Save the Rest of Your Life for Me
Hi! I can't believe that more than a month has passed since my last Larry & Joy post! I say it every year, but time it FLYING. Lest you think that I haven't been thinking about Larry & Joy over these past weeks- I assure you, I have. I've actually been diving into getting their book started. ♥ This is an adventure I couldn't have imagined a year ago... but here we are. I've been exploring different ways to bring Larry & Joy's love story into a book form. There are so many potential paths, but I've landed on one that feels really right to me. It's a formula that's certainly been done before, but one that exists in almost all my very favorite novels- in which a contemporary heroine discovers historic letters or documents and the reader gets to follow along as she discovers the story from the past. In my book, Larry & Joy will tell much of their own story through their actual letters, as well as well-informed, imagined sections in which I'll connect the dots between the letters that we don't have extant (these will be based on research, context, and interviews with their daughter). Their story will remain as non-fiction as possible, and true to all the facts we can know about them. Their story from the 1940's will be surrounded by a complimentary fictional story set in 2021, to help connect the present with the past. Laura will be our modern-day heroine. She'll have a little bit in common with me, but she's telling me about herself as I write her, and she has her own compelling journey. I've never experienced anything like this before- never dived this deep into my imagination and created a real character. I already love Laura, and I hope you will too once I can share her with you.
I'm also staring to think about possible titles for the book- and my hope is to use a short line/ few words from one of the letters as a title- so if you ever have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!
I've written about 17,000 words for the book to date (I recently learned that it's word counts and not page counts.) That's about the first three chapters...
I'll keep you updated as I go, and I'm looking forward to my next conversation/ interview with (daughter) Jonell in the next couple of weeks!
For now, let's get back to the letters (we have SO much ground still to cover!)
Let's head on back to 1941...
November 1941.... much of the world was already at war, with the US edging ever closer. Hitler had issued a proclamation that the 'United States had attacked Germany and that Roosevelt had been placed before the "tribunal" for world judgment'. US foreign and domestic military activity was increasing, as leaders tried to anticipate what would come next. The Japanese issued 'Top Secret Order No. 1'- the pending attack on Pearl Harbor. Tens of millions across the earth had already died, with too many more to come. A time of apprehension, deprivation, and fear, but 'normal' life always keeps walking along somehow, right beside the atrocities.
The numbers are staggering, hard to even imagine. We may not be living through a world war right now (and I pray we never will), but we're all facing the challenge to balance being aware and engaged with the tragedies of our world, and yet somehow hold on to joy and life in the midst. I struggle with this every day, and have to limit how much news I consume sometimes, but we need to learn to somehow hold onto both of these truths as once-
The word is harsh, complex, and unfair.
Life is beautiful, rich, and full of hope.
I always remind myself that 'life wants to live'... wherever and however it can. It will never give up, and always try to find a way.
And so, right in the midst of tragedy and carnage, people still fall in love.
Isn't that a proof of the hope & beauty of this life?
As upside as the world seemed (and was) in November 1941, there were lovely things happening too...
Ansel Adams took this incredible photograph:
Walt Disney's Pinocchio won an Academy Award for Best Original Score
And, as we know, Larry & Joy were falling in love through their letters. Only Larry's letters from this month have survived, and he sent six back to Kentucky.
I see more and more of Larry's personality coming through as he's answering Joy's get-to-know-you questions. His humor, his preferences, his values. At this time he's planning a visit to Kentucky for Christmas, counting down the days. Having no idea what's about to happen that will change everything...
Nov 2,
Dear Princess,
I am a couple of days late in answering but bad news should always be late. You see I can’t get a pass in Nov. (the oft laid plans of mice & men etc). It seems that the acute international situation has caused the Army to be very reluctant about letting us go. However I have a promise of a furlough in Dec., during the Holidays. If I get that I think I’ll go to West Virginia or start that way. Could I see you if I come north that way? It will be near the 20th of Dec. If I can’t get to see you I am not going to take the furlough. One of my very best friends, from home who is working down here, and myself are going up to his home then and I’ll stop for that talk we have been promising ourselves. I realize that the Holidays will be a very busy time for you, but I am planning on getting into town for our date after which my friend & I will drive on to W Va, I know that, that isn’t much time my dear, but I think that you & I “will know” and will have everything understood when I leave. The Army will have me for about 19 months longer dearest and as soon as I get that finished the rest of my life is yours to do with as you please. Until I do get out our time together will be very little. However when I close that door on the Army I’ll never be very far away from you again.
