Episode 42: Dope On The Jalopy

Episode 42: Feloma is contemplating buying a car, and Donald receives a letter from a woman he does not know.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Hello, hello. How are you doing, Carson?

SPEAKER_02 0:17

I'm grand. Good. I'm grand.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

I can't wait to hear about Donald and his adventures on this. Uh in our last episode, he was getting ready to leave for a few days.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

That's right. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

He was going on a problem.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

A problem, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Basically, he's in the field.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

He's in the field.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

When our husbands were in the army, they were in the field.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

And that and that's uh basically what he was doing. He was just gone.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

He was just gone, yeah. They he was talking about it was an endurance training exercise. So it was hiking a hundred miles and not eating a whole lot. We'll see how it actually went. Are we gonna find out blow by blow? We we are. If you can believe it, he spares no details.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

So well, you know, I do I do think his details are very interesting because, and I've said it before, he recorded it. Like right, he lets you know exactly what he did. And he he captures history in these letters. And we don't we don't have to wonder what he did. He tells us all.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

He tells us all. That's exactly what it's like.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

Exactly right thing. You know, he speaks it into existence.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

I will say, well, you know what? We'll talk about it when we get there. Uh oh. All right.

unknown 1:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Get right into it this episode. Okay. So the first letter is April 14th, 1944. Okay. My dear Philoma, well, kid, I received five letters from you today and was glad to hear from you. Wow. I'm going to write a note tonight because we got in and it's 11:30, and I feel as though I've been walking for two months without sleep. I'll try to answer all of your letters tomorrow, but I thought I would just drop a line to break the suspense of you waiting for a letter. Well, kid, I'm gonna I'm going to sleep. Good night. I love you as always. Love and kisses, Don.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Oh my gosh. You know what? To his credit, he took the time and he wrote a letter. And for Philoma, she's getting mail. That's all she wants. And you know what? I mean, she probably had already written those letters, and they were already in the mail on their way to Donald before she ever knew.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Yeah, just collecting. Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

Yeah, before she even knew about this problem.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

He those letters were already sent.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

You know.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

And the other side of it is, you know, as we have learned, the training is not benign. So him dropping her a quick line, like, hey, I'm back. You know, I'll tell you more about it later. But just wanted to let you know. Like, I love that. Thank you. That's all I need. Yeah. Hey, I'm cool. Great. Yeah. Talk to you later.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

I mean, bless his heart. He said he's walked 100 miles. He's exhausted. I know. I mean, he's rolling it and it's midnight. He's like, all I want is to go to sleep. But I'm going to tell my dear wife that I am home.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Exactly. I'm going to let her know so she's not worried.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

And when he's a little more clear-headed tomorrow, he'll write a good letter. Exactly. That's funny. That's a short letter.

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

Does that even count as one of these letters?

SPEAKER_00 3:24

I'm counting it because it has a separate date. Separate date, separate envelope. She counts.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

What number was that? Oh, I don't know actually. Hold on, let me look. I haven't been thinking up. Honestly, I think it was 144. Let's say 140. A gross. A gross, if you will. So this particular one is 144 on 414. So many fours.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

It must mean something.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

It's like your birth to birth sign. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Yeah. The universe is trying to tell us something. I mean, it's just kind of funny. The next letter is April 15th, okay, 1944. True to his word. Yes. My dear Philoma. Oh, also, before I get started, this letter that he has written is seven pages.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

Ooh. So he had all that extra writing paper.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Prepare yourself.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Oh. Oh, dear listeners, here we go.

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Well, kid, here it is. Saturday. And I have a little time, and I have all of your letters on the bed, and I'm going to read them all over again and answer them if I can.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Okay. I love that he is. He's like, okay, I've got time. This is the first time Donald's like, I got time.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

That's what he's been asking for for six months. Exactly. I'm going to make sure I answer every question. I'm going to clarify anything that needs to be clarified. This is going to be great.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

It's very sweet. Mm-hmm. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

And then in that way, we kind of also get an idea of what she's asking about. Yeah. You know? Yeah. The letter of April 6th states that you think I'm going for a boat ride because we were told to make our wills out. Well, it could be, but I'm not sure of it. Because remember before he said they made us do our wills.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Yeah. Gosh, that's so funny because that seems like it was like eons ago. I know.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

