Saturday p.m.
Dear Bob:
Jane and I just came
back from trying to see if we could get on a set and see them shoot some
pictures. We got on the set without too much trouble – Shirley Temple's Kiss and Tell – but we couldn't wait for them to get started. What a lot of
sitting around and waiting they do on the stages! They told us Shirley was in
her dressing room and we did want to see her and judge for ourselves if she is
as cute as all her pictures. Walter Able– do you remember him by name? – held
the door open for us so we could go in – and another actor in greasepaint told
us – after we were in – that it was warmer outside. Do you suppose that was a
crack? We wondered. We shall try again next Saturday afternoon and be prepared
with our passes in case someone looks at us sideways.
The set itself is
really very attractive. It's a large white house with a dormer windows – green
lawn in front – ping pong table out front. There is a garden at the side with a
summer house – and there are lovely porches and flowers and trees all around.
It is all fake, of course, but it looks better than a lot of reality.
Among the Americans set
free from the prison camp on Luzon by the Rangers[1]
there was listed and Arthur Harrison[2]
of Fresno. Did you know him? I went to school with an Arthur Harrison somewhere
along the line and he probably wouldn't be any one you would know. Seems to me
he went with one of the white girls – Nell I believe. I'd like to see a Fresno
paper and see what there is in about him.
This morning, I was
up at the crack of dawn – 8:000 clock to me – and went down to the blood bank
again. Walter was with me but his cold and cough are still with him and they
wouldn't take him. This makes me eligible for a silver – colored button[3]
now – it used to be just bronze. Not that the button means anything – but at
least they don't stop you on the street and ask you to sign up. I always feel
guilty when I pass them up and I know I shouldn't.
Walter has been home
all week. He had a cold and now he has a cough that he can't seem to control.
We have had rain but the sun is out again today so perhaps he’ll get better
now. I hope so, not only for his sake but for everyone else's. If he keeps the
neighborhood awake at night much longer we're going to be asked to move as
"disturbing the peace "elements. Wonder what the O.P.A. will do about it?
Did I tell you we
saw many stores go low or over the weekend? We had a Canadian girl and two
English sailors with us and we made the rounds. Seems to me why route to some
one about it.
Lydia
[1] I’ve
read Ghost Soldiers and watched The Great Raid. The movie is an accurate
depiction of what the POWs went through and their escape (excluding the silly
love angle). The rescue was an incredibly well run and successful operation.
[2] A quick
internet search lists an Arthur E. Harrison, WWII vet from Fresno, as being
buried in a Stockton cemetery. The headstone names him as a PFC, but a list of
the rescued POWs has an Arthur Harrison as a sergeant. A search of The Fresno Bee index might prove
successful.
[3] The mentioned
button is pictured below. During the war, there were many of these type recognition
programs. All sides used the programs to keep civilian morale up and focus on
the war effort.
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| Original V-Mail with quarter for scale |
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