Dart must unburden himself with the news that he got 96% on his first Spanish test. That may sound good, but the instructor says everyone should have scored 100% because she made the first test so easy.

Miss Tallmadge read (anonymously) Dart’s essay on Saipan for the class today. She filled the backs of the pages with critical suggestions and told him the piece was very good and had value. She wants him to rework it, using her suggestions for improvement. He doubts he’ll get any good reviews on the item he turned in for journalism today, in part because he exceeded the 1000 word limit by 20 %. And that was after he cut everything that gave the piece sparkle. He knows he’s too wordy, but he says there are people who make a living being wordy. That’s a style of writing that is totally passe in modern times; everything is moving toward brevity now. The young Dart would have surely struggled with that!

On Thursdays his schedule is so packed that he only has time for a milkshake and a sandwich for lunch. If he eats a late breakfast, he can usually get through the day without being too hungry.

He had a wonderful time at the church dinner last night. Everyone was so nice and the dinner was delicious. New members wore red roses, and now he’s looking forward to seeing Dot with her red rose by this time next year.

The big news from Cleveland is the spate of fires they’ve had in recent days. Three commercial concerns have gone up in flames, including a lumber yard that, ironically supplied materials for structures that had been destroyed by fire. The biggest fire was at a super market. The irony on that one is that it was one of the few markets in town that always had meat, oleo and soap when other stores ran out. There were two beef carcasses lost in the blaze.

He hopes Dot will notice the piece of paper stapled to page 4 of this letter. It contains some of her own words, which he’s taken the liberty of writing very small to make them easier for her to eat and swallow. The words are “Now it’s up to the Boston Red Soxs to put the Cardinals in their place. And they’ll do it, too.” Dart is only too happy to point out that Cleveland’s neighbors to the west, the Saint Louis Cardinals, cleaned Boston’s clock in the World Series.

The news about her first day of work was welcome. He hopes she’ll take some time to describe what the switchboard system looks like and how it operates. He points out that only she would have the nerve to write “I’ll keep plugging at it.”

He’s inexplicably tired at 1:15 AM, so he’ll have to save the rest of her “luscious letter” for later. He misses her so much that he’d gladly pay her two cents just to hear her torment him.

#          #          #

Dart Darling.

This is only going to be a note because I don’t want to make myself any more lonesome than I have been all day. Will winter never come? During the winter months I can look forward to spring, but now there seems to be nothing but a long, lonely winter ahead. Why does love have such different effects on different people? Why must I love you so much that there is little room for any other kind of love for anything or anybody?

I hardly ever have the opportunity to see my family any more, yet when the opportunity arises, I always prefer to come up to my room and be alone. I went for a walk this evening and every time I saw a couple walking hand in hand, I was so envious I was ashamed of myself. I have so much more than any other person I know, and I still live for the time when I can have you completely – all the time. Oh, I don’t want you stamped ‘Private Property – Keep Off’, but I would like to know that when I wake up in the morning you’ll be there beside me.

The point of this whole letter is to say that you’re stuck with me now, Bud, for keeps. Hope you don’t mind too much, ‘cuz I love the idea.