April the 7th states about my compliment to you for the dough.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Oh. This was for her getting him out of the arrears. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

He was in arrears.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Well, kid, I don't look at it as a compliment. I mean in a different way. I know you understand. It comes from the bottom of my heart. When you stated about the inspections we have, they do get on my nerves. But don't say my superior officers. You should say my senior officers. Because in my mind, they aren't superior to me because I can do a hell of a lot of things. They can't, but they are my seniors. Do you get the idea? Wow. Well, tell us how you feel, Donald. I know. Well, that's the way I always look upon them. It's not what they can do, it's who they know and how they sucked ass to get them bars. Donald. Just laid out there. Yeah. He he doesn't he certainly doesn't have a chip on his shoulder or anything. You know, not at all. No. No. No. I'm glad you looked up where Eddie Kach is located. So he got shipped to Virginia to a POE. As far as the orchid situation, I wired the money to Rockwell's florist, and I know you will appreciate the orchid I gave you for Easter. So I guess that settles that. Because do you remember she was talking about a corsage? Yeah. And you so brilliantly said that. I said it was going to be for Easter. Yeah. Now we know. So he sent in that she would have a corsage or an orchid for her corsage. Oh. I know. I love that. April 9th has Did you hear that song? Gee, I would like to be with you on Easter Sunday. Well, I guess I haven't. I don't hear a radio very often. So I think she was wondering if he was listening to the radio at all. Yeah. There was a song called Easter Sunday with you that had those lyrics in it in 1944. I could not find it on Spotify, but you can play it on YouTube if you want. I think it's funny. But go nuts. Go to Easter Sunday with you. Easter Sunday with you. So you went downtown to show off your orchid. Well, good for you. I'll bet you really look swelling it. About Mrs. Bianchi's case. You did the right thing. If you thought it was right, so do I. I hate to drive an old crate like that anyway. And I don't blame you for not going that far. I'm like, I don't even know what they're talking about. Yes. So I'm not sure either. I think it was something like he's saying he's glad that you know he doesn't blame her for driving an old vehicle a far distance. Okay. Um, so I don't know what Mrs. Bianchi was asking for, but I guess Philoma said, no, I can't do that. Um and then he says, about you getting an overhauling, that's okay by me. So that's like taking the vehicle in to get like get it worked on so it's in better shape, yeah. I don't like the idea of you getting so sick and having cramps like you do when you menstruate. I hope it's nothing serious. So she must also be getting maybe she got like a stomach bug or something. Okay. I also love how freely they talk about it. Good for that. Well, you know, it's you know, talk about it. If not your spouse, then who? If not your spouse, then who? But I I don't know. I kind of love that they're just like very open about it. It's not like a hush hush. I hope you did take some pictures. I would like to have a few more of in my collection. I hope you and Billy didn't get too friendly, and I'm awful glad he stopped in to see you. Donald has a little little little bit of jealousy there. Oh, just wait. It helps bring back old memories, haha. And I'm also glad he stopped because now you can see the big mistake you almost made by picking him.

SPEAKER_02 9:28

Oh my gosh, I did not see that coming. So this was an old boyfriend. This is an old boyfriend.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

An old flame came to see philoma. Oh. Now I will say at the same time, when you are from a small town, everybody is your ex-boyfriend. Okay. Um, and he seems pretty funny about it because he says, ha ha. And you know, he doesn't seem to be upset by it.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

No, he doesn't. But it's funny. I I was like, wow, ooh, okay. Mm-hmm. Donald shots fired.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Shots fired. He says, she knows what she has. Fort Ord is about 150 miles from here and a POE too. So it rained at home Monday while I was lying out on the good old earth with the rain coming down on my face, also. That was kind of a tough break. I wish Jax Major would have got in touch with Dahlquist sooner. I believe we're going to move up to Camp Beale in the near future. So I don't know the major and uh General Dahlquist. I don't know if that was back to trying to get him over to Europe. I have no idea. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

