Dart’s letter starts with a “confession” that he received an additional Valentine besides Dot’s. (No worries – it came from one of his “Arsenic and Old Lace” maiden aunts.)

He talked a bit about the beautiful clear, cold day they were having in Chicago and wondering what the weather was like in Cleveland and Willoughby at that moment. His thoughts are never far from home, it seems.

In spite of his recent weight loss, he’s feeling almost fat today after the massive meal he consumed. The hospital pulled out all the stops that day to serve an outstanding dinner of T-bone steak and several side dishes. Dart was lucky enough to score two trays, and he consumed them both! The reason for this unusual feast was a rumor that Vice Admiral Ross McIntire (for whom the hospital was named) would be making a tour of the place that day. Everything was looking its best, but by late afternoon, there was still no sign of the Admiral.

Dart mentions his appreciation of the nice young Protestant chaplain who visits him daily. And he told Dot that he was able to hang on to his quiet semi-private room a little longer because his temperature is still slightly elevated. The latest exam by his doctor reveals that spending so much time on his back recently may have “squeezed out” the infection at the old surgical site, so a second operation may not be necessary after all. Potentially really good news! Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

He wraps up his newsy letter with a fairly random story of a two-week surveying trip he made into the wild interior of Ohio last summer. He and three classmates from Case shared a four-man tent, tramped over hills and valleys and created a beautiful map of the area. Dart seems to have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Dot begins her letter by counting to 10. Does anyone still use that trick to control their anger? Well, she had just received his notice of the second surgery needed to repair the botched original procedure on his back, and she is furious! “Aren’t they aware that the only reason the war is not over is because they keep you sandwiched between the sheets?”

Switching gears, she goes on for quite a few lines about a question she’s been meaning to ask him for quite some time – one that has been nagging her for weeks. She really embellishes the seriousness of the question before finally having the nerve to ask it. “The question facing both of us is ‘Will Mutt ever be as tall as Jeff?'” That’s another cultural reference that is going the way of the dodo bird, I suspect.

At last she gets to the real crux of the letter – inviting him to be her escort at the spring prom on April 28. “Providing you haven’t the measles, mumps, whooping cough, pneumonia, back aches, cysts, appendicitis, or by that time rheumatism (in your old age), will you come to the spring prom?” Let’s hope these kids get a lucky break that would allow that to happen.

She admits to having made the cookies he enjoyed so much, but adds “…but one can hardly live on fudge and Toll House cookies, can one?” Well, I don’t see why one couldn’t try!