Description
335 Friday 28 Sept. 9:30 pm My dearest darling, I've just retired to the noise and confusion of the officers’ club after entering my quarter to write you and hearing soft voices next door which became casual as the light was turned on over there - I picked up my stationery and left quietly (but conspicuously) without looking back to see whether the light next door went off again, yet half hoping that it would. Yes, the spirit of romance never dies in a man, and be it ever so absent, there's no place like home. - In case you’re wondering, nurses are allowed in officers’ quarters; at least [?] has ever said anything about it, and corollary-wise, no one has ever abused the privilege by being indiscreet (though I don't doubt that discretion has sometimes required tacit cooperation such as mine just now.) As a matter of fact, there was probably nothing more going on then the sort of quiet and intimate conversation which is mutually soothing to members of the opposite sex. There are a good many nurses on the island, tho, who get theirs regularly, and not always with the greatest of privacy [pg 2] I've returned just now from school, where I arrived late for class from the most delicious meal I've had in my 11 months on the island, and one of the best in my life, at the 92nd CAS as the guest of a warrant officer with whom I've been in contact thru the school. After two manhattans, a ¾-inch-thick, 9 x 5 inch medium rare steak fried in butter and so tender you could cut it with a fork. It's just possible that when we get our separate officers mess (for which the building is almost completed) we'll be able to get that kind of food now and then. It'll cost us about $5 a month more (than the current [$21?] which is taken out of our pay) but should be well worth it. This has been a very busy week, and one of many accomplishments. An influx of enlisted men has yielded us two in addition to a yeoman (Slicer, going to the paper as editor, has replaced Cuddy, who worked a the school 3 or 4 months ago) and we expect to use them to good avail: Jackson, a very nice looking, intelligent lad, is a graduate of Hiram College in Ohio and expects to go into graduate chemistry after the war; [pg 3] School master (sic), just 19, had six months at Bard College (Columbia) before the Navy got him. We will use them for various purposes, mainly to assist in the prosecution of a new English program which Barry and I are working out and which should be far more effective than what we've done in the part. I'll write you more about that later. No mail from you in two days, and when you say home in four I know how you feel. I miss you terribly, darling, and it's only by keeping so satisfyingly busy that I keep from getting awfully low sometimes, without you. Hang on tight, sweetie - here's a big, strong hug - mmm. I love you Warren