I was gonna say this goes back to the I think this goes back to the letter from Mac.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Exactly. But it's also very pie in the sky. Like I promise you that Dahlquist does not care that some entry level man wants to, you know, go be with his brother. No, he's like, we've got we've got bigger fish to fry, guys. Uh yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Lou Blasey was stationed at that camp quite a while ago. He left Camp Beale around December. I only wish he would have stayed there. I would have liked to see him. I was wondering why I haven't heard from him. So I guess him being on furlough is the reason for it. What do you mean he sort of looked funny when he saw my pictures? Didn't he like them? I'm going to write him in a few days anyway. How funny. I know.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

You know, I think there, um, you know, when you send somebody a text message or an email, there's sort of like, well, you shouldn't be using loud, shoddy letters and you know, because you don't understand the nuances. The tone. The tone. Okay. And I think there are tones within letters.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Right.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

That we may or may not understand. Like, what do you mean he didn't like my picture? You know, like she said it, she probably said something in passing, and he's like, Well, wait a second, what do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 12:10

And she may have said, you know, he he looked funny or he looked different looking at your picture. And maybe that was because Lou Blasi misses him and was like, Oh, yeah, that's my buddy. Yeah. But he's taking it as, what, he didn't like my picture? Yeah. What do you mean? How come you don't like my picture? Yeah, I'm gonna come home and slap him. Like, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

That's so I think there are nuances that you know you miss in letters too. Absolutely. You know.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

I guess I was surprised and hurt to hear about little Eddie. I wrote a letter to him quite a while ago, so I guess he will never get it now.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Ugh.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Yes. So I don't know exactly who this is. There are a lot of Eddies.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Oh, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Um but he I think has passed.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Wow. How interesting.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

And so the next sentence is Philoma, before this thing is over, you're gonna see a lot of gold stars on that honor roll. And all because a few guys just keep prolonging it. Yeah, I just we know Eddie Koch, um, but that's not little Eddie.

SPEAKER_02 13:22

No. That's interesting. Wow. Very sobering.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Mm-hmm. There were only 14 of the company that finally finished the course. We had our pictures taken to be put in the paper, so when I get the camp paper, I'll send it home. The medal is he's talking again about the the infantry. The EIB. The medal is mounted with silver cross guns and it has a blue background, which is given by the war department. I suppose I'll get one at some retreat formation that we have. I believe we'll move out of here within the next week or so. So if I get to Beale, I'll have you come out here, even if it's just for a few weeks. That's if it can be arranged. Well, kid, about the dope on the jalopy. So, dope means information. In 1944, dope means information. Just so everybody knows, because I was like, oh, what? And you know what a jalopy is. Yeah. That's funny. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So about the dope on the jalopy. The dope on the jalopy. If you want to go ahead, if you want to go ahead, but you'll probably get ripped off. So I'm wondering if she's trying to buy a car or something.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Well, do you think remember somewhere in there he was talking about um Yeah, somebody was talking to her about maybe going somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah. Or maybe she was thinking about buying a car, but it was far away and her driving it.

SPEAKER_02 15:02

Yeah, that's what I was. Yeah, it goes back like, oh, take it and have it overhauled. Right. And now he's like, wait a second. You're gonna get ripped off. Of course you're gonna get ripped off.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yeah. Yeah. About the dope on the jalopy.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

That's a great sentence.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

I know. I was like, okay. You're like, wait a second, what did I just miss? Yeah. I had to go back and read it and make sure I wasn't like missing something. I wish you wouldn't get one because you wouldn't be able to keep it in shape. So use your judgment. If you do buy it on payment, go down to the bank and get the money and pay for it, and then you can take Newt to work and do some running around yourself.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

So she wants her own vehicle.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

She wants her own vehicle. Mm-hmm. Okay. Absolutely. And he's he's for it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's just worried she won't be able to maintain it herself. Because he did all the oil changes and all that kind of stuff himself. I mean, I can't maintain a car. Oh, yeah. Who are you talking to?

SPEAKER_02 15:56

Like, I want to get in the car and I would just expect it to go.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Yeah, I uh not me. Could never. I don't take care of tires, oil. No, I mean, I don't even know where to start. I can change a tire if I can physically change it. I know how to do it in theory. Now, can I actually get off?

