Document Type
Personal Letter
Rights Management
All rights retained by Bryant University
Transcription
[Transcription begins]:
Sunday
My darling Judson,
Honey, I adore you so. Golly, honey, I miss you so much. The only thought that I have to cheer me up is that at the end of the ten weeks we’ll be married.
Darling, I have so many things to be grateful to you for. Your love, sweetness, kindness and understanding has completely changed me. Until this last week, marriage to me was a kind of dark shadow. Something that every woman had to go through & tolerate. Can you imagine how awful that was. You probably can’t. I was so happy being in love with you but always in the back of my mind was that awful fear & doubt.
Now that’s all gone. I am so relieved & happy now. Honey, I’m so glad that I’m in love with you. Another thing I’m thankful for is this last week. What a difference a week can make. Without that lord only knows what would have happened.
Well, you’re at Spence Field now. I hope it’s a good field and that you’ll like it. What time did you get there? You weren’t late were you, honey? Sure hope not.
That hospital was some place. Honestly, honey, those nurses were a bunch of absolute morons. They kept giving me ice bags that leaked & they’d forget that they had leaked & leave me for three quarters of an hour with a wet gown (hah, that’s a laugh—those pityful [sic] things they call gowns—Bags—probably burlap at that). I could just feel myself catching cold.
This morning, (I’d just gotten to sleep at about six thirty) at the ungodly hour five o’clock one of the morons came in to wake me up—she took my temperature & pulse. Then the parade began. You’d think I was giving away free lunch or something. Had a glass of milk for breakfast & one for lunch. Also managed some pudding & potatoes for lunch.
Darling, I love you so. I can’t think of anything except how very much I love you, honey. You are to me everything I love.
While we were at the hospital waiting to go home they played “Don’t Fence Me In.” Gee, I love you so. That song brings back so many memories. I love you so.
All the way home I kept seeing things that reminded me of you. We drove down a few streets in Brooklyn that you & I had when we were lost. Then Daddy turned down a street. Remember how we went down the one way street, the wrong way, where the police car stopped us in New York? Daddy went down the same street the wrong way. Gee, honey, I love you so.
Then we drove on that highway that you & I always go to New York on. Gee, honey, so many things remind me of you.
Golly, Judd, I’ve really got it bad. Honestly, I never knew I could love anyone the way I love you. Golly—Everytime I see you or just hear your voice I love you more. Golly, Sweetheart, it really will be something when we’re married. We really won’t have a friend left.
Tonight’s New Year’s Eve. Gee, it would be marvelous to be with you. In the condition I’m in it wouldn’t be so nice but I do love you so.
Wasn’t supposed to come home until tomorrow or later but I hate to stay in a hospital. What a way to spend New Year’s Eve. Wonder what you’re doing now honey? It’s six o’clock. Oh, is your time there different from the time here? I hope not. Cause when I’m trying to imagine what you’re doing at a certain time, you won’t be doing it then.
Oh, honey, I love you so. Happy New Year, my darling. What a year this has been. Never dreamed when it started that I’d be engaged before the year was over.
Honey, I’d better rest for a while. That doctor told me to rest a lot.
Well, darling, I’ll write more later. I love you more than anything else in the world.
Whatever you do, honey, remember I love you. Please don’t forget to write whenever you can. I love you so. I always think of you & miss you loads.
Monday
Hello darling—
This is sort of a continued story. What a life. My throat is really sore again today. Can’t even talk.
Yesterday your mother & Bobbie came down for a few minutes. Must have talked too much then or something because my throat feels as though there was a lump of something there so that I can’t say a word. In a way it’s nice not to be able to talk. Don’t have to listen to what anyone else is saying & can just sit there and day dream about you—But , golly, I keep thinking of the funniest things I’d like to say.
Gee, honey, I miss you so. You are so wonderful to be in love with—I’m so glad that you’re the one I’m going to marry. You’ll be the most wonderful person in the whole world. I love you so, Sweetheart.
Oh, remember when Daddy announced our engagement & Ronnie wanted to know if that made him a grandfather now? Well, Mother called Sis & Walter (his mother & father) and said that I was in the hospital. Ronnie must have been listening or something because he asked “Is Dottie in the hospital to have a baby.” He really is rushing things.
Honey, I love you so. It’s really pityful [sic]. No matter what I’m doing I think of you constantly.
Happy New Year, darling—I hope that next New Year’s Eve we will be together. Golly, honey, we’ll be married then.
Honey, please try to get a lot of rest & sleep during these next ten weeks. Don’t lose any more weight. You’ll have to take care of yourself. Someone has to be healthy in our family.
Harry James is playing, “I’m Beginning To See The Light.” I like it. Just played “Stareyes.” That’s a good song too.
Gee, honey, there are so many things I’d like to say to you. Try to tell you how much I love you and miss you but there aren’t enough words, I guess.
Hope that you can read this but I’m lying down & it’s some angle to write from.
Honey, I wonder if I’ll ever be sure of you. I can’t explain how I feel & I’ll probably say the wrong thing & give you the wrong impression—But, I just can’t believe that you love me. It’s too good to be true. It just doesn’t seem possible—was thinking about it last night for the longest time and should have written it then when my thoughts were clear.
You’re going to be getting terribly conceited but, honey, you’re just perfect—I can’t find one thing that I don’t like about you. Physically you’re perfect. You’re good looking & tall & dark & have beautiful eyes and curley [sic] hair. You’re nice & strong. Mentally you’re perfect, too. You’ve got ability—talent and loads of brains & you’ve got good sense (most of the time, except when you try to be practical at the wrong times). You have knowledge & can use it when the need arises. You can do just about anything you put your mind to. Besides that you have a marvelous sense of humor. You’re sweet & thoughtful and I love you. Better stop telling you how wonderful you are or there’ll be no living with you.
