On my birthday, when I got home from work, there was a note from Millie telling me to ‘hurry over for dinner'. I rushed over to her place and received a big Birthday Kiss. She then told me she had laid out some clothes for me and to hurry and dress for dinner. I showered and started to dress. She had laid out a very pretty black velvet dress. I put it on and turned around to get my wig-and received the surprise of the century! There on the wig stand was a beautiful blonde wig instead of my brown one!! Millie burst through the door laughing at my shout of joy and asked me how I liked it. How does one like a million dollars? My hands were shaking so badly I could hardly put on my lipstick, so Millie helped me with the paint and powder. I thanked her again and again for the surprise and dinner. I became concerned about the wig, though, as I knew it was an expensive one. Millie informed me that it was only rented and would have to be returned in a month. I felt better, and yet, I was disappointed that the wig wasn't mine to keep. As we were clearing the dinner dishes, Millie mentioned that it was 'Ladies Night' at the Drive- In Movie, and if I had courage enough to go dressed, she could get two free dishes instead of one. I said “Let's go”, and we both enjoyed the movie. For three months after that, we never missed a ‘Ladies Night'.

One evening I picked up the paper while Millie was finishing the dishes and there on the front page was a picture of my old Commanding Officer and he was in serious trouble in Korea. I argued with myself for two days, and finally told Millie I was going to help him out. She had lost a brother in WWII, and was afraid the same thing would hap- pen to me. We had quite an argument-especially after she told me that I had done enough for my country. The atmosphere was pretty cool as I packed to go to San Francisco the next day. I passed the physical with flying colors and by cheating just a little-had 20-20 vision in BOTH eyes! Then the doctor looked into my eyes with a flashlight. He studied my left eye for a minute and said, "Son, if that eye would dilate, you'd be in. Go put your clothes on, we can't take you." I offered to sign a waiver, but was turned down on that, too.

I was slightly crestfallen as I returned to Fresno, but I had the satis- faction of at least trying to help. I guess the bitter argument with Millie had driven a wedge between us that couldn't be removed. She couldn't understand why I was so darned anxious to go fight a war. I couldn't adequately explain the esprit de corps the Marines instill in a man. We parted company shortly after this, and I moved back to the Bay Area. Millie had helped me pack as she claimed I couldn't pack the dresses without wrinkling them. When I unpacked, I almost moved back to Fresno and to Millie. Among my own femme things was one of her

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