on his trips.

Initiation is coming in a couple of weeks. I think that I will not go through with it, because almost no one else is, and also I don't have fifty three dollars on hand. I'm not sure that becoming a member of ΑΣΦ now is worth that amount. Our initiation is reputed to be the toughest in Berkeley. It consists mainly of beating us with paddles for two days. As you can Imagine initiates are black and blue from the knees to the waist for several weeks. I have seen cases of this. Often the guys break under the strain. I may go through with the informal initiation just to see if I can take it.

I hope that the children enjoy their vacation. We get absolutely none. Tell them I'll write eventually.

Love,

Linus