Golly, hon, this time last week, we were eating dinner here. We didn’t want to go to Brooklyn. Golly, suppose we hadn’t gone. Things might have been so different. I don’t know about you but this week made a lot of difference to me.
They’re playing “I’m Making Believe.” That’s what I’ll be doing until you come home.
How is this field? Hope it’s nice. Honey, I don’t see how these ten weeks will go fast but everyone seems convinced that they will. To me they’ll seem more like ten years.
When do you start flying? What a day. It’s pouring & the wind is blowing. Glad that you’re not at Stewart now. The weather will probably be awful.
The doctor said I couldn’t go out for two weeks. Phooey. It will be horrible lying around for two weeks but good for my ankle. Mother wants me to go see Conover & do photography instead of going back to wholesale. Can’t decide whether to do that or not.
Honey, gee, you can’t imagine how lonesome it is around here without you. I’d love to have you home just for a few hours so that I could hear your voice, hear you laugh & say “I love you.” There are so many little things I love about you.
Honey, they’re playing “Together.” All day they’ve been playing all our songs. Especially “Don’t Fence Me In.” Memories are wonderful things. We were really lucky to have so much time together, hon.
Do you get every weekend off? Are you restricted or anything for the first two or three weeks? How was the train trip down? Do you have any Scotch left or am I kidding?
I’ve written you two letters so far & will keep them until I hear from you because they’re so long. I’d hate to have anything happen to them before you read them.
Finished reading Mrs. Parkington today. She had a pretty good life. It was a very good story. It took me ages to read it because I kept thinking about you.
The nurse was going to make me take my ring & bracelet off but I explained I couldn’t & she was very nice & said it would be o.k. to leave them on. Had me worried for a minute though. Have my tonsils in a jar on my dressing table. They were awful the doctor said. Now I’ll probably be o.k. He said they had so much pus in them that they were breaking & going through my system. Well, from now on I should be the picture of health.
Honey, have you gotten in touch with Steve yet? Woody is madly waiting for a letter from him. I have been dying to have a long talk with her ever since you told me what happened to see if she is any different. Now I’ll be looking for her to say something while before I wasn’t. The only trouble is that I can’t talk. It’s awful—wonder if she’ll tell me. I doubt it. I’m sure if I had I wouldn’t go around telling anyone.
I’ll tell you if anything happens. She’ll probably have to tell someone. Most people do.
Honey, the luggage is so beautiful. I’m crazy about it. Gee, I love it. Honestly, honey, I was so surprised. You can’t imagine. The bracelet surprised me too. I wish that I could have surprised you but I knew you wanted the old pen & pencil set. That’s so unromantic, honey.
I’m dying to go downstairs & sit & look at my Christmas presents. I really haven’t seen most of them. When I first came in they were what I saw. Your luggage. Honestly, honey, I’m crazy about them.
Bobbie just called & yesterday she took home the monkey I got for Ricky. She said it looked like you & was calling it Willy—I’ll have to murder her. Bobbie said if I don’t stop writing this letter I’ll have to send it railway express.
Grandmaw said I shouldn’t give the monkey to Ricky because it would scare him—I thought he was cute. You can decide whether to be insulted or flattered when you see “Willy.”
Oh, if anyone down there calls you Bill or any other name that comes from William tell them they’ll have a battle on their hands when I get down there. Judson is such a nice name—I’ve always liked that name—ever since I first met you.
I really should end this soon because it will be getting too big for an envelope.
Honey, I love you so. Every day I was with you made me love you so much more. How long can this go on[?] Every weekend I was sure that I couldn’t love you any more & yet every weekend I did love you more.
That last week was wonderful. It was heaven to be with you so much. Almost as though we were married. We certainly weren’t apart for long. It was wonderful.
Honey, how do you feel towards Mickey now? You know me well enough to know that I’m not asking out of jealousy. But when you thought you saw her you looked so strange I didn’t quite know how to interpret that look.
Golly, I kept thinking today was Sunday & it’s Monday. We were asleep before I guess. Remember? We were out at the base now.
Sinatra’s singing “Night and Day.” It’s so true. I think of you Night & Day. Honey, I love you so. I’ll never be able to tell you how much.
You have such a wonderful way of saying what I mean. Does that make sense to you? But you do. You say what I want to but [can’t] find words for. Now he’s singing “Saturday Night Is the Loniest [sic] Night In the Week.” Ah, yes.
Hope you can read this. I’m just writing whatever comes into my mind & it probably won’t make much sense. I love you. Honey, we won’t ever fall out of love will we, honey? That’s another thing that has worried me. After we’ve been married for a few—(oh, honey, he’s singing “If You Are But a Dream”). (Oh, honey, that’s the first time I’ve heard it since you left. Darling I love you so and miss you terribly. Honey, I hope these ten weeks hurry.)
To get back to what I was writing, years to become indifferent to each other & not be in love any more. It won’t happen to us will it, honey?
Well, darling—Frankie’s singing “I Dream of You.” I do—“And I Want You So More than You’ll ever know.”
Hope you like “East Jesus.” I love you so. Have you started flying yet? What’s it like there? Hope you like it.
I love you so. Please write as often as possible. I’ll try to write every day. Probably the rest of my letters won’t be this long, but I’ll try to keep them as long as possible.
I love you more than anything else in the world. Goodnight, Sweetheart. I love you. You have all my love forever & always.
Dottie
P. S. I love you—
[Transcription ends]
