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January 6, 1940 – A Letter to Ed and Lillian Janis

Ed Poltrack recounts his 1940 New Years Eve adventure. When this letter was written Ed was at Chanute Field in Illinois taking flight lessons.

Ed in Flight Trainer
Ed Poltrack in Flight trainer at Chanute Field in Illinois.
Jan 6, 1940

Dear Lil, Ed, et als,

Comes the post-mortem or perhaps I should say post, post-mortem or perhaps I should say post, post, post mortem. Explanation: post #1 stands for the army post, post #2 for the aftermath of post mortem. (Further details will not be furnished on request). In other words I’m gradually crawling out of the “dumps” I’ve slipped into upon returning to the post. Getting back here combined with the discovery of the fact that it will be about two months before I get to school made me feel pretty lousy for a while but now I’m falling back into a routine of laying around and dodging details and it won’t be long before I again fall into a time-unconscious state, as of yore.

The usual man’s idea of a complete New Year’s eve celebration is, I believe, one in which wine, women, song and a night in jail play a part. Granting that such is the case I’ve had a pretty complete New Years Eve, right up to the jail. It was through no fault of my own though. The fellows I was with got into a fight and we were dragged to the clink. It was argued out there and we were all sent home to sleep it off. (all except me, that is. I mean I wasn’t to sleep it off because I wasn’t in the fight nor was I drunk.) —- Some fun.

Did you hear about the royal send-off I got on leaving home? Anthony, Pete, Russ, Fred Hamilton and Tom Ferrante were there to see that I made it.

P.S. I did

It looks like I didn’t leave all the good music behind me when I left home. At the Y.M.C.A here they have an R.C.A. phonograph (console-type but not as good as yours) and a selection of records that includes practically everything from Mozart to Dixieland Jazz. So … the battle isn’t lost yet. Therefore …

X – for Cynthia

X – for Marcia 

And love to yo’all

Ed

HAPPY NEW YEAR

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