Thelma and Lowell's Diary: Dec. 9, 1943

She shops for his Christmas present; FDR begins his ocean voyage home

“Thelma went downtown and bought my Christmas present — I hope!” wrote Lowell. Aren’t they sweet? Just two kids in love, with a baby on the way. His expense list for the day included the word “gift,” but no cost was listed.

President Roosevelt turned homeward today, having made brief stops in Sicily and Tunisia. Paid subscribers can read on.

By the way, we are coming to the end of the year and I will begin sharing a new diary in January, that of a history professor in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1935. I read through the diary last night and was intrigued by the stories he shared of life with his musician wife and their two young daughters in the small city. He works on his dissertation, deals with the serious illness of a child, and has no end of car trouble. As the question of war looms in Europe, he and his colleagues debate internationalism vs. isolationism. The notorious fan dancer Sally Rand even makes an appearance! This picture of the burlesque queen, taken in 1927, was accessed through Wikimedia Commons.