Today’s letter from Dart begins with a tantalizing hint of something that happened that should be good news, but he doestn’t like it very much. It took him a page or so to get around to telling her that he is off the serious list, which means he’s been moved out of his semi-private room and into a noisy ward. This ward holds 82 men in the same space that was occupied by 32 men at McIntire Hospital. The chaos and commotion is making him crazy. He is still confined to bed and must keep his swollen leg as still as possible.

He confesses to losing all the good words in his extensive vocabulary when it comes to expressing his delight at her long, newsy letters. “Swell” and “nice” are inadequate, but they’re all he can come up with.

Dart enjoyed seeing the snapshots of Gordon and Gale that Dot enclosed in her last letter. He looks forward to “meeting” the rest of her family when Dot’s film is developed.

After more chitchat on various topics, he declares that it is almost postive that he will not get home by the 17th. The 24th is also unlikely.  But he assures Dot “If I’m lucky enough to pull down a sick leave, my luck will certainly hold out for a little thing like weather.” He is so eager to see her again and to admire the dress she is making for the occasion.

The writing kit that Dot sent a few days ago is proving quite handy. It provides a perfect writing surface for his letters, which would otherwise be scrawled atop his bony knee.

He ends with “Alright, Peterson. Tell her you love her. You’ve told her everything else.”

There is a very short note from Dot, dashed off as her roommate Andy is yelling at her to turn off the lights and go to bed. Dot has spent the whole night working on the dress she’s making.

“Andy asked me to tell you that if you love Bugs Bunny that much, you are a man after her own heart, but I’m not going to tell you that ‘cuz you’re a man after my heart!”

That’s all she wrote.