What a sweet and hopeful letter from Dart today! He is listening to a broadcast of someone he calls “The Voice,” singing live from a studio somewhere. (Is that Frank Sinatra?) The subject of his letter is the “mythical irons in the mythical fire.”
In red underscored print, he tells of some progress made. He has received one of the required signatures for a leave on April 27! Having hurdled numerous barricades, with plenty more to come, he is suddenly hopeful. All the officers agree he should get a leave, but they also warn him how hard it is to get one. A chaplain has intervened on his behalf and moved the process forward.
He’s so excited he can scarcely write. Maybe he’ll be home in time for Dot’s prom! Maybe the trip won’t tire him too much to go to the dance. Maybe the stars will finally align in his favor! As he continues the letter, he keeps returning to the radio program of The Voice, telling what songs he’s singing and relating them to his hopes for this elusive leave. He also compares the screaming girls in the studio to the shrieks of roller coaster riders.
All the while he’s cautioning Dot not to get her hopes up, his elation is stampeding out of control. He ends the brief and ebullient letter with “Oh, Dot! Keep dreaming and hoping and thank the Lord for chaplains!”
Here’s a breezy, busy letter from Dot, begun one day and finished the next. She’s happy to hear of all that money coming his way, and graciously offers to take it off his hands if it begins burning a hole in his pocket. She enjoyed his report of the little dancing girls who came to entertain the patients. That prompted her to confess that she had “studied” dance for several years – ballet, tap, rhythmic and social. “And I can’t dance! No wonder my parents turned grey.”
She was delighted to read the review from Dart’s father. It prompted her to call the Petersons and invite them to her sing-out ceremony later this week.
Beginning the second segment of her letter after midnight, she again cautions him not to expect too much in the way of correspondence from her. She is overwhelmed by everything she has coming at her – assignments, rehearsals, exams, cleaning and packing…
She tells a cute story about a group of three (Dot included) who awoke with a dread of attending Sunday School. They all dislike the teacher and are all so busy that sitting through an hour of her was too much to endure. As they discussed the various means of avoiding that torture without being caught, Dot had the idea of simply asking permission not to go. Convincing her partners to try the direct approach, she put their case to Mrs. Woodworth, the housemother. After careful consideration, the request was granted, but Mrs. W. extracted a promise that they would be “twice as righteous during church.” Dot had high praise for the world’s greatest housemother . She’ll miss her a lot when she leaves Andrews.
Finally exhaustion brought this letter to a close, with a promise that no matter how busy she is, Dart will be in her thoughts at all times.