Now to answer some of your questions. I certainly do not think you are childish, you just write about anything you want to in our letters and war or no war don’t’ you worry about it. There ae a lot of things that can happen but remember the “Luck of the Irish” and Love is on our side. Oh yes you asked me when my birthday was. Well Ill trade with you, when is yours? Mine’s March 24th.
Incidentially I’ll send that picture Tuesday and do you have a snapshot of yourself? I would like to have one. Though, I have your picture in my heart but you have my heart, see? That is sort of hazy and complicated, isn’t it? Well here is something that isn’t vague I love you, Joy. More than anything in the world. I wish I could tell you that instead of writing it. Well I must close now. By the way they are reviving a song here (it’s about six months old, maybe longer). I didn’t pay much attention to it at first, but listen to it sometime. It’s lovely. It is “I Found You in the Rain”.
Bye now, I’ll quit. Keep my heart with you always.
All my love,
Roy
Nov. 4,
Dearest Joy,
I just received your letter and it was a brilliant ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary day. It has started to rain at last, here we have been expecting it to start for weeks and so yesterday “The Rains Came”. The parade ground and Flying Field is a sea of mud. This is the sort of evening when Poe, drunk and depressed, would have been at his literary best. I believe with a little effort I could write something weird and macabre tonite. However when I write to you I can only think of what a precious person you are. You are lovely, intelligent, and just sweet. (Pardon me, sweet I just got “off the beam”) (Incidentally I usually do when I think of you) I am sure that you have my letter now telling you that I will be unable to see you in Nov. unless, well I’ll tell you about that later in the letter. Joy I want to impress with you the fact that if I tell you anything about what we are doing or going to do or even what the rumors are here, that it must be kept strictly confidential. Espionage may seem a far away melodramatic word to you but my dear, it is very real here. So what we know is our secret. The Army has been threatening to censor all of the letters sent by soldiers, for some time now but they haven’t taken any definite action yet. The reason I said that I wouldn’t see you in Nov., “unless” is this, the rumor is rife here that we may “take an ocean voyage” in the near future. Either Africa or South America. We move in before the war is declared, see? Well if we have to move before December I am going to see you (“tho’ Hell may bar the way”, remember the Highwayman) even if I have to go A.W.O.L. for a few days I’ll see you and rejoin the squadron before it sails. However it may be just a rumor but the possibility and probability is obvious. But don’t worry about it, if I do go I promise to bring you a medal ‘cross my heart. I’ll send you that picture tomorrow. I had some trouble getting a folder to fit it or I would have sent it before.
I am sorry to hear about the tragic events transpiring in your neighborhood. And I thought it was so nice and peaceful up there. Maybe that was only the surface. Well I suppose I better save some for next time. Remember darling I love you with that flaming love of which only the Irish possess. Bye now.
All my love is yours
Roy
p.s. I just reread your letter again. You say maybe I’ll dream of you. Maybe nothing.
R.
Nov 10, ‘41
My dearest Joy:
I just received the sweetest letter I have ever had the good fortune to get (from you of course). Things are still indefinite here and I guess no news is good news. The latest rumor is “nothing is going to be done in the way of troop movement until Jan, or Feb”. That is good news! Because we will get our 10 day leaves in Dec. and I will see you. We will figure out the length of the visit when we get together so don’t worry about it.
I am glad you liked the picture and my dear, any kind of picture you want to send will be more than welcome. If you have a large one, I’ll have a place for it. I m keeping all of your letters. Guess where? Of all places with my gas mask (HA!). Now don’t get me wrong sweet, it is just a secure place where I keep all of my most precious, personal belongings. I am sure of course that you won’t feel flattered but you understand that wherever I go they will be with me. Charles had a bit of bad luck today he became the sergeant of the guards, that is a very undesirable job and he got it thru no fault of his, he just happened to be the unlucky one. He will have to keep it a month at least. Hope he gets off then. I tell him he was unfortunate in not being born Irish. However I don’t think he is convinced. But “you & I” know… Do we not?
The weather has double-crossed us here. Sunny Alabama has become, cold, grey, and dismal. The rains are still with us but morale is very high here. Everyone quarrels about this place but no one wants to transfer. Joy I knew that sooner or later the subject of “dates” would come up, so I didn’t mention it. Honey my ideas about that are: Have all the fun you can, I love you and trust you. The only thing I do ask is, if you do fall in love with someone else tell me just as you told Charles. I know that most difficulty situations can be avoided with just plain honesty. I can only be happy if you are. And I mean that even if it meant giving you up. So that’s that. You have all the dates you want to, but save the rest of your life for me (is that asking too much?).