SPEAKER_02 16:15

You've been working out.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Yeah, can I get the lug nuts off? That's the question. That is the entire question.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

I have faith in you. You can do this. I was like, I could do it if I could read. If I can read the instructions, I can probably do it, but I'm not, it's not going to be innate for Carson.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Yeah, I mean, what I can do is call a friend. Yeah, phone a friend. Don't call me. Call one of your husband's friends. You can call me. I'll tell you what to do. We can call someone else to actually get the lug ups off to get the work done. Between the two of us.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Hey, I can walk somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

There you go. That's right. Okay. You got it, girl. Okay, so yes. So I want to read that last sentence because it ends so beautifully. Okay. Okay. You can take Newt to work and do some running around for yourself, but don't do too much running around to look for another man. Now, to tell you about my last week's work. Okay, so before I get into this, it's a lot of it's a lot of times. So just bear with me. Times. We started out at four o'clock Monday morning. Oh, okay. I know where this is going. Yes. And we went to Morrow Bay where the problem started. Okay. So that's that big rock. We walked about 20 miles in the sand and desert, and all we had to eat was C and K rations. And boy, they make you sick to your stomach after you eat them for a while. This is sort of a desert country with lots of sand and cactus. We bedded down at midnight and it started to rain, so there was little sleep because the chattering of my teeth kept me awake.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

It's not funny, but it is funny.

SPEAKER_00 18:05

It is funny. Yeah, he's he's all right.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

I mean, it would look, he's already complained that it's cold at night. Okay. Deserts cold at night, right? Yes. And now it's raining. Exactly. So I don't know. Would a desert be raining at night? Go ahead. It could be.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

But the other thing is, if this house gets two degrees cold, I will my teeth will chatter. Like I don't know what to tell you. It just, you know. I mean, I don't blame him. Cold and wet, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I get it. Now he explains as if she doesn't know how weather works. She man splained. Yes. As if she doesn't live in the mountains of Pennsylvania. You see, in the daytime, the temperature gets up to around 100. And at night, it goes down to about 38. And that much of a change makes it hard to get used to. Now, I don't know if it was truly that large of a swing, but I do know when my my husband has told me when he was deployed in the desert in Iraq or Afghanistan, I think Afghanistan, it would get so hot during the day, like 120 or something, you know. But then it would cool down to 70 at night. But that huge drop in temperature, even though it was only 70, he said it felt like they were freezing because it was such a change.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

Oh, interesting.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Yeah, because their bodies kind of got used to the heat. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Yeah. I don't think I knew that.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

I mean, 70 would be cold after 120.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

Yeah. Like it's still a huge swim.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

Half the time 70 is cold anyway. Well, yeah. But even even more so if it's been 120.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Right. And it's just that kind of like your body gets used to it. Moving on. Tuesday morning. We started to march at four o'clock and we walked until about eight and then took a four-hour rest. Then we started to walk again till four in the afternoon. Here we stopped again till three in the morning. And we started again and walked till 11 Wednesday morning and stopped again till four in the afternoon.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

I love that he's just got all these times nailed. Like five days later, he can remember all these times. Yeah. I can't even remember what time I ate breakfast. Like I could never roll off all these times. Me neither. I couldn't.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

No.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

And I guess if it's the only thing you have to think about, like Again, he's not thinking about anything on these walks, right? Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Then I'm gonna remember all these times. Exactly. I she's not gonna believe this. Then we started again and walked to eight in the evening, and again we bedded down, only to have to go on patrol and stand guard for two hours because we were up at the front. We started again at four and walked until eight in the morning. Here we stopped again for four hours. And by the way, every time you stop, you have to dig a hole.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

Boy, can dig a hole.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Yep. We moved out again and stopped at four. And being pretty tired at this point, I thought we were gonna get some rest, but orders came down that my platoon was going to have to go and guard the battalion CP. I think he means command post. Oh, okay. And boy, was we sore. Me and Garen pulled guard together an hour on guard and an hour off all night. It's silly when you think of it. It's just like walking back and forth in a hayfield and the grass is all wet with dew and being cold. It's miserable.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

I mean, doing that all night, every hour on and off. Mm-hmm. Like you're like as soon as you would fall asleep, it'd be time to Exactly. What's the point? I know. Just give me two hours at least.

