Dart Sr. finally came home from the hospital today, but Dart Jr. wasn’t able to drive him home. Everyone thought it would be better if he avoided sick people with his 102 degree fever! Yes, our boy is sick again for the third time in two months.
But the good news is that Pop looks, feels and sounds better than he has in years. He finally understands that he must eat more to stay healthy. When Dart and his mother were discussing Pop the other day, Helen came up with an apt analogy for her husband; she says he was cut from a bolt of blue serge, but has been trying to provide blue denim service for years. He must accept that he is serge and avoid the tough and rigorous life of denim. Can you tell she’s a seamstress?
Dart doesn’t have is list of wedding invitees with him, but he asks Dot to add his Uncle Art if he’s not already included. Art may be one way for all the Burkes to get out to Connecticut for the wedding.
The Petersons discovered the other day that the front door lock on their apartment would open with any key that was stuck in it. “A locksmith is performing an operation on it now. He’s going to make us six new keys, too. That, my Sweet, includes one for you! Looks like you’ll have to get used to living in a locked house. ” (Remember, the Chamberlains never lock their big house in Greenwich.)
He goes on to say that home break-ins, armed robberies, and assaults are on the rise in Cleveland. Cops dressed as women are walking the streets to try and catch purse-snatchers. The city has seen a huge uptick in the number of gun permits requested for the protection of private homes. Dart fervently hopes Dot will not have to take a job that forces her to walk hope at night because the streets of Cleveland have become too dangerous.
Dot must have sent a brochure for the hotel the newlywed couples hope to stay in on their wedding night. He thinks it looks fine, but asks a few questions: Will the $6.00 room with breakfast be enough to honor the auspicious occasion? How late will they hold the reservation if the couples arrive late at night? When she says El and Norm will also stay there, he hopes she means in a separate room! Also, why would she suggest they get an early start to Sunapee the next morning? Dart hopes to get a full eight hours of sleep after “everything else.” (Note: Sometimes Dart sounds to me like such an old man. What 23-year-old man worries about starting his honeymoon well-rested?) Also, is Dot sure that some of her fun-loving relatives won’t follow them from the reception with silly pranks on their mind?
“I hope you realize that with Monday’s letter, my tendency to give advice got loose, in spite of what I like to call ‘my better judgement.'”
He’s disappointed he didn’t get to the flower show this year at Public Hall. “They had another little house built in it, this time in the basement. They dumped five tons of dirt on the floor for the circus, piled it up for the flower show, and are now spreading it out for the sportsman show. A week after that, it’ll all be cleared away for the Metropolitan Opera. We love our Public Hall!”
“And I love you!”