85 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean 8 letters “Jean” (one “Mermoz”), January–February 1925, to his “Dearest Mom”; 10 pages in-4 and 11 pages in-8, 3 letterheads from the Nueva Pensión Frascati, and one from the Grands Cafés in Toulouse. On the Spanish lines, from Barcelona to Casablanca. Barcelona. January 16. “Here I am in Barcelona for good—at least until the Dakar route is established. Even so, I might stay here for a year, and I’d be happy about that because you could come see me this summer. I’m staying at a boarding house with one of my friends. There are only three of us pilots; that means I’ll be doing two legs every three days, but no longer in France—toward Alicante and Málaga. As for pay, no less than 3,000 a month—3,000 to 3,500. Things are starting to get interesting”…. – January 24: “I’m back from Málaga and have a day off. […] Things are still going very well; I’m quite happy in Barcelona, which is a very pretty city. […] I’m flying a lot, which I don’t mind at all; well, I hope things keep going just as well. […] Don’t worry, Mom. First of all, nothing will happen to me because I’m always very careful and I want to have a long career in aviation”… Toulouse, January 26. “I’m returning from Casablanca today after a ferry flight. The very day I arrived, they sent me off to Casa. […] The Director told me that, as the pilot who had flown the most kilometers in France that year (120,000 km in 800 hours of flight time), I had been nominated for the Aero-Club’s gold medal. Then he offered me the position of chief pilot at the Dakar airport; I declined, explaining that as long as I was able to do my job, I preferred that to any honorary position, and simply asked him to let me go there as a pilot—which he promised. In the meantime, I’m heading to Barcelona tonight for a month or two”… Barcelona, January 30: “Don’t worry—I’m almost back to normal, and in a few days I’ll see a doctor. Barcelona is a little Paris, and there are thirty thousand French people here. As you can see, I’m not too lost here. I’m staying at an excellent boarding house where the food is excellent; I receive an 800-franc monthly stipend. It’s quite expensive, but for Spain it’s hardly so, since we pay in pesetas […] Right now, I’m doing four stages at a time and resting for three or four days, so it’s not too tiring. Complete independence. We never show up at the training ground, which is 20 km from the city. As long as we’re ready to leave when needed, that’s all that’s asked of us. I earn about 3,000, sometimes more, so I figure I’ll be able to set aside 1,000 to 1,500 francs a month”… – February 4. “ We have a lot of work right now […] It’s going to get even worse; a comrade is going on leave in a few days, and there will only be three of us to handle the shift.” He hasn’t fully recovered yet (from his gonorrhea), and he’s been advised to undergo electrotherapy… – February 11. He returns from Málaga and thanks his mother for sending shirts, the collars of which he has the maid adjust; he mentions his suits. – February 18. “I don’t have a moment’s rest. I came back from Málaga tonight tired enough to think of only one thing: eating and going to bed. A comrade has gone on leave, and our entire unit is in disarray because we have to act as if he were still here; so I’m out every day and am, so to speak, no longer in Barcelona. Anyway, it’s all right—it’s good, hard work despite everything, and it pays off. […] If only we had good weather! But everything’s going wrong—storm after storm—and when you’re up in the air for as long as seven hours, tossed about like a blade of grass, I assure you, you sleep soundly at night"... – February 23. There are only two of us left to cover the shifts, “which means we return to Barcelona only to leave again sometimes an hour later to spend the whole day up there. Actually, I’m not too worried about it […] it would be hard for me to gain weight right now with all this constant overwork, but I’m eating like four people and it won’t last forever. […] I have excellent comrades here, and besides, you see, I don’t have time to get very bored, even without any distractions”…. Correspondence, nos. 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family