14 - 17 June 1956

Dear Folks

I saw an ice cream machine today. It drips white, & when you try to carry five cups of semi-fluid ice cream (two in each hand & one clenched in your teeth), you drip white, too. I left a trail like a punctured milk truck all the way from the forward Gedunk to the office. I passed an officer who said very cheerily: "Say, where are they selling the ice cream?" I hope he wasn’t hurt when I didn’t answer; not intelligibly, anyway.

When one’s entire daily adventures reach the state where a trip to the ice-cream stand is a newsworthy item, things are not exactly at their peak. I still wish we had sea monsters. Things like that made a voyage interesting. Nowadays you can’t even find a halfway decent mermaid. Oh, well, times have changed.

No mail call now for a week. Somebody in the Post Office Department is under the happy illusion that we arrived back in the states the 23rd of May & is holding it at the dock for us. His supper will be cold.

Latest "who’s-getting-out-when?" news is that everyone with discharge dates prior to 11 August 1956 will leave in Genoa. I get out 12 August. Ha-ha. Is that not a funny joke on me? No, it is not.

Taps, & goodnight.

Now wasn’t that the fastest three days on record. I’m sorry for not having written, but no mail has come on or gone off in that time, so it is only the volume, not the frequency of delivery, that suffers.

Today being Sunday, I slept till eight thirty, which was a pleasant change. I have shore patrol from 3 this afternoon till about 0300 tomorrow morning; which should be lots of fun.

Yesterday I went over to Genoa, & walked at least two miles (uphill) in the wrong direction looking for the down-town area. I finally spotted it—by locating the 24-story skyscraper—from the top of a mountain, & walked back down again.

I had only ten feet of film in my camera, & the ship is completely out. I tramped all over Genoa trying to find 8mm Magazine, Color. Some places had 8mm Magazine, but in black & white. Finally found a shop that had some, & paid L3,900 (roughly $7.00) for one roll. That one is going to have to last me until the ship gets some more.

Walked around window shopping for a couple hours, & decided to go to a movie. There are quite a few new American movies playing here, but all are in Italian. Since I had read the book "The Man Who Never Was," I figured I could struggle through. It was very good, & I must see it again in English so I can hear what it’s all about.

The theatre was modern & comfortable, even though they had an intermission halfway through, plus ten or fifteen minutes of Technicolor & very elaborate commercials before the main feature.
After the movie, I was walking down the street when I started shaking like a leaf—I wasn’t cold, though, particularly It was more like spasms, & I had to bite my lip & fight like mad to try & stop. Don’t know what caused it & I wouldn’t care to have it happen again; I was afraid I was cracking up.

Just goes to show what the Ti & an eight month cruise can do.

All in all, Genoa is much the way I remember it—I still have to remember to hold my breath while walking past the butcher shops.

Well, I’ll end this now, to make sure it gets off, & will write more later.

Love

Roge

56 Days