would have my mind on what keys to blow next though of course I just say
that for a comparison because I could learn how to play the whole band
and still make a sucker out of that bird because all you got to do is to
pitch outside. But besides that I figured that the man who was trying to
learn us French didn't know what he was talking about and what is the
use of learning it wrong and then you got to start all over again when
we got over there. For inst. he asked me what was the English word for
very in French so I knew it was tres so I said tres and he says no it
was tray because you say the letter e like it was the letter a and you
don't pay no attention to the letter s. So I asked him what it was there
for then and he said that was just the French of it so I had a notion to
tell him to go and take a jump in the lake but I decided to just say
nothing and quit. I guess the French people are not crazy and they
wouldn't nobody but a crazy man stick a letter in a word and then make
up their mind to ignore it you might say and it would be just like as if
I wanted a beer and I would go up to the bar and say "Give me a bee" and
I guess the man would think I thought I was in a bee hive or something
or else he would think I had a bee in my bonnet eh Al?

But laying all jokes to one side I have got to much on my mind to be
fooling with it and besides I put in a week on it and I figure I have
got it down good enough so as I can get by and besides I am one of those
kind that don't have much to say but when theys something to be done you
don't have to send no blood hounds to find where I am at.

Red Sampson got another letter today from his brother in France and Red
says his brother and Pershing was right up close to the front where they
could see the fighting and they was a big battle in Sept. that the
papers didn't get a hold of it and about 2500 Frenchmen was killed. So
Shorty Lahey asked if they was all privates and Red says No that in the