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.

Dart spent the  morning repairing the wooden walkways that run throughout Camp Shoemaker. The gravel walks they used previously get absorbed into the soupy mud because there’s so much rain here. He carried lumber, saw, hammer and nails all over the camp, replacing rotted planks as he went.

He got Dot’s letter where she mentions collecting cigarettes for Pop. Dart assures her that his dad will be pleased. “See, it takes a pretty face to get things like that – not even a uniform helps anymore.” I guess tobacco products were one of the long list of rationed commodities.

There’s a beautiful moon hanging out above Shoemaker, surrounded by a rainbow-hued halo that makes it look sort of tarnished. The night sky is uncharacteristically clear, so the stars are sparkling and plentiful. Dart recognizes the advantage to being 40 miles from a big city when he sees how close the stars appear to be. He always likes the stars in a winter sky because they seem to sparkle more.

His favorite time of day around here is late afternoon when the shadows lengthen and the clouds take on a golden or pinkish cast. “The whole world seems to take on an air of peace, comfort, and quiet.”

He decides to describe his surroundings, now that he’s had some time to observe them. “Each morning we awaken to cold quarters and a heavy front. A thick fog blots out the sky and all but nearby objects by 0700. The sun rises to disclose a ring of green mountains at distances up to six miles, which completely surround “Sleepy Hollow.” As the sun gets higher, the mountains seem to recede and the fog leaves entirely. About noon, we’re sweltering. Aside from the barren, unfinished, scarred appearance of Fleet City (Camp Shoemaker, Camp Parks and a hospital) the valley is a beautiful place, with green fields, white houses with red roofs, and here and there, a row of willow trees following a meandering brook, or tall poplars along the road.”

“The mountains are not high, but their tops are not forested… Toward evening, as the sun sinks lower, the mountains change their color to a blurred, heavy blue-green and they seem to be moving slowly in toward the center of the valley, forming an oppressing wall of darkness. At night, they’re visible against the black sky only as outlines where they blot out the stars.”

Today Dart saw the doctor about his back. They recognized each other instantly from their time at Great Lakes hospital. He said Dart should be on permanent shore duty, but such a recommendation can only be made by a ship’s doctor after he’s been at sea. The prediction is that Dart will be bothered by soreness whenever he’s in a damp climate, for years.

When he examined Dart’s scar, he said “Dr. Pumphrey didn’t do that job, did he?” Dart told him it was Dr. Woldman. “God! You’re lucky you can walk,” exclaimed the doctor.

“I guess the ill-fame of the ‘mad gynecologist’ who dressed open wounds with a smouldering cigar dangling from his mouth, has spread,” retorts Dart. Nothing but the finest medical care for our men in uniform!

He thanks Dot for sending a package, which he can hardly wait to receive, and which he will thank her for more effusively once it does.

He enjoyed her confession that she watches him while he’s not looking and admits she’s not the only one who steals glances. He suggests that they’ll have to practice looking into each other’s eyes when they see each other again. “Remember how we looked together when we saw ourselves in the mirror? We looked a bit tired, but very happy. I wish we’d sat up longer.”

He hopes it’ll take forever to tell her how much he loves her, but for now, he’ll kiss her goodnight and wish the kiss was real.

The two “scrumptious” letters that Dot got today put her into a wonderful mood. She truly appreciates his faithfulness at writing nearly every day.

She understands that he won’t give her any help in Christmas ideas. She thinks men, and especially sailors, are impossible to buy for, but she’ll do her best and he’ll be stuck with the consequences.

Wishing she were better at telling him how much she loves him, she instead must resort to writing down the lyrics of a popular Mills Brothers tune called ‘Til Then. This must have been a song written for the millions of lovers all over the world who endured long-term separation during wartime. It is quite poignant and sentimental, and definitely captures the longing that Dot feels.

In a strange change of subject, Dot gets a little serious and tells Dart he needs to stop talking about her in such glowing terms. She loves to hear them, but she has faults – lots of them – and fears the day when he’ll wake up and discover that his “dream” has become a “nightmare.” She claims her father says she is his little nightmare and El is his “day-colt.” Her low self image sometimes makes me sad.

