Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-06-02
Jack Pickering
Here
and
Now
Jack Pickering

W0e0 the war Is ONtIs tne
insiders, the important people,
will start writing their me-
moirs which will be baptized as
best sellers and In due time
embalmed in libraries.
But all the books are going
TO miss the really important
things. Nuts to all the grand
strategy. The important thing
is what happens TO the little
people, the ordinary, average
people who freeze their toes. and
get hungry. and dream wistfully
and silently of peace, and die
courageous deaths without any
body noticing them.
Take one ordinary person, and
multiply him by thousand mil
lion and you have the real
significance of war.
We know a lot OF people who
keep scrapbooks. We hope that
some of them are keeping scrap
books made up of letters, or
parts OF letters that are coming
across the seas.
For example, Mrs. K. S.
Messer always tucks note in
the toes Of socks that she knits.
and sometimes an answer comes
from some one who gets the
socks. She sent me such a let
ter from Blackpool, England.
written by Arthur Poynton.
Zone cold morning after j
had been loading bombs,
message came through for us
Raj fellows that wooden COM
forts had arrived at camp from
America.
I'VE were In two feet of snow.
% you can appreciate how
pleased we were to get them
>. have been through nearly
every blitx of London, and have
flown In combat over the North
Sea.
snow I am In Biackpool 10
take a course of mechanics
In private life I am a CONNER
ciaI traveller, married with two
little boys whom I sent to Corn
wall In the early stages OF the
war, and whom I see now only
four times . year Arthur
Poynton.'
A million Poyntons. and little
boys In Cornwall, and blitzes
and loading bombs and having
cold toes. That's the real story
Of all this.
We all have letters like. that.
IT you will excuse il. / would
like 10 print some from a letter
we've received from Kitty's
brother. how in Ireland:
Received your letter In Tex
act date prohibited, and me y
censor. too!)" he writes. "It In
doubIy tough being . censor be-
cause I would hate like hell tn
have one OF my own letters come
hack from the base censor ~ not
cricket. So far none Of the let
tiers I have censored have been
returned.
I'm getting the Times. q bit
1ntiquated by the time II gets
here, but I get n lot out OF II
that we do not get here.
I'D like to tell you about the
two Irish colleens who have
taken me into their home. Molly
il married to an English soldier.
She lived In England through the
tough biitx of last year. And Iris
sis engaged to an English captain
and they plan 10 marry as soon
as he can save some money.
Iris and Molly read The De-
troit Times even differently
from the way do. They look
first at the adverts las they call
nthem) Of clothes. stockings, and
hen food.
"'Arthur. how much II 30
cents for this house frock:' l
say. About four and six
Cocoon, chorus Milly and
Iris. Only four and six -four
shiIlings and sixpence TO you'll,
why the cheapest house frock
we can buy costs about a pound
(S4.035)-and we have to have
coupons
This sort Of thing goes on
and on. They look nj the ad-
verts OF fruit, pork, canned
peas. etc, and build dream din
ners.'
They can buy no cosmetics.
worth mentioning. No silk hose.
Shoes take coupons and are
serviceable rather. than fash
ionable. Cigarets cost about 40
cents for 20 lousy.
"RealIy there Ii much OF In
terest that I could tell you per-
sonally but we cannot write IL
as Jerry may get this letter
instead of you.-Art."
Maybe some scrapbook maker
will take to the idea and start a
collection of parts of such let
tiers from ACROSS the ocean. Put
all together, they'll tell a down.
to-earth story Of the war that,
otherwise. we'll forget all about.
Film Time Clock
"Mooutide," l7a.. 400, 7:2O