Dart’s chatty letter begins with the story of his visit to Shaw High School to see some of the teachers he and Dot had missed when he visited last week. His former math teacher tried to use Dart to impress his current students with Dart’s memory, but all he managed to do was impress them with how little Dart remembered of algebra. While at the school, Dart noted the gold stars on the Honor Roll. Sadly, I think the stars indicated that the person was deceased, and there were far too many from Dart’s young class. He says the stars are now beside “just names of memories instead of names of people.”

Later in the day, he visited his aunts and uncles, known collectively as “the Burkes.” They are all the unmarried siblings of his mother who live together in East Cleveland. He and his Uncle Tom, recently retired from the Navy, swapped sea stories for the entertainment of the aunts.

He loved hearing Dot’s voice and her news over the phone this evening. He’s proud of her election as house president, and he thinks that since she knows the job is a thankless one, she’ll be able to avoid some of the pitfalls of it. He’s surprised she didn’t score higher on her English exam because her letters are so fine. He chalks it up to nerves and says he’s experienced the same thing for math and chemistry exams.

He’s impressed by her organization of the kitchette and asks if he can drop by for breakfast some cold winter morning. He’s happy they’ve decided not to attend the campus dance, and even happier that they’ll see each other this weekend. He hopes the blanket his folks gave will continue to be warm enough as the weather cools down, but tells her to not hesitate to ask his family for anything she needs except money – and she could even ask them for that if her situation was dire. He hopes her thumb nail will grow back, but if not, perhaps she could fashion a replacement part out of celluloid.

He describes a cold and blustery day in Cleveland today, with thick rolling clouds. “The sky showed through in the spots where the clouds had rips, tears, and moth-holes. I’ve always liked a rugged sky like that.”

He writes a quick note in mirror writing to Dot’s friend Janie and adds a PS to the other girls in the house to please be nice to his Dottie.

Dot’s letter was brief and sweet, so I’ll quote it here, almost verbatim.

“Just finished writing my composition and both my room-mates are asleep, so this will have to be brief.”

“It gave me the usual thrill to hear your voice tonight. There were lots of things I wanted to say but with 11 girls hanging over the banister listening to my every word, what was I to do? Well, whatever it was, I didn’t do it. Anyway, you don’t need to be reminded of how much I love you, do you?”

“I like school more and more as I get into the swing of things, but I’m ‘fraid it’s not going to be a cinch. Phyllis, the room-mate from Missouri, is very ambitious and intelligent, so maybe she’ll be an inspiration for me. You’re my real inspiration, though, ‘cuz I want you to be proud of me.”

“Must close before my roomies start throwing things or saying things nice girls just don’t say.”

Because these two will be together all weekend, there are no letters until Dart’s on the 7th. See you then.