Letters to Linda

Linda and Bob had been going steady for the better part of a year. She wore his class ring and letter sweater. Bob really wanted to be a beatnik artist rather than a high-school student, so he dropped out of high school early in my senior year to attend The Colorado Institute of Art. One morning rather than going to class he stopped by the military recruitment center a couple of blocks from the art school. The Marine Corps welcomed him with open arms. Linda kissed Bob goodbye at the airport. He wouldn't see her again for six months. These are the love letters Bob sent to Linda while away on his Marine training. Linda saved these letters neatly tied with ribbons in a shoe box for sixty-four years. Bob presents his letters here exactly as he wrote the except for a few grammatical changes.