To                                                                                            From

     Mrs. Carlton J. Cook                                                       Lt. Col. Carlton J. Cook

       26 Front St.                                                                      Ord. Sec.., Hq. M.B.S.

            Binghamton, New York                                             A.P.O. 600, % P.M., N.Y.C.

                                                                                                Nov. 17, 1943. Letter #4

My Darling Jeannette,

            Well my dear, I’m getting along fairly well now. My hand is getting better fast, although I still have a bandage on it and it will be on for another week. I cannot use my right hand yet for anything that takes any pressure, so I am still typing with my left hand only. The doctor took the stitches out Tuesday morning. There were about eight or nine in it. The cut was about two and a half inches long from the index finger to the corner of my palm. The doctor said there were three bunches which he cut out. He would not guarantee that others would not grow back in time and that I might need to have them cut out at some future date.

            I hope that you are better by now from your grippe and back on the job again. You must have had it rather badly to be laid up for so long. Be sure to take care of yourself now not to get sick again. Are all of our families all right now? I hope that Grandma K’s sickness was not too serious and that she is out of the hospital by now.

            Today I received another letter from you – number 6 for November 8. I am missing numbers 4 and 5, but they will probably come along in time. The letter that I wrote you from the office last Sunday did not have a number. It should have been number 6.

            I will answer your letters now first. Your letter number 3 of November 4th was received November 14. You were wise to stay at home until the eighth to get over your cold. After all, you do not have to work and there is no use of making yourself really sick in bed for a long time by having gone back too soon. Just as you said, your principle trouble is that you miss me; that is my trouble all of the time as well. I have been feeling pretty low many times lately when I think of you so far away. Things just are not as pleasant as they used to be and that does not help matters any for my state of mind. The explanation for that will have to wait until I see you again, dear. You mentioned the lot across the street and about talking with Dolores about it. I wrote you in one of my previous letters to forget about it, as I have given up the idea of wanting it. We should keep our money to use on our house and our present lots, as we have so much to do on them already.

            Your November 8th letter took a while because the mail seems to have slowed up somewhat. Perhaps this is because of the large amount of Christmas card V-mail that are being sent back to the States for mailing there before Christmas. I wrote you that I sent some back to a few friends and relatives last week. They tell us that they will be held and sent out a short time before Christmas. Dick K. is lucky to be stationed in Ocala for the winter. He should look up Uncle Tubby’s relatives and if he can get a few days leave go down to St. Pete to see the folks there. , I am sure they would be glad to have him. How come the change in spelling of Susan’s name again? I am not all clear on the final settlement of the mortgage yet. However, do not bother any more about it now. I shall go in and see Mr. M. when I get back and have him go over the figures for me then. Be sure to keep the letters I have written you about it so I shall have the questions to refer to when I get back as I may forget some of them in the mean time. The savings account is going up very nicely, dear. I should surely like to see it at one thousand dollars before the end of the year. You should bee able to do that all right with Crane’s December payment and $270 more from the December allotment check. The checking account is quite high now and you will have another allotment check right after the first of January for expenses for that month. We shall need of the money in it so we can to do some of the things we want to do.

            I went to see Stormy Weather at the Red Cross theater night before last. , I thought, it was quite a good picture. I haven’t done anything else special since last writing you. My darling, I send you all my love. How I wish I could see you, my dear. I miss you so dreadfully each day. It has been a long time now.

                                    Devotedly,

                                                Carlton.