Life continues

What I remember from the daily grind.

Polio epidemic in North Africa. (affecting our service people.

Son of French Premier, Darlan with wife and secretary and private doctor arrived.

Mr Littledale, Editor of NY Times, who had crashed with Eddie Rickenbacker gave me my first art lessons. He was the only non polio patient at Warm Springs

For fifty cents we could have all our laundry washed and ironed. A Black woman came walking over the hills to pick up our dirty clothes which she returned later in the day. Because of the heat we had many changes, both uniforms and after work clothes.
It saddens me that the only thing I ever did in the South for the less fortunate was paying my bill double. It was difficult to get her to accept this extra money and she always left with many blessings. What could I have done if I had not been so absorbed in my own doings?

The officer candidates came on weekends. One was missing. The one with the car. (he had flunked) So all the others had to ride the train. It also more or less affected our dancing. No jukeboxes in Warm Springs. I continued seeing one of the eSes. I told you he wrote to M to ask what his intentions were. He had asked me to marry him the second time we met and it made me laugh out loud. For we certainly did not know each other at all. I knew one thing... he was prone to being controlling. Otherwise I only knew I enjoyed his comany. He loved to read and often on sunny days by the pool he read HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY. And he actually became moist around the eyes when he read an especially beautiful segment.

Finally came the last week end before they graduated. It was latish in the afternoon. we were all sitting around listening to a strange person playing boogie woogie on an untuned plinky sounding piano. Somehow the conversation came up about diamonds and engagement rings. I suddenly reealized that I would never see this S again if he left and went overseas. I had heard moments before that the average life span of a junior officer overseas was something like not quie a week, And they were all comparing notes about what they wwere doing after graduating, and I heard S say that he was going to a dude ranch in Colorado. What to do? While they were on the subject of diamonds I said Swedish men were lucky for the tradition in Sweden was a plain gold band for the engagement and a diamond came later for an anniversary or a first child. Then I said, Sam when are you getting my gold ring? He turned red and said; yoou can't joke about this. I said I am serious. If you want to hear more, turn on this program next time.