Dart is obviously pleased to have received two letters and a card – all from Dot- in today’s mail. He takes a line or two to clarify that, contrary to the salutation on one of her recent letters, he is not Dr. Anthony, but he hopes he’ll still do.
I smiled when he addressed what he called the “issue of ‘name-calling’.” He is used to saying “Dot” now, so he tells he he will save “Dorothy” for special occasions. He also said this, about another form of address, “Also, after thinking it over, I don’t think I’ll use ‘dear’ very promiscuously. I never have used it at all before, and I’ll save it for special occasions with you. That way, it won’t wear out before I can see you again. Is that alright with you – ‘dear?'”
There was a lot more chat about her letter, and then he implores he rto tell him the secret about the upside down stamp. He’s been asking around and can’t find what it means.
Dot has been inundated by mail – three letters from Dart, one from her sister and another form her sister-in-law, a package and two letters from her mother! Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing to come home today and see all those friendly greetings waiting for you in your mail box? The only time I get so much personal mail is for my birthday.
She assures Dart that she has no concerns about any letters he gets from girls. “Who am I to tell you whom you may or may not get letters from? Lord knows you have little enough to look forward to out there besides mails, so the more, the merrier. I am kinda glad those six girls aren’t all eligible, tho’.” She goes on to say that she has been corresponding with two servicemen – a soldier she has never met whom her sister met on a train, and a Marine with whom she is on strictly friendly terms.
She can’t envision him in the whiskers he has described to her. She is staring at his picture on her night stand and cannot believe that boy could grow whiskers any better than a flea. “That’s a purdy smile you’re wearing in that picture.”
She makes another reference to the letter code he recently put on the envelope. She answers that L.S.M.F.T. is short for “Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco.” She vows to stump him with a really hard one and suggests she may even come up with something really hot!
There is a paragraph about a “train letter” and being mortified when the conductor came by to ask for her ticket. I have no idea what that means, but it’ll be fun to ask Mom if she remembers.
In response to Dart’s recent moron joke offerings, she relates a Hedy Lamar joke that is classic wartime humor.
She answers Dart’s questions about her pending work experience. Even though she will be done with her course work at Andrews in May, she must work in her field from then until January. If she has a successful job experience (what we might today call an “internship,”) then she’ll officially graduate in January. She’s trying to decide if she should stay in Cleveland to work or go home to be with family and friends in the New York/Greenwich area.
She playfully mocks Dart on his association with Eleanor Parker, the Hollywood actress, whom Dot claims to have never heard of. She then begins to drop the names of all the rich and famous who live in Greenwich. (Some things never change.) She begins the list with the “A. P. Chamberlains,” and continues with a long list of celebrities. The list topper is, of course, her parents.
