Diary entries from Philippine history.
We lie on the bed or sit on Daddy’s while he draws plans for our ideal house in Baguio or Shenandoah Valley. There is no food to prepare, no books to read, no strength for anything, so we all plan various futures, talk about the future and the past in order to forget the hunger…
The dancing and general excitement of the day, not to mention the pitiful overeating (if one can call it that), was too much for Bede. As the last tune died away and he was sure he would not miss any more, he went tearing past us through the kitchen, sending word back by his sister…
Jerry earns camotes [for extra work details], which help the family meals. He seems to like the garden and has his second wind like Bede. I have mine and wish June would get hers. I sat up reading pages of my toilet paper — Women in Love . There are many pages of majestic writing.
I could hear Mr. Tomibe’s military bellow voice from here at 7:30 as he made his farewell speech to roll call assembly. He said we had become friends under difficult conditions of war and he hoped that after peace we could be friends again under better conditions. He was now transferred to Manila to another…
Jerry says it is funny that three of us should get B-2 deficiency when he hasn’t had it yet. I tell him he has had the other kind, B-I, far longer than we have had ours. I don’t talk about a lot of things but I know them. He looked at me and didn’t say…
Poor Bede is so hungry. I told him to come to me when he couldn’t stand it and we would talk but not to ask Daddy for it drives him crazy to be able to do nothing, and we just haven’t enough to keep giving extras. I told him Daddy was a big man who…
Bede has brought me some small nasturtium leaves, knowing my hunger for green. He hides them and is almost in tears at finding something for me. I make him promise to pick no more leaves of any kind unless he is sure they belong to no one, for they are green gold now and one…
We watched the dancing. I had one waltz with Jerry and he danced many with his daughter who is learning fast and adores dance-night. Bedie learns fast but painfully. He wore his long trousers made to fit his welfare coat, and plugged away at dancing. He finally took the plunge and asked Eloise for two…
I went to see Bedie move up to 8th grade. One more year, then high school. Sometimes there are only three study books to a class. Church Scott feels low. He said he couldn’t see anything funny about the Japanese anymore, couldn’t even laugh over the masticator story. He is so equable, with such balanced…