SPEAKER_00 21:41

Yeah. We were done with guard duty at 3 30 in the morning, and we had to walk about two miles up to the front lines to catch our company again. We ate at five, and when we started to walk again, and then we sorry, we ate at five, when we started to walk again. Till 11, and we stayed till four in the afternoon at the bottom of Hollister Peak.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

You know, if I'm philoma, I'm making a timeline. Right. I'm like, I wish I had a timeline of this because I could I could see it.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Yeah, she's like, oh, four hours for rest. Were there girls? Um, Hollister Peak. I have a picture of it for you. That's pretty cool. Yeah, it's very like craggy. Looks very British. It does. It does. Yes. Oh boy. From here on, I even hate to write about it, but I will.

SPEAKER_03 22:44

Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

We started four o'clock Thursday afternoon to climb the mountains. At eight, we had a break and was going to eat, so we were sitting along the road waiting for the Jeeps to bring chow. And here's where I almost blew my top. They picked ten of us to walk back two miles to the Jeep and carry the chow in the ten gallon containers to the company. They simulated the Jeep was broke and we had to get the chow up. And by gosh, the road was perfect to travel on, but they're just that damn dirty that they made us do it. And after chow, then other fellows had to carry the containers back to the Jeep. And the worst of it was after we ate, we were sitting taking a break and batting the breeze, and by gosh, the same Jeep that brought us the chow came up and turned around right by us. Boy, it takes guts to treat men that way, but they do it.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

That's tough. Yeah. I mean, again, you gotta get used to the suffering. You gotta get used to the suffering. It's not always gonna be easy. We're gonna be. It's not about you, Donald. I mean, I know oh man. I know I understand it from an outsider looking in.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Exactly. No, if somebody, I get it. Yeah, if somebody did that to me, I would be pissed.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

I I get well, you're telling them it's one thing and the truth is And then it's another. I mean, just be like, you have to bring your food up.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Just tell me it's a training exercise. Correct. Don't lie to me.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

I'm supposed to trust you in battle. Don't lie to me.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

This is battle right now. Yeah. We're about to come to blows. Exactly. I can't imagine carrying 10 gallons of food, whatever it was. Yeah, no, thank you. Oh. I can barely carry a gallon of milk.

unknown 24:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

Two miles.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

Exactly. So we started to climb over the hump. We finally got there and went over the other side to a little tower called San Marguerite. So I found a picture of that as well. Did they go over this? Is that what they're saying? I don't know if they went over that. I think they were just by it. What is that called? Hollister's Point? Hollister Peak. Hollister Peak. Okay. Yeah. But I think that kind of gives a good idea of the random terrain that they're in. Um San Marguerite has a little fire tower that I found. Here's a picture of it.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

That's probably what it looked like in 1944.

SPEAKER_00 25:03

Yeah, it was built in 1935. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:06

So was this was that was built in 1935. Okay, so that was already there. And they just went to the side.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

Yeah, so he's just saying like we we made to this little tower in San Marguerite. Okay. The next morning at four, we laid down in a field and went to sleep. And at seven, they brought us a sandwich and an apple for lunch. By the way, that's what we ate for dinner. Although it was two sandwiches and an apple or orange for dinner. Well the trucks came at nine and we all thought we were coming back, but the dirty skunks marched us five miles back to the mountain and we dug foxholes after we were just about to get into the truck at nine. Well, we stayed up in the mountains till four thirty. In the afternoon the problem was called off and we walked down to the trucks once again. If they would have made us do something else after being down at the trucks, I believe I would have been in the guardhouse today. But we finally loaded and came back to camp, which was a welcome sight to me. I mean at least he didn't have to walk back. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 26:09

He did eventually get into a truck, so that's that's the bonus.

SPEAKER_00 26:12

That's fair, yeah. I believe we will probably ship out here Thursday. That's the latest rumor that just came off the 3C in the second row down at the latrine.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Ha ha. Back to the latrine scuttle butt. Yeah. And the rumor mill. You know, um, so he, I think this is Saturday now, right? Because they came back on a Friday. I think this is Saturday. I believe you are correct.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

This is the 14th. It's the no, it's the 15th. Oh. It's the 15th.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Oh, yeah, you're right. You're right. They came back on 14th. Yeah, they came back on the 14th, but this is the 15th, which was a Saturday. So he's so and he thinks he might go to Camp Beal next. Okay. Yeah, that's what the that's what the rumor is. That's what the latrine talk is.

