08/09/2014
July 24, 1947
S.S. Martha Berry
c/o Marine Trans. Inc.
11 Broadway
New York, N.Y.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
way up in the iceberg country.
Dear Genie, Sandra and Sharon:
This morning just about daylight when I was standing on the bow looking for icebergs I saw a sudden splash in the water. There came an old mama porpoise and right beside her was junior porpoise about a foot from his mama. Junior was just a little fellow about a foot long but my how he could swim. He could keep right up with his mama and every time she jumped out of the water he would jump too. They came over and swam back and forth across in front of the ship. Playing follow the leader with another porpoise. They would jump and twist and swim right away from the ship then back and forth and dance across in front of the bow. It seemed like the ship would run right over them but they could swim a lot faster than it could go. After a while they got tired and swam off to play somewhere else.
They are beautiful. All back on top and white underneath. They look just like fish but really they are mammals. They breath air just like we do.
After they left a big school of fish started jumping right alongside of the ship. They were all black and about three feet long and a foot from the top to bottom but only a couple of inches thick the other way. They would jump straight up in the air then drop over nose first and hit the water without even splashing. They got tired too and went off somewhere else where they are probably jumping and playing follow the leader right now.
Above them in the air a group of mother carries chickens were flying about. Pretty little grey and white birds about the size of a robin. They skim along just above the water and drag their feet across the top of the waves. They are hardy little birds living on the ocean and sometimes they never see land in all their lives. By the time they left it had started to get foggy and I had to watch real good to see that we didn't run into any icebergs so that I don't know where they went.
Did I ever tell you about my cat. Her name is halfhitch and she is coal black. She came from Argentina way on the lower end of the south America. When it gets cold she slips under the covers and sleeps curled up around my feet. When it is warm she crawls up on my pillow after I go to sleep and that little old cat pushes me clear off the pillow while I am sleeping so that I wake up with my head on the side and she is curled up where my head ought to be.
I can't write anymore now as I have to go up and drive this big iron boat.
Sincerely,
Your Uncle Junior.
