Dart was delighted to receive a long letter from Dot. He told her it was a big hit in the ward, so I guess the patients must have passed the time reading their mail to the other guys. I find that to be such a nice thought – it almost turned strangers into extended family and provided entertainment in the days before television and video games. Have we lost something by retreating into all of our personal electronic devices?
His curiosity (and jealousy?) was sparked by Mom’s mention of receiving a V-mail. I think that stands for “victory” and refers to letters from a deployed military man. They came on special paper and were mailed with no postage. Dart is hoping Dot’s recent V-mail came from her brother who was in the Navy and not “some dark character looming on the horizon to make me insanely jealous and anxious over you.”
In response to Dot’s report of senior antics in the art room, Dart relates a very funny story about some hi-jinx in the lab at Case. Some of the guys got their hands on a bottle of acetone, a solvent that can turn rayon fabric into a sticky, gooey mess. They were horsing around, pouring some of the stuff into the back pockets of some unsuspecting classmates. One guy who felt the chilled sensation on his skin caused by the rapid evaporation of the acetone, looked down and discovered that his socks had dissolved. Dart was carrying a handkerchief with red lettering on it made of rayon thread. The thread dissolved, creating a big smear on the handkerchief. His parents razzed him about the “lipstick smudge.” He follows up with some corny jokes “straight off the cob.”
He confesses that the way he feels now he knows he couldn’t even think about hitch-hiking to Greenwich over Christmas. But he assures her he would do anything to get to know her better.
Dot begins her letter in a surprising way- addressing it to Dr. Anthony, Dart’s physician. She explains that a very nice boy has just written her a very long letter, but because of his incapacity, she fears he may cause harm to himself by pulling such stunts. She asks the doctor for his advice: “Should I beat the sailor’s brains out or should I thank him for being so very considerate?”
She has great sympathy for his recent ordeal. She even reports that she tried to write to him from the same position he must maintain while writing to her and urges him not to continue sending letters if it causes him pain.
A little more chit chat and then she tells him of seeing one of the most “stirring” movies ever – “So Proudly We Hail.” She is in awe of the caring and courageous nurses depicted in the film, which I suspect was one of those hyper-patriotic jobs that Hollywood churned out weekly during the war years.
She wraps up by giving him the address where she’ll be staying over the Thanksgiving holiday, saying she hopes he would write to her there so she’d have something to keep her good nature while a guest in someone’s home.
