It’s 3:00 in the morning, Dart has been studying Spanish for two hours and has another hour left. On top of that, he’s cold and hungry. Still, he feels like he should assign himself the task of writing 1947 100 times so he will stop dating his letters 1946. The boy seems to have a lot on his mind.
He begs Dot to kick him hard if he ever becomes like his father in regard to his health. This week, Pop developed a cold, but he wouldn’t miss a day of work in order to lick the thing. Now he has pleurisy and must miss at least a week! “There isn’t anything we can say to convince him to take care of himself. He insists he can ‘take’ working in a dusty, drafty place, He can’t take it! Oh Dottie, I’m worried about him!” Dart is going to get word to Dr. Singer about suggesting a work-up at the Cleveland Clinic, in hopes that they could get through to him.
His father’s health – both physical and mental – weighs heavily on Dart’s mind. “In his obstinacy he is just like Uncle Guy. Heaven and earth can’t move either one of them to do what they don’t want to do, especially if it’s supported by someone else. Uncle Guy’s obstinacy is the vituperative, warlike kind, whereas Pop’s is the far more serious withdrawing kind. Few people become mentally ill by blowing off steam, but asylums the world over are full of people who have withdrawn into themselves.”
Dart says Pop’s mother and sister were the same as Uncle Guy and Pop. How he hopes he has not learned their behavior, for it’s awfully hard on both the individual and on those who care about them.
At church this morning, an older gentleman asked Dart if he could manage to get to church early on a regular basis. When Dart asked why, the man said that he’d like to add Dart to the usher’s circle. He’s very honored to be asked! He’s been invited to attend a meeting on Wednesday night, during which he can sign up for the job. It seems as though his schedule is filling up with activities unrelated to school, but nearly every outside activity seems to bring him pleasure and a chance to help out.
For now, he feels ready to blow from the pressure of schoolwork. He’s going to stop to get a bite to eat before continuing with his Spanish studying.
He wonders if Dot misses him as much as he does her, but he thinks she must. There are times when nothing in life interests him except the thought of seeing her. How will he get through the next 150 or so days until their wedding? He’s as homesick now, for her alone, as he was for her, family, and the USA combined, when he was off fighting the war.
He feels like he may BURST!