Is it an improvement when despair turns to disgust? It’s a little hard to tell, but maybe Dart’s letter will give a clue.

He had an orientation of sorts today – assigned his bunk and locker, told about liberties, given his $8.00 paycheck.

He tells a remarkable story about Navy efficiency. “Until a few months ago, all men entering boot camp were provided with a mattress. All ships with bunks were also equipped with mattresses. On October 15, all mattresses became the property of the Navy, and men sent to receiving stations with their mattress had them confiscated. Ships built since the beginning of the year have not been equipped with mattresses. Now, all men coming aboard this crazy, no-good, sloppy ship have no mattress and can’t get any, and the ship has none. So, we sleep on the springs.”

He continues, “The Navy isn’t an organization. It’s an unfathomable conglomeration of grand and petty inconsistencies which occasionally work in parallel courses long enough for something useful to be done.”

In his mind, the only bit of hope in this situation is the part that says he’ll be out in eight months. That seems like an eternity to him, but he’ll do his best to survive with his sanity.

The ship’s post office has no record of his transfer, so all the mail that was sent to him directly or from Norfolk has probably been returned. He hopes he doesn’t get into trouble for something he did today, but what’s done is done. And what’s done is this: When he was explaining to the mail clerk about the lapse in records leading to no mail, the clerk said, “I don’t give a damn. Do you?” Dart reached through the window, grabbed the guy’s collar and shoved him, saying that yes, he certainly did give a damn! Some of his outburst was instinctive, some was deliberate, but the situation is all Navy!

Last night he wrote about 12 letters to let folks know his new address and he hopes the effort will result in mail. But the mail he’s most interested in is the letters from Dot, of course. He says he’s sorry they missed each other on the phone call Sunday night. He misses her more than ever.

At last we hear from Dot! When she read Dart’s two sad letters today, she wanted to set about cheering him up. Unfortunately, when he’s not happy, she’s not happy and two unhappy people don’t make very good constituents for writing cheery letters.

If knowing that she loves him more than anything in the world and misses him just as much doesn’t lift his spirits, nothing will.

If the Craig is not going to go around the world, does he know yet where it’ll be going? Right now, she must get going to tap class so she can make a fool of herself.

She suggests he focus more on the future so that maybe the present won’t look so bad. Good advice, Dot!