15 December 1955

Dear Folks

As you can see, I’ve broken my vow, which actually was a silly one in the first place; but I was so mad at the thought of all that effort gone to waste that I could cheerfully have scuttled the USS Ticonderoga without another thought.

Got a card & money from Grandma, whom I intend to write as soon as possible, & a letter from you (always welcome). Also I got back two rolls of film, which I opened warily, but soon went into fits of ecstatic glee. The first one opens with a scene of the Capitol dome, & goes on beautifully. The second opens with sunrise over Gibraltar & is, as far as I can tell, prefect.

Gibraltar itself is seen as in a blue haze, though it may be a slight overexposure. Then it moves on from a shot of the Rock in back of a large gold cross commemorating British dead, & wanders about over Europe, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, & an almost identical shot of the dome of the Tomb of Invalides; from almost the same angle as our Capitol dome. I couldn’t have asked for them to turn out better. A few underexposures (refueling at sea) & some overexposures. Considering he fact that a majority of the Paris pictures were taken on a very gloomy day, they came out beautifully.

Both I & my cold are doing excellently, & hope you (minus the colds) are the same.

Now—calling home on Xmas day is impossible, as I have the duty that day. And since I have to be back aboard the ship by 11:30, & the six hour time difference, the very latest I can call home
is 5:30 & you won’t be home by then. So come home as early as possible & I’ll try (can’t promise) to call on the 27th. Don’t hold your breath, though. You have to order the call the day before, I am told, & the only time I have two days off in a row is on the 26th & 27th. But I’ll try.

Got a letter from Lief at long last. He has less than two months to go, & the Navy is trying, in its own inimitable way, to make it seem as long as possible by putting him back on mess cooking!

Well, I’d better close now—it’s getting late (9:30).

Until August, I am

Always

Roge