Dart begins this letter with a new salutation to his “Darling Future Family.” He’s still in high spirits after an impromptu phone call to the girl of his dreams. How wonderful to hear her voice! The call worked up an appetite in the young sailor, so he went to his favorite Charleston restaurant and ordered a very expensive meal. “There, for the splurge price of $1.50, I had a plate-size, half-inch thick, butter tender well-done Porter House steak, with French fries, French bread, peas and carrots and coffee. I’ve often wondered how people could stow away one of those huge steaks with all the trimmings. It wasn’t any effort at all, but I don’t think I could have put one more bite on top of it. To be sure, it was more than my usual dinner costs, but I still felt (and feel) good from my call to you and I just felt hungry and felt like losing a big bunch of money. It was delicious.”
He brought his camera ashore and thinks he got some good shots of the John R Craig from the launch that took him across still water into town. He found a few more historic side streets to explore and photograph as well.
While Dot spends New Year’s Eve with the Miller children, Dart will be standing watch from 8 to midnight. His big hope for the evening’s celebration is that someone will bring him a Coke. He stood a four-hour watch yesterday and the officer in charge kept him furnished with BLT sandwiches from the galley. He’s beginning to warm up to some of the officers on the Craig and has hope that they will actually prove to be almost human.
Speaking of the ship, it now has two mascots; a cute puppy named “Christmas,” and an adorable kitten named “You Goddam Cat.” Both of the critters get their share of food and love as they scamper around the decks. All the men on board fear that no one else will remember to feed the animals, so the little fellas are getting fat little tummies. They seem happier than the crew to be aboard the Jolly John.
He thinks that if he weren’t engaged to her, he could have made out pretty well in town today. He was standing by the sea wall, staring out at the water, when two pretty girls came up to him and invited him to a party at a private home. It all sounded very nice, but Dart would rather be alone and think about the only girl he ever wants to love – his Dot. “I love you so deeply and so constantly that I can’t imagine being happy with any girl but you, ever. When I see others dancing, I quietly dance with you. You walk beside me, sit beside me, live with me every moment of the day. I love you always.”