She likes to hear about his plans for the future, but reminds him that he wants to finish college. She advises him to cross each bridge as it comes, but hopes the plans won’t take too long in coming true.

She has been transferred again – this time to the young men’s department, where she works with the only male sales clerk in the store. Dart might be jealous, but she assures him there’s no need. Mr. Goldstein is a veteran of the First World War. He is single, though. “In fact this morning, he asked me to marry him. I told him I was very sorry but I had other interests so this afternoon he bought me some cookies. He said. ‘I want you to get good and fat so your other interest won’t love you anymore.”

With a promise to join him again tomorrow night, she signs off, leaving room for Tonsillectomy to write a brief note.

It’s a brief letter from Dart, filled with huge thanks for the big package Dot sent. It was full of all sorts of edible treats, which I assume will be much enjoyed by Dart and his cronies.

He hasn’t gone out on liberty this week because it costs too much to go all the way to Oakland and sailors aren’t welcome in the nearby small towns. He wishes he had a bike to explore the valley he’s in.

Just as casual as you please, he drops a little line about expecting to be shipped out the middle of next week!

Then another little line about a Wave asking him for a date. He told her he had a standing date with a girl from Connecticut, but he appreciated being asked. His buddies say he was a chump to turn her down because he might have had a nice time on her dollar. Naturally, he says there’s no girl for him but Dot and he’d rather spend the evening writing to her. He’ll never let anything come between them, even if that Wave did seem like a very nice girl.

Another short letter from Dot as she plays nursemaid for the Miller boys. She tells a cute story of going up to check on Chris and finding him fast asleep and looking irresistibly adorable. She gently lifted him out of his bed and sat rocking him for a few minutes. She was pleased she’d been able to do that without waking him up, when he slyly opened one eye, smiled a bit and said “Hello, Dot.” She’s pretty fond of that little rascal.

She writes that she used to make fun of folks who said they felt the presence of a loved one, even when that person was far away. Now she knows the sensation is real. She felt Dart with her all day, even felt his arm around her shoulder. She only wishes it was more than her imagination, but since he can’t be there, she’s grateful she at least has the sensation that he is.

She and El plan to bowl tomorrow and Dot expects her score will improve over last week’s.

Dart writes from San Francisco where he went expressly to see Bob Hope in The Princess and the Pirate which he describes as a hilarious mellow drama. He won’t give away the surprise ending but urges Dot to see it for herself.

Last night he went to meet with a guy in the personnel office who grew up in Cleveland and went to Shaw. The guy asked Dart what kind of ship he’d like to be on and Dart answered either a big battleship or an aircraft carrier. The man put it into Dart’s record and Dart considers it a done deal. If a big ship comes up soon, he’ll depart Shoemaker before some of the guys he’s with. He may have to chase the ship half way around the world before boarding her, but he’s excited by the prospect of serving on one of these monster ships, if he must go to sea (which he must). Can the Navy be counted on to follow its own directions about placing him where he wants to be? Stay tuned!

That’s all for tonight.

This is a rare letter from Dot – one in which she expresses hurt and frustration. It reveals that while she habitually looks on the bright side of things, she’s not always so happy.

El’s fiance Don is about to graduate. From there, the Army will decide whether to ship him overseas as a medic or send him to medical school on their nickel. El is eaten up by anxiety, crying at the drop of a hat. The other day, Dot made the mistake of suggesting that since the outcome she dreads is not yet reality, she’d feel better if she stayed positive and hopeful until there was actual reason to be sad and disappointed. Her words sent El into a screaming fit, with Betty taking El’s side. “How would you feel if your fiance was being shipped overseas?,” asked Betty. Dot replied that someone she cares just as much about is being shipped out. Just because Don and El have announced to the world that they plan to marry doesn’t mean they love each other any more than Dot and Dart.  Her mother told her she was being selfish. Dot says there isn’t a person in the world who wants Don and El to get married more than she does!

