Thank you for sending another letter. And more socks. I am under no illusions that you writing to me was mere happenstance. When I pressed, Tom admitted that your brother had asked specifically for you to do so, as I have yet to receive letters from home. But don’t write to me out of pity. I am bunked with the two best guys in the world and I am good. Still, receiving your notes has been a delightful surprise.

I hope you’ll continue sending them.

I know John has written to you all about me and our buddy Tom. So I won’t bore you with the kinds of trivialities that read like a resume. Tom said that girls like to hear about what we’re feeling and there’s plenty of that to share.

So here you go. A slice from the life of a soldier far from his own shores.

Have you ever given thought to what lies outside of that which you were born into? I’m from Arlington, you’re from Brooklyn, so we’re both children of the cities. And I never believed I’d be anything else. In other areas of my life, I’ve had to give great consideration as to where I fit in. But not in regard to geography.

Until now. Last night, we woke up to a clatter behind the house. A fox had broken through the fence and was preying on the chickens in the coop. I had no idea what to do, so I opened the window and started yelling. Which did absolutely nothing to deter it.

Then, a rooster flew out of the coop. It is not made for significant flight, but he managed to elevate himself above the fox’s head and spread his wings and scare it away. It’s a sight that I’d never imagined, let alone expected to see, but it is just one of the many things that are enlightening to me about country life.

Chilton Foliat is about as far from a big city that one can imagine. Teasel flowers instead of traffic. Crickets instead of car horns. I can feel the charm of the village casting its spell on me.

John encourages both of us to stop and quite literally smell the flowers. I think Tom picked up the habit right away. I am a late bloomer to the notion, if you’ll excuse the pun.

John and Tom. I’ve always had my family. But now I have friends. Brothers. I don’t know what I’d do without them.