Ghost Troop Home Page    April Fools Part 2

 

August 6, letter to Professor G

My dear Professor G (and Frau G),

I hope you will forgive me the minor affectation of calling Mrs. G by what I think is the correct German.  Do you know, I was so interested in your native language that I tried to get the Army to send me off to study it.  I didn’t have any luck, though.  Uncle Sam said he didn’t need anyone to learn the language of Goethe, but he could sure use somebody to learn the language of Tolstoy!

Anyway, I came across an old clip in my scrapbook, my first national publication, written for Military Intelligence Magazine.  It gained me the attention of some rather interesting military communities.  Soon after its publication I was working for the nice people who take care of security matters in the capital, doing special projects here and there while I studied Russian and rode my bicycle at the Defense Language Institute in the hills of Monterey, California.  I can honestly say that I behaved myself decently while I was there (for two years), and, like all honorable officers, I can say I never did anything really naughty unless it was for my country!

I hope both you and your beautiful wife are feeling well.  I’m staying indoors nowadays.  The neighbors must think I’m an invalid, but I’m just focused on the issues of my work.  I have a superstitious fear that if I go outside before I’m done I may never get around to finishing!  Obsession is the fire of art, I suppose, but you can imagine how much I’m looking forward to being done with my opus.  I hope I’ll soon have the honor of visiting you again.

Respectfully yours,

Captain Eric H. May

PS:  I hope you’ll enjoy the piece, which will probably be an appendix to the book “April Fools, Captain May” about my recent bicycle tour.  I dearly hope you see some of yourself in the essay.  The writer had you in mind when he wrote it.

 

Ghost Troop Home Page    April Fools Part 2