Well, the big inspection is over and the Captain was not pleased. “There were too many unshined shoes and too much long hair.  I got called on the last, but I’d rather catch the evil eye of Captain Conwell than take one of the haircuts the butcher boys give on this ship.”  The crew is awaiting word on his decision about liberty time. Dart has a long list of errands he wants to run, so he hopes the plans aren’t delayed too long.

The only mail today was a catalog from the Ohio State University School of Journalism. He just got word that liberty starts immediately, so he’s going to wrap this up quick. He hopes to talk to Dot within a couple of hours to tell her how much he loves and misses her.

“I wish I could tell you of the longing, loneliness I feel for you. The only thing that can comfort me will be you, in person, really and truly in my arms to stay.”

#          #          #

Dot begins by asking how the most thoughtful, considerate, lovable man in the world is feeling this evening. He was fine a few hours ago when she spoke with him on the phone, so she trusts he still is.

Then she writes an amazing little story – two of them, actually. First, she went into town by herself today and decided to see a double feature in order to pass some time. She saw “Johnny Angel,” and the beginning of “Shady Lady.” She wanted to see the second feature, but a voice inside her head kept urging her to leave the theater because something good was waiting for her elsewhere. She tried to reason with herself, but it was no dice. She walked out of the movie and began to run toward her house. When she got to the corner she stopped to catch her breath, and she could hear Janie calling to her from the front porch. “Hurry, Dot! California is on the phone!” She ran all the way up the long hill and arrived too breathless to speak, but she was able to catch Dart’s phone call. “Sorry you couldn’t understand me very well, but my mouth’s full of teeth and I can’t do a thing with it,” she quipped.

She asks Dart if he believes in premonitions. She does. Whenever she follows her hunches, of listens to that inner voice, it always works out well for her. She discussed this episode with her landlady Miss Olin who believes that people who are very close can send each other messages from their brains, just like a radio. She believes it’s one of the signs that Dot lives a charmed life, and Dot agrees. “Say, If I can just ‘think’ messages to you, it’ll surely save me a whale of a lot of stamps!”

The other story she tells begins with her chastising herself for making such a negative snap judgement about Ellie when she first met her. “As you predicted, Ellie is now one of my best friends. We get along better than any other two people in the house.” When Ellie was leaving this morning, she said to Dot, “By the way, there’s something for you in my housecoat pocket.” When Dot looked there later, she found a dollar and a note telling her to spend it on something for herself while she was all alone this weekend. Dot nearly cried. She’s been on such a tight budget of late that there have been almost no splurges. It was such a wonderfully thoughtful thing for Ellie to do that Dot began to cry. She hopes she can do something as thoughtful for Ellie someday.

Dot had a little chat with Dart’s mother after the phone call because she couldn’t resist reminding her what a perfect son she had. As it turns out, Helen agreed completely with Dot’s assessment.

Now, it’s nearly 2:00 AM and she wants to go to church in the morning, so she must close, with all her love.