The Backstory: Why Pug?

Margie sent this to me in email today, in response to Dean's question "How come Dad called you pug or pugs and did he call you that all your life together?" I hope you love it as much as I do. 

yes he did.  and i remembered why that name stuck.

 

remember when we first noticed each other in probably April 1940?  well my good friend evelyn, who was engaged to john,an sae, knew how i wanted to get to know grandpa better.  so when the sae spring event came up, somehow she knew that wes stone didn't have a date and as he knew me,  he asked me to come with him.

it was an all day affair at the norconian club in corona.  swimming, lunch, etc, and after dinner dancing to a small band playing "our" kind of music.  big band and all that good stuff.

 

an aside!!!   kass, my sorority sister, was there and when we were in the pool, all guys and gals, her

falsies came out of her swimming suit and floated on the surface of the water.  fortunately, no one knew where they came from but a few of us.  lots of laughs.  i think in that naive time, most of the boys didn't know what they were.

 

of course grandpa and i noticed each other all day, but really didn't talk at all.  but when the dancing started, somehow he asked me to dance.  i don't know if barbara had gone to the ladies room, or was dancing with someone else, or even where she was, but we did dance and the electricity was great.  only one dance, but the song was "polka dots and moonbeams"  (something like that) and the words at the end were

"pug nose dream".  that became our song.  the other song was "nearness of you" which on our first date at the cocoanut grove became special  too.  so when i was in chicago we played those songs and that is where pug or pugs came about.  also probably because i had sort of a pug nose.

 

at our wedding while the guests were arriving and waiting for me to come down the aisle, grandpa had the organist play those two songs.  every now and then when i hear either one, it hits me two ways.  a wonderful memory but then i tear up and have to turn the music off.  i guess that is why records were always special gifts to each other.  each song represented a special day in our lives together. 

Dearest Margie: July 26, 1940

My dearest Margie:


I didn't think I could be any happier than I was Sunday night when I found out you were first coming back. Then came the sad news and I didn't think I could feel any worse. But, when the telegram came Wednesday night I just about burst with joy. It was about 100 degrees that night and we had gone down swimming. Then we came back to the Temple and and sat on the grass to keep warm. I was feeling so low, because I had been thinking of all the things we could do when you got back. Then when that fell through I just couldn't quite realize it. So Wednesday night I was sitting on the lawn and thinking of the things we could have done, and feeling low enough to sit on a cigarette and dangle my feet. Then all of a sudden Don said a telegram had come for me and they had returned it to the office. So I went in to phone, not knowing just what to expect, and told the man to read it. Well he got as far as "Mother says you win" and I yelled "that's enough, I'll be right down." Well you should have seen me. I ran out of that Temple with just my bathing suit on, a five blocks to Western Union without stopping. I was so happy I just had to send a telegram. I probably didn't say much, I was so excited, but I do remember saying I was walking on air again, and believe you I was. I walked down the street with the biggest smile on my face that people just stared.

It was sure funny, our stenographer that morning had said, "what's the matter with you; you look as though you'd lost your last friend." When I told her, she said "well, cheer up, something might happen." So when she came to work the next morning and I came downstairs whistling and smiled she said, "O ho, I was right, something did happen didn't it?" And boy did I tell her the good news.

So once again I'm counting the hours until you come, and Margie it's going to be so wonderful. I'll find you a nice place to stay and maybe I can rent a car for part of the time so we can see everything. Yes, I will, now that I think it over.

I want you to tell your mother how much I really appreciate her trust and faith in me, and assure her that I will do everything in my power to see that you are well taken care of, and that no harm will come to you in any way. I'll see to it that you stay in a very respectable place and she will not regret having let you come.

I also want her to know that although I am terribly happy you are coming back, I would not want either of you to do anything that might heavily burden you financially later on.

You know, I could write another story and I think I will, but maybe I should wait until you've been back here. However I feel certain that I can write the finish right now the way we want it to.

That's marvelous that you have sent two more pictures. I think I'll put one on my desk, one on my dresser and carry the third around with me. Much as I would like to do that, I realize that the other two must be sent back. Thank you for being so good to me, but why don't you send them collect? I'm getting to be an awful expense to you and that's not right.

Last night we had a terrific electrical storm here that cooled it off some, so maybe the weather will be good when you get back.

I have just about as hard a time working as you do studying, because all I can think of is what we will do when you get back. I hope I haven't changed any for the worse since I left you. I'm sure I haven't because with you always on my mind I would have to change for the better, but maybe you won't think so when you see me again. After all you've only known me a week, but there's nothing I want more to do, than to keep you feeling toward me the way you do now, or if I'm lucky enough to increase that feeling.