SPEAKER_00 27:01

Okay. We'll see. If we land in Camp Beale, I'll try to send for you so you can come out if it's possible. I received a letter from Chip and was glad to hear from him. Ooh. I told him he could use my pole to fish, but he didn't want to. Too self-conscious, I guess. You know, Philoma, if this outfit goes to POE, there won't be half of them pass because almost every one of them has a little something wrong with his feet or body from the abuse they have been taking on hikes. It's not the officers that win battles, it's just plain us that do it. Because we have the fighting spirit of freedom that makes us carry on as we do. Go Donald. I know. Wow. I know that is just that out of nowhere. We got spirit. Yes, we do. Yes, we do. How about you? I've said lots of times to myself, if I didn't have you, I would have been over the hill a long time ago. So much for that fighting spirit of freedom.

SPEAKER_02 28:09

He knows freedom is on the other side of that hill. I think that's what it is.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

It's true.

SPEAKER_02 28:15

He's like, I got I got a blast. Yeah. Bye. Later. It's like, I I want to see you, but if I do this, then I won't see you. Right.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

So I'm stuck in. Mm-hmm. I received a letter from a woman or girl from Overton. Again. Uh-huh. Rando's. Where's Overton? Is that in Pennsylvania? It's in Pennsylvania. It's not too far. But I don't know her, and I'm going to send it to you to read. It's pretty good. At least I have an admirer. Oh, Donald. So I'll let you answer the letter and send my picture. Oh.

unknown 28:57

Boy.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Hey, honey, you take care of my admirer for me. Exactly. That's what he said.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

Boy, wait till you get it. It will give you stitches, I know. Here's the Do you have the letter? Yes. Oh. It won't give her stitches. She's going to be furious. She's going to buy that car, drive up to Overton, and wallop this woman. Are you getting ready to read this letter? I am going to read the letter to you after this letter is finished.

unknown 29:25

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 29:27

I feel like you should read it right now. We have one tiny paragraph left. Okay. Okay. Ready?

SPEAKER_02 29:33

No. Yes, because I want to get to this admirer's letter.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

Okay, okay, perfect. How are you, dear? Well, I hope. And I know you're missing me just like I miss you. Them nights when I was on guard at 1.30, I was thinking about Gramp and Graham getting up at 3.30. I was thinking of Newt going to work at four. I was thinking of you laying there, rolling around before you decided to get up. Am I right or aren't I? I think of all those things now, and now I'm thinking of how I miss you and love you as always. Love and kisses, Don. P.S. Take notice. This is a seven-page job. Let's see you beat this letter for pages. Ha ha.

SPEAKER_02 30:16

Um, a couple things. Her grandparents got up at 3:30 in the morning. Mm-hmm. Man, it's no wonder they go to bed at like 7.

SPEAKER_00 30:26

7:30, 8, yeah. Holy cow. They get up early.

SPEAKER_02 30:31

Man, it's like Donald's right there. He knows the drone. He knows the routine. He does. It's kind of sweet that he's saying that. Mm-hmm. Okay, now, okay, I'm I'm done with this. Okay. I want to get to this letter.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:47

I still am like dumbfounded. Like these letters were just, I mean, not these letters. His address.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

I mean, it's what's so funny to me is you were like, they publish his address. Randos are gonna write to him. Like, you're absolutely right. I mean, it's crazy. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 31:05

And I mean, like, I'm all for like sending somebody a letter, morale boost, whatever. Sure. You know, but this is crazy. Mm-hmm. Ooh, I feel like you know more than you know.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

No, no, no. It it is. It's wild. It is wild. And in our it's funny because in our day and age of like social media, but then at the same time, like I do value privacy, but there are so many people who just put everything on social media, and it's like, don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

You don't know who's gonna well for everything they put on social media, imagine what they don't. Oh, that's true. That is true. That's true. But I don't know. I just can't imagine. Like, I I mean, there's some safety in it because they published this in Pennsylvania or wherever, and he's in California. Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

So it's gotta be somewhat local. Yeah, but I mean But the one was from Ithaca, which is a good read away. Yeah, so Ithaca's probably a few hours away. I don't know how they would have gotten that.

SPEAKER_02 32:07

Uh who knows where it was published. Yeah. Maybe it's published in multiple local papers, maybe like hey, morale. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I want to hear about this letter.

