I just pray that I’ll be spared the nightmares, like the ones I had for years, that I was still going around Saigon trying to get some one to figure out how to prepare my Army discharge papers. Everyone had left Saigon years ago and I am still making the rounds. This actually did happen but it was only a week or so. No one had ever taken his discharge in Vietnam. You just rotated out after your one year tour. But I loved the place and decided to hang on for another 4 months and then I toured S.E. Asia again and hitched a ride on an Airforce cargo plane back to California. I finally found an old sergeant in the Marines who took care of my discharge. I was not only the first to discharge in Vietnam, in January 1963, but probably also the only one who arrived in Vietnam as a Private First Class and left as a Private. I had been busted down to Private at least four times. A long story. You can read more details at https://cometosea.us/albums/log-Vietnam.htm 

I just don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night in the coming years and find out that I am no longer riding my folding bike in Calafat.

But just like Vietnam, Romania is growing on me. The people are truly generous and kind. Christy showed up once again at the boat with a bag full of canned goods from his wife. Pickles, condiments, etc.  The servers here at the O.K. restaurant are very kind and as the picture shows very attractive. Geta, (pronounced just like the English Jetta) speaks fluent Italian and Denisa’s English is excellent. The manager, the owner’s son, Claudio also speaks English well. At lunch time the place fills up with local merchant men. I also visit the “Coliseum” where they also have free Wireless. It is a restaurant and hotel and most of the Spanish foremen of the bridge building company stay here.

I woke up with a nasty sore throat. That’s all I need is a cold while installing the engine. My right eye has not improved over the last three weeks and I fear I may have scar tissue on it and not sure if that can be removed. I only have a blurry picture from the right eye and it sometimes has the same, but milder, pain symptoms I had at the start of the problem in early August.

The crew at the "O.K" Restaurant, Calafat