I remain in awe that Dart could write such a long and cheerful letter while strapped to his bed in the face-down position. He must be motivated by love.
I grew up hearing about Dad’s lengthy adventure with his pilonidal cyst, but I’ve never really understood what his condition was. It’s a cyst that forms at the end of the spine – more common in men. It seems they were prone to infection or something, so no one could be deployed to combat during the war with such a cyst. In this letter, Dart mentions that he’s in a ward with 10 guys who are all in various stages of having them removed over the course of weeks or months. Here’s my question: If they were so prevalent in 1943, why do we never hear of them now? Has the human race evolved them out of existence?
Dart blatantly expresses his affection for Dot and compliments her on her clever use of puns. All my life I thought Dad was the punster in the family, but when I read these letters, I realize it’s a trait that runs strong through both sides of the family tree.
Dot is back – although it looks like it was not she who was “missing in action,” but her letters instead. Even with 3-1/2 years worth of correspondence between these two, I grieve the few letters that have been lost. She has written so many letters to Dart while he’s been at the hospital that the mail carrier in Dart’s ward has already noticed the extra volume he has to carry!
Her descriptions of what’s happening in her life are so entertaining that I forget she is still actually a high school student. Here, she talks about neglecting her chemistry and English studies and having to take a contract law exam. With math and her retail classes, she has quite a load.
Just as Dart is getting freer with his affection, Dot is also sounding a little more comfortable with letting Dart know how fond she is of him. With slightly less than a month of letters between them, it seems they would both be lost and heart broken if the other one stopped writing. It’s a good thing for their future readers that they never really did!
