February 11, 1945
Click Here to Enlarge Item
310.104.1-6.2016 Transcription
Somewhere–France
c̅[1] 7th Army
11 Feb 45
Howdy, Precious,
Didn’t get the chance to write
ya last night—sorry—but thats
the first time in quite awhile. AND,
it wasn’t because you only wrote “quickies”
which arrived yesterday as a Jan 24, & Jan 31
letter. So there!
There’s no special answering about
‘em [(the Jan 24 & 31 “quickies”)][2]—allz I can seem to remember
about my letters in the past, I dont ever
remember even hinting that you delayed
acknowledging the arrival of this or that
thing—honest! I cant remember. Infact,
I can even remember having it in my
head, so [that][3] I could I have written it.
Guess, maybe I’m goin’ nuts along c̅
lotsa’ other guys. Just think what
I’ll be by the time I arrive in Fresco
after(?) C.B.I.––huh??????????
[PS & Ad lib:--Honest!—Really!—Sincerely!
Absoloutely!—the last thing in the World that
I want is S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-Y—
infact that whole word-thought just bores me to
pieces in recent months & has become progressively
that way over about a year][4].
Then today 3 of the cutest Valentines
arrived (P.S. I SO HOPE MY “EFM[5]-VALENTINE”
MADE IT THROUGH ON TIME) along c̅ a letter
from Feb 1st. Gee! darling, those were cute!
[2]
I’ve always forgotten to tell you about
what one of those cute cute cards brings
to memory. Those “x”es & “o”s meaning
kisses & hugs are absoloutely forbidden
by cencorship. Too many spies & non-spies
have used the “arrangement” of them to
convey messages—sooooo, they’re
slashed s̅[6] a moments hesitation.
Your Feb 1st:—Darlin’, I as a doctor,
& 1000s of other doctors, have had to come to
the rather [scientifically][7] unanswerable
conclusion that some babies just dont
sleep very much or need as much as others.
The why, the how, the rationale is unfathomable.
Maybe, if he doesn’t {hinder} [“heckle”][8] you—
let him stay awake just as darned long
as he wants (say for 7 to 10 days,) & see what
the result is. I too, can repeat a thought
in your letter, just from reading your
“Mother’s Case History” remarks over the
weeks—his cardiac reserve
surely must be pretty darn good or he
couldn’t get by with (& grow) the things
I read about.
(O U C H !) I hate to confess this but
it will make you feel better. Darlin’,
I already have 2 copies of the “Lent Forward.”
But—so help me I want ‘em so
badly each day that Ill still be
“wastefully” imposing on 4 different sources
in order to assure that at least one
[3]
comes through from one-out-of-the-four
sources. Anyhooo, I give them to others
who are anxious to get ‘em so there is
no “waste.” Thus, please dont ever alter your
sending, & once each month I write the
other sources to “Jack-them-up” on their
sending. [P.S. (S See, Schmaltzie!?—this month
I came c̅in 4 days-readings of NOT having the
new issue arrive on time—& c̅ overseas
mail-factors, that is “4-seconds”][9]
By now you have been “repititioned”
2X or 3X that the tweezer-stationary-candy-etc
box did arrive, & that (2X or 3X) the hair
tonic did arrive. In paragraph 2 (above
page #1) I wondered if I was goin nuts—
I know I’m goin’ nuts:—for
every day since I’ve been overseas I
remember at tooth brushing time to ask
you for thin/narrow/”fine” dental floss
& every day (HOW CAN IT BE!!) I forget.
Guess you know (at least vaguely) how
hard I have always had to hunt for
thin/narrow/”fine”/smallest dental
floss because of such tight/close inter-
dental spaces. I still do have floss
but Lordy it almost pulls all my fillings
out every time I use it. In your shopping
all you can do (re: judgement) is to look
at about 10 different kinds before you see
what the difference is re: “thin-ness.” SEND 10.
[4]
Ho! ho! hum!—guess we are both
going nuts:—towit, you said you were
enclosing orangish-regular-size 6 stamps
in this Feb 1st letter. Hunt! hunt! hunt!,
I did. Anyhoooo, dearest, you have been
just swell about sending stamps the last
4-6 weeks & I surely do thank ya heaps!
[Ad-lib][10] A Readers Digest 20th Anniversary
Anthology fell into my hands (temporarily).
In it is Stuart Chase’s “Are You Alive.” It
has been months since I was “smack-dabbed-
between-the-eyes” as “bulls-eyed-ly” as one
thought in Chase’s article did—
he speaks of the (QUOTE) “the blind alleys of
‘getting even’.” You just have to read his
1922 Digest article to know what it really
is saying/describing/”God-stating.”
Heres to!—[you bird of damn few
words][11]—holding you tight— c̅
All my love,
Dave
[1] Medical abbreviation meaning “with.”
[2] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[3] Bracketed text inserted into original with a caret.
[4] Bracketed text is part of original.
[5] Expeditionary Force Message, with numbers corresponding to messages for quick correspondence.
[6] Medical abbreviation meaning “without.”
[7] Bracketed text is part of original.
[8] Bracketed text is written above “{hinder}” in original.
[9] Bracketed text is part of original.
[10] Bracketed text is part of original.
[11] Bracketed text is part of original.