Dot pleads with Dart to wake up to her faults now so that he won’t be shocked when he learns her family’s opinion of her. She hopes that facing reality won’t turn him against her; in fact, she’d love it if he could acknowledge her faults and love her in spite of them.

She feels she should just learn to keep her thoughts to herself, but wonders what the world would be like if folks with different points of view were not permitted to express them.

I find it harsh that her family seems to come down so hard on Dot. It seems as though all signs point to her being highly agreeable, hard-working, modest to a fault, thoughtful, and funny. What more could a family want? Still, they do seem to expect a great deal more from her.

She apologizes for writing such a horrid letter and promises a cheerful one tomorrow.

Dart was overjoyed to get two letters today after a brief dry spell. Mail delivery seems quite sporadic these days, in both Shoemaker and Greenwich.

Referring to Dot’s chiding him about his worrying over her health, he comments, “Didn’t you know that when a person tells another person not to worry, as you told me not to, it’s an unmistakable signal for worry to begin, especially when the party of the second part loves the very air the party of the first part breathes? You’re surely right about our love being like quicksand – only more pleasant. We think we’re as much in love as any two kids could be, yet we fall more deeply in love at every new occasion.”

Dart and four friends went bowling after dinner tonight. His scores were the lowest of the bunch but they had loads of fun.

He observes that Venice, Italy and Shoemaker have much in common – they are both flooded. Venice, however, is connected directly to the sea whereas Shoemaker just has lots of rain and bad drainage. Now he knows why all the buildings are on stilts and the roads are built on embankments.

If she insists, he will try his best to surprise her on his next leave. He’s not sure he can keep it a secret because he’ll be so excited, but if it means so much to her, he will make every effort. He thanks her and her mother for the standing invitation to stay at their house.

He doesn’t care if he catches her in overalls, shorts, curlers or face cream. He’ll be so happy to see her that nothing else will matter. She, however needs to brace herself for the day she first sees him wearing shorts. His skinny bird legs may cause her quite a shock.

All of the plans she’s making for the next time they see each other will take quite a while to accomplish. Bicycle rides, swimming, fishing, ping-pong, etc. He hopes they take forever. He knows if they keep focused on their goals and work hard, they’ll accomplish all they hope to, and have fun doing it.

He vaguely knows the Sammy Kaye music she referred to and he likes it, too. He’s never heard the Mills Brothers’ song ‘Til Then but he agrees with Dot that the words fit their relationship perfectly. “Something which gives me a nice little sensation every time I see, or hear it, is one little word ‘us’ and all its brothers and sisters like ‘we’ and ‘our.’ It seems natural, yet entirely new and pleasant, to be speaking of you and me in terms like that. Oh, there I go dreaming again.”

He wants her to tell Mr. Goldstein to go ahead and try to fatten her up. Her “other interest” liked her just fine when she was bigger than she is now, and likes her even more now. If he succeeds in fattening her up, he’ll defeat his purpose by making Dot dissatisfied, not Dart.

It’s  nearly time for Taps, so he must close, his heart overflowing with love and perfect memories of their time together. On the back page he wrote a note to Tonsillectomy and drew a weird little picture of her and her pappy.

Dot finally got some letters from Dart that have been sent out of order, but she’s thrilled to get them whenever they come.

Don called last night to give El the news that he will be getting eight days of leave before reporting to Ft. Devens until September. After that, he’ll start Tufts Medical School, just outside of Boston. No war service for El’s fiance! Dot recalls all the tears El wasted, and how little faith she put in God, Don or the Army. After all, Don graduated first in his class at Penn.

She loves Dart’s house plans but wants to think about them a little longer before commenting more. Her father says Dart has lots of good ideas, but he suggests not putting the three windows in the door because “those have been used on nearly every $5,000 house ever built.” I’m not sure what that means. Was $5,000 a lot for a house then, or did Arthur think it made the house look cheap?