Because of the heat I haven't done anything worth writing about, and I probably won't until August 11th, so these letters might get awfully dull to you, with me talking all about a girl named Alman, and nothing else.

Well, study hard and for everyone 1/10 point you get over a one point maybe I can give you a kiss, huh? I can't very well lose on that, but just because I made that threat don't you go and flunk all your courses. Because I won't really if you don't want me to. (Just try and stop me.)

So until Sunday, I send all of my love,

Jim

Dearest Margie: WALKING ON AIR!!!

Just for Fun...

Here is a picture with a picture! Grandpa and his beloved Pug picture. Enjoy. :)

The Backstory: July 24

Ah, poor Grandpa. Will she make it to see him? So disappointing to have one's hopes brought crashing to an end. In addition, the threat of a wartime draft had to be quite stressful. I can't say that I understand, being both female and living in a generation of voluntary military service (not that service to our country in any instance is to be taken lightly.)

However, lest we feel too bad for Jim, let's see this lovely picture of his beloved that he gazed upon each day. Grandma found it the other day, fortunately having saved it. And I can tell you, she is just as beautiful today as when this picture was taken. She is absolutely lovely, is she not?

Dearest Margie: July 24, 1940

Dearest Margie,

I don't know exactly how to start this letter because things have happened so fast these last few days that I can't keep up with my feelings. I can't tell you how much I was disappointed to hear you couldn't come, I just felt at first like sitting down and crying for once. But Margie I want you to know that I realize the situation and although I feel disappointed, I also feel as you do, that maybe it's for the best. I am very sorry to hear your mother isn't strong enough for a train trip, but I know she will soon be in perfect health and you wouldn't want to do anything that would hinder its improvement. Please tell her that I greatly appreciated the note she wrote me, and give her my deepest regards.

I really never looked forward to anything more in my life than that week you were going to spend with me. Darline I was just walking on air and I knew that this couldn't be just temporary, but that it was love. I'm not trying to make things worse, but just trying to tell you that this must be the real thing. And that's what's driving me mad, not being able to see each other and really experiencing it. Gosh! I wonder what it's like, this ought to make San Francisco terrific, if I ever get there. I've just got to get there early, and you do too, even if I have to send a railroad ticket to you.

I've been thinking it over and I've decided that as long as you can only be there about three days, I will take the weekend off from the chapters and get a room in the city so I can spend just as much time with you that's possible.

But darling, I am worried. What if Chuck should come back a changed boy, which I imagine he will do, then the old feeling might return before we got a chance to see each other and really find out if what we feel now is true. I guess that's one reason why I looked forward so much to seeing you, but the real reason I guess will just have to wait until I can tell you in person in Frisco. I'm playing "I'll Never Smile Again" and maybe you don't that's appropriate. I really think the part that says I'll never smile again until I smile at you was written for me.

I got your picture and I liked it very much. However, if its the wrong one I'll send it back, but hurry and get the other one here. And if its not as good or better I'm liable to put you over my knee and spank you, instead of taking you in my arms, when I meet you at the train. (Don't believe me I'm just kidding. I used to dream of taking you in my arms when you got off the train in Chicago, but I'll just have to postpone that.)

Your story was wonderful and now I'm just hoping the end comes out the way we want it too. I think one way you could pep me up would be to write me everyday, but I realie that's a hard job.

Say, maybe I'm awfully dumb, but what Ginny are you talking about? Not that I know very many of them, but the only one I can think f is Conzeleman.

The head is driving me nuts. It hit 100 here today and I have to wear two shirts a day because it's awfully sticky. Even worse than California.

Keep your fingers crossed and maybe I'll be out in Denver, Colo. in about six weeks. I hope so because the nearer I can get to the coast the better. Gosh Denver seems almost like home. Maybe i could get an extra roundtrip ticket from LA to Denver and you could com ethere for the weekend.

I don't like this bachelors life at all, and although I can get a couple of dates now, they don't interest me.

I'm worried about something else too. Back here they say if this military training passes Congress that all men from 21 - 25 will be drafted withing a month. I'm right near Ft. Sheridan and some of the officers said I might be in the first draft. Do you know what that means? It would be months before I could see you because I would be in a military camp for about 6 months. If this does happen I'm going to either fly out there or send for you, because I'll be darned if I'm going to wait for ever to see you. I would if I had to, but I will first do everything in my power to get to you. this waiting and suspense is awful.

Al and I are going out and see if we can start flying lessons and then maybe we could escape it and get in the flying reserve.

That's about all except that I miss you so much I can't express it in writing and I will close in the way you so aptly put it, and the way I love it.

Love in love,

Jim