1933-05-27: Clarence Outruns the Women's Champion of Northern Germany

Flensburg Sudermarkt 4

May 27/33

Dear Mother and Dad,

There isn't much to write about today other than the weather.  Jedoch sie bokommen hierdurch eine uversicht meines Wohlergehens.  That goes to show how my thoughts run.  I unconsciously started that sentence in German so I had to finish it so.  I wrote a letter last night and after I read it through I found there to be as much German as English there in.  I was telling my companion last night that I'm afraid I'll find myself in embarrassment when I have to preach in English.

Now that the conventions are over with around there I presume  you can take a rest for the time being.  Or is there another convention to come up.  I can't think of any other organizations in Safford so I take it that your festtagen are over with.  Gila Valley has had her share of them this year, has she not??  Since Dad has become President of the Chamber of Commerce they have kinda made themselves known around there.  What??  It sort o' keeps we Crandall "chillains' a humpin to keep up with our "Ma" and "Pa".

Yes, I can get all the shoes etc. I need over here.  As a matter of fact, I am going out and buy my first pair of German shoes tomorrow.  As for some cake etc. it surely would taste good but I hat to pay customs duty on that stuff so you'd better keep it for yourselves.  Kathleen smuggled me three sticks of chewing gum in her last letter and it certainly went through a tourney of mastication.

You took me wrong when I said that I might be ending my mission up elsewhere.  I hardly think anything like that will happen while I'm over here even though such a thing is possible.  My opinion of the matter is that everything is going to run along as smooth as ever.  For the past two days I have been pretty sore and stiff from a tract meet that I tried to enter out in the meadow.  On our last trip out into the country to Flatzby Holz we took some of the saints with us and held a tract meet out in one of the fields of the Brother Salopiata.  After running one race I come to find out that I had been running with the Champion lady runner of Northern Germany.  She has been visiting her relation out in the country for the past two weeks.  I came in a long ways ahead of her but had I known that she was the champion of Northern Germany, I doubt whether I would have run with her.  She did beat my companion, however.  Then in the evening we held our regular preaching meeting after which I rode home in one of those half-pint automobiles that they have over here.  My first ride in an automobile since I left home.

Yes, this country goes from one extreme to another.  A while back we had to turn on the lights at four o'clock in the afternoon to read; now we don't turn them on until ten at night.  The sun doesn't go down now until about nine o'clock.  And it gets daylight at about two o'clock in the morning.  Now you tell one.  I wouldn't have to go very far to see the midnight sun.

I've got to preach in the morning as well as play a solo so I'll call this epistle to a halt.

Lots of Love,
Clarence