Dart’s letter begins with an apology for not writing the day before. He was feeling awful all day and spiked a fever of 103 degrees. Even as he writes, he’s miserable, but he says the act of writing makes him feel better.

He remarks about how much she must be spending on all those high quality Hallmark cards she sends him, not to mention the postage for all her letters. He’s sorry that letters to servicemen cannot be mailed for free, while those from them can be.

Referring to Dot’s description of a huge weekend meal at Andrews, including the fact that she loves corn, Dart writes “I like corn, too. Almost all the varieties. Even like jokes and music that are right off the cob. (Never tried the fermented, liquid variety.)” Not bad writing for a guy with a fever, eh?

He answered her question about why he drew the maps on his surveying expedition and was not involved in the mathematical calculations. He explained quite honestly that his lack of talent with integral and differential calculus is what got him flushed out of Case. But fortunately for the map-making team, he was top notch on mechanical drawing. He said again how much fun the field work had been that hot Ohio summer.

He signed off feeling much better than when he started.

Here’s a quick one from Dot. She’s happy the Navy, and especially Dr. Gordon, have finally recognized that Dart has earned a “vacation.” She truly hopes the proposed sick leave actually happens.

She urged Dart not to try so hard to make her feel better about her letters when he writes such “masterpieces” every day. She is so impressed by his vocabulary that she sometimes feels stupid in comparison. To this day in 2014, Dot still seriously undervalues both her intellect and her writing abilities. (Sigh!)

She tells a funny tale of a recent episode at school – only this time, she is the victim of a prank. Reading it gives me a flavor of how much fun these Andrews girls had during their daily lives.