Just a little note - could come from any era - a couple of lovers planning to get together. Let's see, will I come down with his parents? With a friend, to save money? With someone to fix up with his friend? All unacceptable. All would interfere with the time we would have to spend in a little hotel room somewhere, if not make that time completely impossible.

Do we still have to use subterfuge with our parents, once we're over 18? Should we? Is something lost, if we don't have to? If we have to make no efforts? If we no longer have to consider consequences? Are these the ravings of an old lady who had to make such efforts and values it simply because that's how it was done? Who thinks maybe there was more meaning? When we had to make the effort? When we had to think about it?

Oh, nonsense. People still screwed - and screwed up. And they still do. Some people even still find meaning. I guess.

Seems to be a continuation of the last letter. His platoon leader asked him when he had last shined some piece of brass. He replies maybe an hour ago. The PL replies, "There are three things I don't like in the army: warm beer, wet toilet paper, and a liar." He says his platoon sergeant left them to train Cubans at Ft. Knox. I know I'm not always clear as to where he is - Ft. Knox or Ft. Lee - here, he's still basically in basic at Knox.

And apparently, I had suggested Michael Fitzgerald for a boy's name (I am not pregnant!). Have no idea where that came from. He doesn't like it. Wants to name a kid Peter. Wonder if he did.

One side of the page, along the margin, reads: "Tomorrow I have a live machine gun fire over my head." The other side reads, "What is the highest good?"

Is this still part of regular army training?

October 10, 1962: "Today I was put into a gas chamgber, various gasses including tear and chlorine, were let loose while I had my protective mask off. No harm done, but don't ever laugh when you see those movies where the gangster has a tear gas bomb thrown at him and immediately you see him running out to give himself up, eyes crying, etc. This is no shit - it was HELL. It's like you just incurred a severe skin rash over your entire face. All this is part of the DBR training which is designed to prepare all of us young troopers for chemical and biological warfare and/or thermal nucular [sic] attacks."

Hmmm...I was once in love with a man who said "nucular." Will this muck raking never cease?

He's gone to see "One-Two-Three", a film directed by Billy Wilder and starring James Cagney. This came out in 1961. I'm thinking, when I was a young woman, there were still new Jimmy Cagney movies. I must tell my friend, Kevin, when he calls later today (as he does nearly everyday since he got out of prison). He loves Jimmy Cagney movies. He can do impressions. Well, this will impress him.

"Monday and Tuesday I fire for record at the special range called 'Ditto Hill'. On this range we are tested on our ability to detect and kill targets. Lots of fun. Today we got our gas masks. Another toy to play war with."

A cute little paragraph about baby names. I'm not certain what set this off, but he tells me not to consider any names like Jana or Elizabeth. "How the other boys would kid him" he says. As it turns out, he had all boys.