Dart’s letter was upbeat an surprisingly non-mushy today. He reports that of the three letters he received today, for once, Dot’s letter did not bring him his greatest thrill.That designation went to the one from the US Treasury containing his $80.00 income tax refund. When added to the $265.00 pay he’s about to finally receive, this young sailor feels flush. Up until this point, I was unaware there was a problem with receiving his pay checks, because the boy never complained.

Yesterday evening his ward was entertained by some girls from a local school of dance. His favorite act was the little six-year olds who were adorable and very entertaining. He admits that he misses the company of kids – from his cousin’s three little ones to the neighborhood children. Now that he mentions it, I suppose children are a rare sight in a military environment.

Entertainment continued tonight in the form of a decent magician, and Eddie Cantor performed in the auditorium for the “up patients.” I’m impressed by the quantity, variety and quality of entertainment these young men have. I suppose it helps that Dart is in a huge hospital near a major city, but it’s nice that so many folks are pulling together to keep the guys’ morale up.

April showers have visited Chicago of late – just as in Cleveland. Dart closes the letter to write to his parents.

Dot has set her alarm clock for 5:15 AM to have time to dash a letter off to Dart. (Dot, Dart, dash? That makes for a strange sentence!)She thanks him for his faithfulness at writing even during her period of “faithlessness.”

She writes that she has very mixed feelings about going home in three weeks. Although she’s looked forward to this part of her life (being out of high school) for a long time, she has more negative feelings about it now than positive ones. Could it be she’s sorry to be leaving the Cleveland area and a chance to see Dart? She admits to being scared of what follows.

In answer to Dart’s question about how much her mother knows about Dot and Dart’s feelings for each other, Dot says that her mother seems to have surmised quite a bit. She makes references to certain things in her letters, and if Dot neglects to mention Dart in one of her letters home, her mother asks if they have had a “lovers’ quarrel.” Ruth Chamberlain is an astute woman, so there’s not much that escapes her.

Dot has to iron some clothes before church, so her brief letter must come to an end. She hopes to write some more later, but her P.S. acknowledges that she didn’t.