Dart’s letter tonight is a sort of mixed bag of chitchat and news. He’ll leave on Tuesday for several days of antiaircraft gunnery practice, so there will be a dry spell  of letters from him.

He wants Dot to face the fact that the chance of a leave is looking bleak. The guys in Class 1 just received their orders, giving most of them five days leave before reporting for duty. Since the majority had to report to either Seattle or San Pedro, one of those days would be spent in travel. There was one individual who was ordered to duty immediately. He fears his class will receive similar instructions. If Dart would get five days, there’s no way he could make it home. His parents can’t afford a trip to California, and for Dot to come unaccompanied is unthinkable.

There is the inevitable discussion of test scores. He did miserably on one of his tests, but so did the rest of the class, so all grades were raised. He came away with an mediocre 73%. On another test, he tied for second place with a 91.  Now he just has one or two recognition tests and the big 250-question final exam.

He has begun hands-on drills in the use of battle telephones and a review of all the course material in prep for the big test. He’s alarmed by how much he’s forgotten over the past three months. He tells Dot he’s getting a great deal of pleasure out of doing so well in math after being such a dolt in the subject all his life. He launches a minor dissertation on his belief that high school and college education does not stress enough the value of complete and accurate expression. He shows signs even at this young age of his life-long passion for language and the power it brings to the gifted user.

Changing to a lighter topic, he tells Dot that he was selected to represent his class at the grand opening of the Hostess House on Treasure Island. It was a very pleasant affair, complete with tours of the gracious house and gardens, and a bountiful supply of refreshments. I think he got the biggest thrill out of seeing Wave officers serving food to lowly enlisted men like himself. With all the details he reports on the facility, he failed to mention why the Navy was dedicating such a place when they are in the process of dismantling operations on Treasure Island. Curious business.

He’s happy to hear Dot had such a good time in New York last week, but he asks if she couldn’t have thought of a less boring topic of conversation than himself.

Off he goes to write his folks a letter, and then to dream of the best girl in the world.