SPEAKER_00 32:18

Okay. So this is April 6th, 1944, from New Albany, Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:26

Dear Donald. Just a few lines to let you know. I seen your address in the paper, so I thought I would write to you. Also, moving forward, the grammar in this letter is terrible. So I'm gonna do my best to get through it, but just watch out. Okay. I was writing to some of the boys that are in the army. Boys. I have blue eyes and brown hair. You should be to the dance last Thursday night. I was to it. I'm about five feet tall. One of my brothers passed and one didn't pass for the army. I live out to Overton. If you will send me a picture of you, then when I get a good one taken of me, I will send one of them to you. So I have to close for now. I will say so long. Miss Arlie Teeter. P.S. Arlie Teeter? Miss Arlie Teeter. And I tried to find her and I could not. I found a couple Arlene teaters. That's gotta be her. Well, but the timelines didn't match up. Like they were either gonna be way too old or way too young. Okay. Yeah, so I don't know. Well, if I'm honest, she sounds young. I know. She does sound young. She sounds like early teens.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

Yeah, that's where I would put her. Yeah, I I agree. I mean, she's five feet tall. She's I think she's pretending to be older than she is.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Yeah, I think she is too. I think she's I this reads to me early teens.

SPEAKER_02 34:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:04

Well, there's a PS. Okay. I bet I don't like her PS. Write back soon. I'll be looking for a letter from you. What she's gonna find is Philoma's fist. So on the back of that letter, uh-huh, Donald has written. Oh Donald says, Dear Philoma, what do you think of this? Kind of a sad case, isn't it? Kind of a moron sort of person. I think. Loving you more than ever, Don. P.S. Let me know what you think of it.

SPEAKER_02 34:46

Man, do I wish I knew what she thought of it.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

I know what she I don't I know that she doesn't care that this is probably a like an early teen just reaching out to different soldiers for whatever end. Okay. Philoma. Hungry for attention. She's not gonna be happy with this.

SPEAKER_02 35:03

Oh my gosh. It's crazy. I know. I mean, I feel a little bit sorry for this young girl because I feel like she starved for attention and she she has nothing better to do with her time and her money, sure, other than to send random people letters and get this attention. Exactly. You know, hey, you this is how she found love online.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

She's she's using the apps, okay? Let her be. Let her be. She's trying to get out of her small town. She says, uh, come on, fancy, don't fail me now. She says, I'm I'm doing it. Good for her.

SPEAKER_02 35:39

Come on, fancy, don't fail me now.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

Yeah. I mean, oh my goodness. Yeah. Can you imagine Philoma getting that letter? I'm sure she was furious. I don't know. What do you think? You've melded with them.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

I I think Donald doesn't know what to do with this, and he's sending it to Philoma. He's like, honey, what you take care of this. I don't even know what all this is.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

He doesn't want any inkling of impropriety. He's like, absolutely. No, no, he doesn't. No, he's like, take this. I don't want anything.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

This is my confession. I have a love letter from somebody that I don't know. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

Do do that you will.

SPEAKER_02 36:16

I'm not part of this love letter. So, honey, take care of this for me.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

I'm leaving you to handle it.

SPEAKER_02 36:22

It's a good thing it wasn't a local girl. Oh, no. Philoma. What was Philoma's ex-boyfriend's name, Jeffrey?

SPEAKER_00 36:31

Um, Billy. Billy. I was close. I actually think that's where we're gonna end today. Okay. Yeah. On that love triangle twist. Yes. Um, the letter from Donald was seven pages, so we're gonna let that be the majority of the episode. That's fair. I know that was a good one. We're gonna end on this silly, silly girl.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

The silly, silly girl, the silly young girl who's looking for love. It's crazy. That's kind of funny.

SPEAKER_00 37:01

I know. Poor thing. All right. So thank you so much for following along with us. You can follow Donald's Journey at 500letters to Nana.com and at 500 Letters to Nana on Instagram.

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Hey, if you want to send us a love letter, we're here for it.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

Oh, I wish you would. Um, and check out the Instagram because we are posting pictures that go along with the episodes every week. Um, and we are signing off now from Camp San Luis Obispo, California. Uh, and we are 2,400 miles from Nana. Yeah. Love you mean it. Love you mean it. Bye. Stay off the app.

SPEAKER_02 37:52

500 letters to Nana. Woo!