Tetanus Shot

Lt. (j.g.) Gilbert Steingart

U.S.S. Ocelot, F.P.O. San Francsico
Thursday 26 October 1944, 9:00 PM

Dearest Wife,
     Was I mad this morning. It must have been past 1:00 AM before I finally turned in. During the night the clocks were turned back a half hour. The mess boys didn't know that so they woke me at 6:30 AM. Now I'll be short the half hour from 6:30 to 7:00 AM that I usually sleep in.
     I have arranged my hours of work so that I do all routine dentistry in the morning before it gets warm and stuffy. For the rest of the day I stay topside as much as possible.
     This morning after I finished up my appointments I got another tetanus shot and my arm has been sore ever since. I've had many shots but this is the first time I got a real reaction.
     The other day, I picked up a magazine you might enjoy. It is called "The Woman" and is a digest magazine such as "Readers Digest." There were several articles I enjoyed reading and I know you would also.
     This afternoon with my sore arm and the warm weather, I found me a cool, shady spot on the captain's bridge and read for a while. In the late afternoon the captain invited our exec and me into his cabin for a cup of coffee. Then I visited the navigation bridge until dinner which was lousy.
     This evening, the exec, Hansen, Cox and I went to the wardroom and played a few games of "Peek" which I described to you a long time ago.
     Sweet, I do feel punk tonight. My arm is sore and achy and I'm perspiring to beat the band. Good night Honey until tomorrow. I love you as always.

Your one and only
Gil