Find a comfy chair and grab your favorite beverage – this is a long letter from Dart. Five typed pages, single spaced, with a handwritten addendum at the end!
He has before him “seven lovely letters” from Dot, plus a list of things he wants to remember to tell her. Let’s dive right in.
He and Pop fixed the heating system this morning. The gauge in the basement that popped off was not in active use and is not a vital piece of the system. They’re happy the house warms up just as nicely without it.
His mother has decided to try for a job as a sewing teacher at the Singer Sewing Machine store. There would be more hours and higher pay than what she’s making now, and more suited to her talents and tastes.
He took a lot of razzing on the rail trip when he took his Spanish book along to study on the trip home. Now he can tell the fellas it was worth his effort since he got an A on the vocabulary and grammar test.
“We had an Industry test this Thursday. On that I have nothing but dire predictions. I don’t know anything about the bloomin’ subject, and I heartily dislike it besides. The test was of the so-call ‘objective’ type, with true-false, empty blanks, and multiple-choice questions. I usually like tests of that variety because the answers are given, and if I have at least a half-knowledge of the subject I can recognize the answer and have a fair chance. But half of my trues were false, half of my falses (not ‘falsies’ – can’t you read?!) were true, half of my blanks are still empty and I chose the wrong ‘multiples.’ NUTS!”
As reported earlier, he got his first A from Miss Talmage in Prose Workshop. She marked it for one to be read in class, but then she didn’t read it, so he guesses he’ll take it back with him in case she wants to read it next time. For this week’s assignment the prompt is “dilemma,” and students may choose either article form, personal essay or short story to write about what ever that word means to them. Dart has chosen to write a short story about an actual experience, beefing it up some to add dramatic tension and making the dilemma more serious than the one he faced in real life. He’s already finished the first draft.
He’s frustrated to have such a lovely full moon tonight and no one to share it with. The only other time this week that he’s seen the moon was on Thursday when the clouds parted just a little and the moon “peeked out, real coy-like.”
In a new development, one of the members of Dart’s rail fan group who is a salesman at McGraw-Hill Publishing has set up a contact between Dart and one of the editors. Dart is looking for contacts in the business so that he can learn what classes he should take that might benefit him when looking for a job in such a field. The editor wanted to take him to lunch on Monday, but Dart only gets 30 minutes between classes that day, so they’re still trying to work out a meeting time.
If Dot promises to treat them very nicely, he’ll enclose the press clippings from his rail trip. He wants to keep them in his “useless collection of worthless memorabilia.” He asks her if she can pick him out in the news photo.
He writes about a hot issue that has arisen in Cleveland. Many people have written to the newspaper, lobbying for more orchestra concerts than the standard three per week. Some folks are asking for a regular Friday night program at reduced prices for the less wealthy friends of the orchestra. It would be a chance to hear beautiful music live without going broke. Some folks have encouraged the orchestra to keep the prices high for the other concerts to make them “more exclusive” for certain people. Dart doesn’t care much about that latter suggestion, but he’d surely like to see a less expensive concert now and then. As it is, all of the concerts for this season are virtually sold out and when a single seat can be found, the tickets are $3.00 and up!
“Would you believe that a letter on the table here is postmarked October 19? Maybe I’ll get around to answering it tonight. I also intend to write a note to the Model Railroader to gripe about the delivery of their magazine. It’s a month overdue. Several of us haven’t received ours, yet others and the news stand have had it for three weeks! Almost as sloppy about it as I am answering my letters, eh?”
He thanks her for sharing her letter from Mr. Kershner. Dart told him at the rally last night how much he misses having Dot at these things, and the pastor assured Dart that there will plenty of opportunities for her to join in church activities next year. Then he told the two pairs of chaperones about what a nice young couple Dot and Dart are.
He appreciates Dot’s reaction to his confession about Miss Miller, and he truly expected her to be as reasonable as she was. Now he has another “confession.” Since Dot has consented to be his wife, “I find that I am able to talk to other girls much more easily than I could before, and that gives me a swell sense of freedom that I never had when each girl was a potential date. Now, I’m independent and I don’t worry what people think about me. Every girl I talk to just increases my appreciation of your charms and your virtues and your love for me.”
Perhaps she’s right that he has a suppressed desire to be a motorman but only for one day. “I think I’d get tired of it at the end of eight hours. I just like to make things go, and that’s one thing I’d like to make go.” He’s excited that the city will soon introduce 25 new streamlined trolleys to their system. It turns out they got a big bargain when they were able to purchase the unused cars from Louisville. Apparently that city had bought them to update their own trolley run, but the US government decided to build a a highway along the trolley route so Louisville couldn’t use their new cars. The 50 new cars that Cleveland introduced last month have increased ridership so far beyond predictions that they are now inadequate for the job. The 25 from Kentucky came as a great opportunity.
He wonders what operation she anticipates that necessitates the purchase of hospitalization insurance. Is it the appendix trouble she’s been having? He also gently reminds her that appendix is not plural; she only has one.
She often expresses a wish that she could write pretty letters, but he thought her note about talking themselves out of missing each other was a jewel. He could make a comment about her paragraph on the empty bed in her room, but any comment he’d make would only increase their loneliness for each other.
He’s happy to read in her letters that her job training is over and she seems to be making a pretty good job of it. Did she ever stop dreaming of little flashing lights?
He has not forgotten to send the measurements for the third floor windows; he just hasn’t remembered at times when he could go up and measure them. (I think Dot is planning to make curtains for their future apartment up there.)
He can hardly believe he still has 5 of her letters to answer, but he’s too tired to attempt them now. He wishes her good night, but then adds half a page of hand-written thoughts.
“Somehow it seems like kissing in front of spectators when I make love on the typewriter, so I’ll kiss you good night privately, this way. I sure wish it were real. Good night again, Dot. I love you very much. After reading this over a couple of times it seems almost like I’ve had a date with you.”
In the lower corner of the page, he draws a row of X’s and labels them “kisses.” Then he draws a row of O’s and labels the “hugs.” Then he adds the little note “They don’t have symbols for what comes next…”
# # #
At the top of the page Dot draws a big smiling moon. “Full moon tonight reminds me of how much {insert a squiggle that is probably shorthand for ‘I love you.}”
Nancy Clapp and Jane are coming to the young adult meeting tomorrow night. The speaker will be a local doctor who will be talking about the scientific age they are currently in. She and El are responsible for feeding 30 or more people. They’ve bought all the food and must now assemble them into luscious “Dagwood” sandwiches.
She’s relieved to hear that Dart’s not one of those staunch straight-ticket Democrats. She’s sorry his man lost the Governor’s race.
There were no tears shed when she read his prediction of a C on his Spanish test. She’s learned to understand that he’s smarter than he gives himself credit for.
She’d like to write more but it would make her too lonely. Tonight when she was thinking what an eternity it will be until June, she recalled that two years ago tomorrow, he was heading off to California to prepare for war. “Those eight months when you were overseas were far worse than the coming eight months could possibly be!”