Dart explains that he didn’t write last night because he was in Oakland on a little shopping trip. No luck on gift ideas for his parents, but he got a little something for his sweetheart.

Today he went to sick bay about his back and must return tomorrow. He gives no details, but just hopes this doesn’t turn into a siege at the hospital.

After enumerating all that he is thankful for (Dot being top on his list), he settles in to answer the stack of letters from her. He’s hoping to take some of her letters with him in his sea bag to help pass the time during the long days aboard the  transport ship. I imagine that trip, aboard a vessel with few amenities and sailors with no daily chores or assignments must be almost terminally tedious.

He reiterates that he has no ideas for Christmas gifts. He is allowed very little space, especially if he gets assigned to a destroyer, and he wants to save that space for some of the mementos he already has (like Dot’s picture?). He admits there are disadvantages to being in the Navy, but he has no answer for her.

He’s quite impressed that she’s reading the “Steel Trails” book – a volume that holds a prominent place in his personal library. He even recommends another book she might like, but frankly, I suspect he’s pressing his luck. I’m not sure how interested in knowing about trains she really is.

Dot and El seem to have a booming trade going in childcare. From what he’s seen, he imagines Dot would be very good with kids because she seems to have the right disposition. Of course little Chris remembered her! She’s unforgettable.

There is zero chance he’ll be assigned shore duty. There are 3,000,000 men wishing for the same thing, but those with families will get first consideration. He expects he’ll not only have sea duty, but will also be among the last discharged when the war is over. It’s a gloomy prediction, but probably right on the money. Dot may as well begin to come to terms with the reality of having a sweetheart in the Navy.

He’s curious about which team was victorious in the Greenwich/Stamford football game. Speaking of the game, he can visualize little Dottie as captain of the Alley Cats, grabbing the ball from some ragamuffin and tearing through all the opposition to the goal. “Is that where you learned the nice hold you used on me?”

When Dart is giving his sales pitch about the wonders of Dot, he’s apparently quite credible because his listeners often ask how a (supply your own word here) like him ever won the heart of such a woman. Some accuse him of creating Dot out of his own wild fantasies.

Yes, he agrees that Shoemaker is the type of place that grows on you – like a malignant tumor. It was designed to make all other places look good, even troop transport carriers. There’s a huge cadre of fire control men there with him and they all expect to get their draft any day now.

He tells Dot that he spent some of his time on the west bound train making sketches of a future house for them. He describes a grand, yet cozy place in fine detail and included a very preliminary sketch. He’d love to hear her ideas of room arrangement, garage placement, trim features, etc. He enclosed the sketches for her comment.

He loves her deeply and hopes they can make a house like this one a reality someday.

Dot packs a lot of enthusiasm into a few lines. The football game was the best she’s ever seen, even though Greenwich lost by 5 points. The feast was fabulous (she lists the long menu of delicacies) and Dart and Gordon were with them in spirit.

She must be at work in short order for the post-Thanksgiving shopping season, so she needs to go to bed.