“My Darling, I have just spent three hours which rank among the most beautiful hours of my life.”
So begins an exquisite letter from Dart about his arrival at an island of nearly indescribable splendor. To paraphrase such a letter would be to wipe an oily cloth across the face of a freshly painted masterpiece. It would be akin to screeching out a glorious symphony on a plastic flute.
I will include here some of the phrases and sentences that Dart crafted, but that is like taking a sampling of pearls from a long, lustrous string. I beg the reader to read the pages pictured below. They provide a treat well worth the effort.
“The beauty of the island as we approached it far surpassed any ideas I’d had of it. …The island lay before us, framed in blue. Deep blue of the sea met light blue of the sky at the ends of the land. Above the light sky were the clouds, and above the clouds was the azure dome of Heaven.”
“As the sun went down, the moon appeared in the sky over the island. Another thrill of peaceful beauty. (Can it be that there’s a war somewhere?)”
“Lights began to glow on the island. Neat rows of lights, terraced up the hillsides, blinked on one by one. Bright headlights of trucks and jeeps moved along the roads. Soon only the dazzling white moon, the blackness of the land and water, and the myriad lights were visible. Rows of diamonds on black silk and velvet.”
“A man down on the anchor chain swung a mallet, knocked out a pin, and the anchor was rattling down, down into the still water. The whistle blew and the Haggard was again at anchor in a place she’d helped to take many months ago.”
Dart talks of the entire crew, enthralled by the scene, and wishing a loved one were seeing it with him. He muses about what was going through the Skipper’s mind as they maneuvered into port. Was he concentrating soley on the ship’s range and bearing, or was he induging in a bit of sentiment like his men, wishing someone lovely could be there with him?
“You were with me in spirit tonight, Dot. I know. I felt your presence. I love you always and forever.”
Dot is puffed up and proud that she drove all over town tonight without mishap. She’s been practicing this week in the long driveway and is happy to report that all the trees remain intact. She had a chance to drive the Miller’s Buick convertible this week and has decided that’s the family car she thinks she and Dart should strive for.
She’s looking forward to her holiday tomorrow, which she plans to spend at Island Beach. It’ll be her first visit to the beach this season and she intends to get a nice, deep tan. (Except on her nose, which will undoubtedly burn to a bright, glowing red.)
Her cousins David and Sammy will be arriving on Thursday night. David is about to enter the Navy and wants to see NYC before he goes. Dot thinks his real desire is to see his girlfriend, who lives in Brooklyn. Sammy, age 16, is just looking to have a little summer fun. The Chamberlains plan to take the boys to see a couple of plays, such as “Life With Father.” They’ll also go to Playland if the weather cooperates.
Dot got a “newsy and entertaining” letter from Dart’s mother today. She’s kindly invited Dot to spend as many weekends as she can with the Petersons in Cleveland when she comes to Ohio for college. Dot wishes she’d get the letter from Dart expressing his opinion about her college plans, but she hopes she only gets one such letter!
As she tries to expand her letter past the second page, she recalls that one year ago tonight, Dart was on a train heading back to Cleveland and Dot was about to come back down to Earth with a terrific THUD! “Perhaps you were eating the box lunch I packed for you, or maybe you were reading the note I wrote. Betcha it won’t be the same now. I won’t have to write notes anymore ’cause I will tell you I love you, right to your face. I’ve been practicing with your picture every night, and it comes almost as naturally as brushing my teeth. (What a thing to associate it with!) That’s not using good taste. Or should I say paste? Oh, let’s pretend I didn’t mention it.”
Have you ever noticed that Dot almost always wraps up a bit of sentimentality in a corny little joke? I think she’s still a little uncomfortable with all that “mushy stuff.”
