Looks like Dart dodged a bullet! He made it out the gate for liberty today without incident. His liberty card becomes legal tomorrow.
He’s hanging out at the Hospitality House in Oakland, waiting for a free meal. He’s with three buddies from Shoemaker, including Leffman who was supposed to be in the hospital getting an operation. He offers no explanation on that.
The real impetus for coming into town tonight, as he mentioned in yesterday’s letter, is that the East Bay Model Engineers club is hosting their monthly operating night, allowing members of the public to run the trains. Dart doesn’t see how tonight’s event could top last month’s. Hmm. I’m not sure I’d be discerning enough to spot the difference between a great operating night and a so-so operating night. Perhaps I lack a certain enthusiasm for the hobby.
Shoemaker announced a new setup today for both liberty and work details. The only benefit to the poor enlisted men is that they can now wear dungarees on work details, saving their blues. “Dungarees” is a word I hope comes back into fashion some day because it’s so much fun to say, but I’m not holding my breath.
Dart regrets leaving camp before mail call because he’d been told there was a letter from Dot in his stack. Oh well, something to look forward to when he gets “home.”
He gets a nice long break from official duties for both Christmas and New Years, if he’s “still around to collect.”
Just to keep things interesting, Dot opens her letter with a bold “Dart Darling!” She knows what kind of a mood he was in when he wrote his recent “hell-raising” letter. She’s been in a similar state for a while, as her Christmas spirit came and left again in a flash.
The Franklin Simon Christmas party went off well tonight. Most people were feeling quite “happy,” but Dot only drank coffee, eschewing the 10 cocktails she was offered.
She’s pleased Dart was able to get to the concert the other day because he seems to enjoy them so much. She says she’d love to go to a concert with him some time, but then, a trip to the city dump would be great if they were together.
As so often happens, Dart and Dot were both listening to the same radio program last week. They both enjoyed “The Hour of Charm,” especially the hymn “In the Garden.”
She wants Dart to tell the guy who didn’t believe in marriage that he is “off his trolley.” She thinks Gordon’s war marriage is one that will stand the test of time. (and it certainly did! They celebrated their 60th anniversary, with Betty passing away the next day.) After the war, she hopes to have proof that post-war marriages can also be successful.
Unless the Navy delivers mail on Sunday, this letter will not reach Dart before Christmas. She’s looking forward to calling his folks on Christmas Day, if she can get a line through.
His Christmas will not be much, she knows, but she’s confident that he’ll have some in his future that are twice as nice as the best one he can remember. She thinks they’re in agreement that things usually work out the way they’re supposed to. She’s been trying to figure out the reason they’re “supposed” to be so far apart, and it eludes her. “I guess God’s keeping the reason to himself.”
Here’s the paragraph I’ve been expecting in response to one little part of his recent letter. She says she’ll be babysitting on New Years, so she’ll have no opportunity (of desire) to get drunk. But what the heck does he mean when he says he’ll be thinking about her from his little bunk at sea?! She asks if he has orders, or is that just a hunch he has? Surely he can’t expect to drop that casual little bomb and expect her to just accept it with no further explanation.
She ends with an emphatic statement – “Oh, I love you so very much! The next time we see each other, if there’s no one else around, that’s the first thing I’m going to tell you.”
