Shima',
I am well. Hope you are. Tell my brudder Elmer the Marine Corps
beats working for the trading post. Tell him to join up quick before
maybe all of the places are filled. I was kinda sorta restless at the
beginning because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m., but am
getting used to sleeping late.
Tell Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot and shine
some things. And you get a real bed to sleep on and you don't
wake up smelling like the sheepskin. And there's no sheep to herd,
horses to tend to, fences to fix, wood to split, practically nothing to
do. And you get to take a shower because there's warm water. They
actually have breakfast like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, but
kind of weak on mutton, potatoes, ham, steak, fried spam and other
regular food, but tell Elmer you can always sit by the two city folks
that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon when
you get fed again.
It's no wonder these city folks can't walk much. We go on "route
marches", which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden
us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A "route
march" is about as far as to our hogan to the main highway. Then the
city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.
The ocean is nearby but you have to get through what's called a swamp
to get to it. Reminds me of swimming in the windmill water tanks back home.
The sergeant is like a boarding school dorm aide. He nags a lot.
The captains, majors, and colonels just ride around looking at us
somehow, kinda sorta like the council delegate. They don't bother you
unless you have something they want..
This next will make Elmer laugh really hard. I keep getting medals for
shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big
as a prairie dog head and it doesn't move or run around. All you got to
do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. And you get to use bigger
bullets than the old 22's they sell at the fleamarket in Gallup.
Then we have what they call hand to hand combat training. You get to
wrestle with them city folks. I have to be real careful though, beacuse
they break real easy. It isn't like fighting with that ole bull at home.
I'm about the best they got in this except for that Rita from over in
Forest Lake. I only beat her once. She joined up the same time as me,
but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds, and she's 6'8" and weighs near 300
pounds dry.
Be sure to tell Elmer to hurry and join before all those other guys
figure out that this is easier than boarding school in Lukachukai.
Your loving daughter, Roycita.