She’s very concerned that his back is acting up again…or still. She begs him to take good care of it and not let it get worse, if possible.

Because there’s so little she can do for him for Christmas, she asks if he would please call her that day, collect. It would be like a gift she buys herself. She says he musn’t limit it to a three minute call, either. She’d gladly listen to anything he had to talk about, even if he was explaining the Mark I computer to her (again).

How could he so blithely announce he expects to be shipped out the middle of next week? That’s about now! She’d hoped he’d still be in the country for Christmas, but guesses that was too much to ask.

She urges him to take very good care of himself while he’s away. If he can only send one air mail letter per week from the ship, don’t always send it to her. She knows how hard his absence will be on his parents, so she begs him to write to them often.

As it is now, she can hardly stand being away from him, so she’s clueless how she’ll survive with him so very far away, in places unknown to her. She’ll be thinking of him constantly, and praying for his safe and speedy return. I can hear the dread and worry in her words.

She appreciates that he turned down a date with a Wave. She thinks he’d have been like her, and not had a very good time with anyone else, but he has the right to if he chooses.

Although she kisses his picture every night, she’d much rather it be a real kiss like the ones they shared on the stairs that night in Cleveland. As wonderful as the real thing was, the memory of it makes it seem even more wonderful, and it makes her miss him even more.

She signs off with, “Yours til the ocean wears rubber pants to keep its bottom dry.” Appropriate for a sailor, I guess.

We’re wrapping up a month in which Dot didn’t miss a day of writing letters except when she was in transit to and from Cleveland or personally with Dart and his family. Similarly, Dart only skipped two days. It seems as if they’re both more committed to maximizing their contact with each other as the huge separation of Dart’s deployment looms larger.

Dart is overjoyed to have received a bundle of letters today; three from Dot and a slew of others from friends and family. His old buddy Fred has landed in the Marianas with his Marine unit and seems to be taking it all as a great adventure.

Dart spent this  morning helping to dig a drainage ditch to siphon some of the water out of the camp. He thinks if the water runs uphill, it just might work!

The temperature has dropped at Shoemaker, so Dart is cocooned in all of his woolen garments and two blankets as he writes the letter. His heart, however, is warmed by a letter he received from Pop today. His dad wrote how much he and Dart’s mom enjoyed their very short visit with Dart and Dot. They’re so grateful their son has found such a nice young lady whom they’ve come to care about as well. If the two feel “that way” about each other, it’s alright with them. Pop tells his son that the war will end soon and the next phase of his life will run smoothly for the young couple because they have each other. Their love for each other will help them laugh off life’s irritations and their time of preparation for the rest of their lives will pass quickly.

“So there, Dot. You have what my parents think of the whole set up. If only all the parents of boys would love their son’s chosen one, the way my parents love you, the world would be a better place to live in.”

Dot is awe struck with the glorious full moon shining in the crystal sky this evening. She promises Dart that someday they will be able to stare at a full moon together.

She thanks him for the clippings he sent and tells him she’ll include them in their memory book for posterity.

In answer to his question, she writes that none of the suits she wore in Cleveland were ones she’d made. She’s glad he likes her clothes. She likes his, too, although she’d much prefer to see him in “civvies.”

Now we learn of another skill Dot’s been hiding. She took out her old violin today to see if she still remembered enough to play a few Christmas songs. To her surprise, she did, although her family would agree she’s not Carnegie Hall material. “But,” she asks, ” if we all played Carnegie Hall, who would Franklin Simon use for sales girls?” Then she quipped that her mother plans to buy her a new bow for Christmas, but she plans to keep her “beau” permanently.

Next, she got out her guitar, with less agreeable results. She thinks maybe she should just give all her stringed instruments to Spike Jones and his City Slickers.

Today was the deadline for mailing packages before Christmas, so if his arrives early, she hopes he’ll honor the label and wait until Christmas morning to open it. I wonder if she could have ever imagined a day when someone could order something on December 24 and have it delivered on the other side of the country on Christmas Day?