Dart was shocked and discouraged today when his locker disgorged 14 unanswered letters from Dot – some of them nearly six months old! Now the letters are stale and seem to have lost the spontaneous quality they have when they’re new. “To write an answer to a many-months old letter is like trying to write to a perfect stranger. (Or even to a stranger who’s not perfect!)
In a letter from “way back in April,” Dot asked what Lauren Bacall had that she couldn’t find plenty of use for. Dart decided not to answer “Humphrey Bogart,” as some “Waggish baffoon” suggested he should.
He’s glad to read that Dot doesn’t like guns. He’s happy to have as many as possible “out here,” but after the war, the only guns he hopes to ever see are the pop guns and cap pistols that children play with. He says there are guys on the ship who have such a love of guns that they make his obsession with railroads look like “mild neglect.”
She wrote that he would never see her in hair curlers. While he thought there would be few secrets between them, he’ll allow her that one. But what if he should barge in unexpectedly from work one day and find her in such a state? Would he be shocked into a nervous wreck?
He takes a break from answering the old letters to share a bit of news from home. He learned through Fred that one of their old Shaw buddies who was shot down over Austria had been divorced by his wife of one year just before being killed. Both he and Fred had fretted over that hasty marriage between two people who had just met. He worries also about Bob McCarthy, who became engaged after knowing a girl for nine days, and was married very soon thereafter.
I’ve been thinking about these hasty marriages that I’ve heard of, especially during WWII. Some of them actually turned out quite well. Both my brother and a close friend of mine became engaged just weeks after meeting their beloved, married quickly after that, and have gone on to have happy, stable marriages lasting several decades. Also, Dot and Dart both agree they fell in love at first sight and have known from the start that they were each other’s choice for life partner. So, obviously time is not really a factor in determining a successful relationship. It’s probably even overrated in terms of really knowing another person well. Haven’t we all had the experience of meeting someone – friend or lover – and instantly feel as though we’ve known them all our lives. There are certainly many factors that go into successfully choosing a mate, but I believe one that gets overlooked is knowing oneself well. I think Dot and Dart were both blessed with a clear sense of who they were and what kind of personality would compliment theirs. That may be rare in people as young as they, but I think it’s part of the answer.
Dart wants to hear more about Dot’s old hopes of marrying a minister. Did she go against that in choosing Dart, or did she come close to the mark? “I took an awful razzing for my ideas while I was on watch the other night. And such admonitions to come from a minister’s son! Boy, if I took some of the ‘advice’ and ‘help’ that’s offered me, you’d never want to see me again, nor could I face you if I did!”
In her letter of May 3, Dot copied a poem for Dart which he liked very much. In fact, he just checked and it’s the exact poem he had put aside to include in one of his letters to her. Donn Byron’s girlfriend sent him the same one. It sure appears to have universal appeal, at least among young lovers separated by war, time and distance.
Speaking of poetry, Dart begins to wax poetic about a sight he is observing from high up on the ship. He’s peering down onto four neat rows of sailors in their dress whites, lined up for inspection. “What a sight. Bright sun on blue water. Trim, clean gray ship. Brisk breeze and four rows of men in whites. Their collars and neckties whipped by the wind as the ship points her nose first at the sky, then at the sea. The neat rows lean first one way as the ship rolls to port. They lean, in unison, the other way as the ship rolls to starboard. The ship’s bow rises on the crest of a swell, then falters for a tiny instant. With a rush, it dips down into the moving sea, sending out great winglike splashes of white foam.
The even rows of men snap to attention. A large man in khaki, followed by three others, walks up and down the rows, taking all in his glance. Now and then, that glance lingers on a pair of shoes, a haircut, a neckerchief. Then he moves on. The men disband and disappear. The inspection’s over. They’re picturesque things to watch.”
He hopes she’s had some nice sails with the Millers over the summer. It must be great fun.
That’s all for now.
