Dear Dad:
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and all the cooks will work till midnight, baking pies and assorted pastry, and we're going to have a real roast turkey dinner. Tomorrow morning 6 of us will saddle our horses and go for a long ride out into the country and into the tall timber which abounds here. I'll take my camera along and hope to get some scenic pictures.
I just got fitted for 2 pairs of heavy hob-nailed trench shoes - size 10 1/2 E. We've been cautioned to take an extra large size to accommodate at least two pair of heavy woolen socks, which indicates that we're going to experience some cold weather over there. I presume mother has told you of the heavy woolen clothes that I've drawn and which I mentioned in a letter to her. And tomorrow morning I'm to draw another woolen uniform and frankly, I don't know where I'm going to put it all...
Father, I do wish you and Mother would take a trip down here to visit me. It would do you a world of good. This is beautiful and warm country, unlike any you've seen before. It's difficult to imagine it's so cold up there in Chicago, for every day is so nice and hot down here and I'm sure it would prove beneficial for your breathing difficulties that you always experience in cold damp weather. So please think of coming down here and then make up your mind to come, for I don't suppose I can get to see you any other way before we go across on the Big Adventure.
We are making excellent progress with our artillery drill and handling of our field guns. We have about 150 horses now in our corral and last Saturday night and all day Sunday I was on Stable Guard; but at 4 in the morning we revert to being just stable laborers - or as we say in the army - "Stable Police." (Police denoting in the military sense, "to clean up.") And so at 4 in the morning we feed the horses about 14 bales of hay and then put 2 pans of oats in each stall. You can well believe that feeding and caring for 150 horses is no small task. After breakfast mess, we have to come back and rake and clean each stall, which means we aren't idle one minute while working down at the stables.
Well father dear, I must bring this to a close now and get ready for bed. The Army is certainly teaching me some good regular health habits. I wish you would write me a nice letter 'cause I've been longing to hear from you. And please, dad think real seriously of making the trip down here with mother. I'm sure you'd both enjoy it and it would do me a world of good too. With love to all,
Your devoted son,
(signed) George
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