I was sort of “caught off base” by you, in the word I crossed out in the last letter. I guess I was doing some subconscious writing. Don’t you worry about me being A.W.O.L. If we would have to leave unexpectedly I would just have to see you and a few days wouldn’t be much of a crime and I could talk my way out of it, I am sure.
No darling I am not a first sergeant, just a Sgt 4th class and 1st class aircraft mechanic. My next step would be Staff Sgt. In that case they would take my 1st class aircraft mech. rating away. You see, one man cannot hold both ratings at the same time. Before I met you I had planned to go to officer’s school. But now I want to get out of the Army (it stands between us, so?). You see the rise from 2nd Lt., to 1st Lt., to Capt, to Major is long, hard and slow. It is a good future for someone who has nothing to think about but duty. But I don’t want to be a major I just want to bee your sweetheart. Now, when I get out of the Army, I’ll have what I learned about aircraft and I mean to the job I want before I get discharged. We won’t have time to be worrying about the Army. So we don’t want to be Army folks, do we? You see if we were in the Army we would have to go & stay where they sent us. Burt we will go where we want to and if we don’t like our surroundings we can always go. Just us. What do you think? This may be a silly way to put it but I can’t write it the way I could tell you. Sweet, what a future to work out. Think we can do it? Course we can. I must go to work now, I am working nites this week. Bye now. See you later. I didn’t mean to stop so abruptly but I am late. Quick kiss me,
Bye again I Love You
All my love
Roy
More later.
Nov 15, ‘41
Dearest Joy,
I just received your letter and am answering even tho’ I forgot to get decent stationary so please forgive it my dear. Your letter was very sweet but there is one thing I don’t quite understand. You said that you half expected me to change my mind when I discover your faults. Darling how about my faults we all have them you know. I couldn’t stand anyone who didn’t have faults. I shudder to think what a bore, a perfect person would be. I love every fault you have sweet, I love you and I am not (ever) going to change my mind about you. (Maybe that isn’t good English but it is emphatic.)
It has been cold and unpleasant here for a week but today; autumn is making her final curtain call and doing a beautiful job too. It is probably the lull before winter really moves in. It has really been a nice day I received a letter from you and my favorite football team is winning yet (I mean Notre Dame). I hope they finish it the way they started.
I am proud to hear that you had made yourself a “headline or two”, but I am not surprised. I know that whatever you do, you do well, that little job of stealing my heart for instance, you did it so cleverly that I didn’t even realize it was gone, until it was almost too late to have time to say anything “for myself”. But I did have a few minutes and I have lived those precious seconds over and over again. Darling if I start telling you how much I love you I’ll write at least 3 more pages and be late to work again. I am sending you a copy of a commendation I received for October from the commanding officer of this station. I got it this morning and was just bursting to tell you so I thought I would send you a copy. I am bragging a little I guess but there was only 3 of these letters given in Oct. for this station and there are nineteen hundred men here. Well I must stop now stay as sweet as you are my darling and I love you everlasting, till death do us part (know what that is from).
Always yours,
Roy
Date: all yours
Dearest Joy,
I am very lonesome today, so I guess I’ll just have to write to you. Hope it doesn’t bore you too much. It seems as if I hadn’t heard from you for at least a hundred years. We played out last football game yesterday (we work 8-6) I think, unless we have a post season game or two. It is rather cold here now. Cold enough to be uncomfortable. The sun shines enough but the rays appear to be a bit undernourished. Flying is a very chilly business. It appears to get about 10 [degrees] colder for every 100 ft. of altitude. Of course that’s an exaggeration but it does seem that cold. We have had an exceptionally good month tho’ we are way ahead of schedule with all plans. They are trying to get everything ship-shape for the holidays and everyone is working at top speed. You see, an airship isn’t checked by the miles it has flown but, by the hours it flew. All mechanical changes are made by time instead of distance. Probably this doesn’t interest you? But I do think aircraft is a very fascinating subject. After all it is going to be “our business” isn’t it? I wanted to go back to school in Illinois (there’s so much to learn about) but they wouldn’t allow it. They said “too many mechanics were needed, at this time”. So I guess I won’t go this winter. We had an “open post” (visitor’s day) Thanksgiving. If you knew someone on the post, you could visit and see everything. I certainly wished you could have been here. I’ll bet you would have enjoyed it. Maybe sometime I can show you what an Army airdrome is like. ‘Think you would like it?
Well I am working at nite this week, 3.30pm till 12.00 and I must close soon. I received a letter from a boy I knew in Alaska and from what he says, I am certainly glad I am not there. It is bitterly cold and snows all the time. I really must quit and get this mailed. Bye darling. I love you always.
All my heart
Roy
p.s. I’ll see you in just about 3 three weeks
gosh it’s still a long, long time.
R.
Nov. 27, ‘41
Dearest:
I received both of your letters and I like the idea very much it just doubles the pleasure when I get two letters from you. I checked up on the date of that last letter of mine, you were right, I gave it to Ray) that is one of my very best friends) to mail, and he confessed, under pressure, that he forgot it and it was in the car all that time until he thought of it. I am sorry Dear, it won’t happen again, I’ll mail them myself.
Now my Dear, those questions you asked. Remember me telling you to ask anything you wanted. Well don’t apologize, cause you are welcome to ask anything and I’ll answer as honestly as possible. So here goes:
As to what I like to eat, I guess I like almost anything, except soup and vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, etc. As for meat, I like everything but liver. Fruits, I like everything but pineapple, lime, and oranges. Now, that is enough. That’s most everything I can think of. Now for clothes, yes while I think of it, the reason I didn’t eat at your house that Sunday; I think you know why I couldn’t eat that day. When I first looked into your eyes that day, I forgot everything else. In fact darling to me there was nothing else but the worry that maybe you were in love with Charles and I didn’t have a chance. But to tell you about clothes: you were almost absolutely correct about the coat I was wearing in the picture. It is green with flecks of red. That may sound pretty loud but it is a sport coat. Ordinarily I like to wear a sport shirt, slacks, sweater and jacket, pretty sloppy don’t you think? However when I dress I like to have things match correctly. I have to have colors clash. I like in the order named “Royal Blue”, grey, green, dark brown, and Oxford grey for my clothes. The first royal blue is my favorite color for sweaters, sport shirts, etc. I don’t like white shirts very well, and I do “go” for bright colors in ties. Plaids, stripes, etc. I seldom wear a hat or cap, except when I wear a uniform. The only think I am really touchy about in anything I wear is that it fits. Even if it’s just coveralls I want them to fit. But here I have written nearly a whole page about myself.
In your last letter you say you will try to make yourself look older if I want you to. Darling don’t you ever dare change even one little thing about you. I love you, just as you are, just as I saw you last and I don’t ever want you to change. Thanks a million for the snapshot, it’s beautiful because it’s you.
Oh yes! I am skipping from one subject to another today! You asked what sort of music I like. I like it all. I mean that literally. I could write another page on the songs and types of music I like but I have talked enough about myself. (One little thing I’ll bet you don’t know: viz: I am left-handed, did you know that?).
I had a long talk with Charles about is not writing to you. He told me that he thought it would be best if he quit writing. I don’t understand that, it doesn’t seem logical to me. Aw! I guess I know what he means, too. However he told me today that he was going to write you. I expect I better quit pretty soon, had I not? Work has been pretty slow here for a few days, we have everything pretty well under control. So finding some spare time I have been making a letter opener (it’s a dagger, my masterpiece) I’ll bring it when I come up Xmas. It’s pretty sinister looking. It looks like one of Poe’s dreams. I am always trying to make something in the shop. All the gang bring me stuff to fix. Jewelry such as pins, watch bands, and cameras and junk like that. I made a shield for an aerial camera, last week. It’s supposed to be bullet-proof. We haven’t tested it yet, maybe it’s a flop. I’ll let you know. I’ll bet I’ve made a thousand ashtrays for these boys in my spare time. Aircraft metalwork is pretty interesting, but I wouldn’t want to do metal work anywhere except on aircraft. Well I must quit, au revoir, ma cherie.
OK, yes I have some news, hadn’t you heard? Gosh! I thought everyone knew it, oh gee, I don’t know how to say it, well that is, uh, you see it’s this way, I uh, gosh I’ll never say it that way, well; Miss O’Neal I (oh gosh what will I do I am scared) just wanted to say goodbye.
What I really wanted [to say] was I love you darling more than anything else in the world and to me you will always be the sweetest, most precious girl in the world. Bye again.
Yours always,
Roy