Show kathl kathleen ce n norris norms says when a serviceman wants a divorce dim ce bell features feature 11 he comas home greet hirn affectionately with ilia horna meats and friendly Iri endly gatherings and as soon as you are alone ask hint in so many words what is this about a divorce joe by KATHLEEN ahen HEN your service hus wb nd writes you from some som e faraway far away place that he wants a divorce the iest best thing to do is to ignore his request or if you want casually to mention it tell him you wish lo 10 to wait until he be comes home then go on with letters as usual when ho he comes home greet him affectionately C tiona tlona tel tely with the usual home cooked meals and friendly gatherings and as soon as you are alone ask him in so many words what is this about a divorce joe if you keep it simple and friendly get the truth out t of him easily hell either mumble in embarrassment that gosh he know why he be wrote that letter or hell teu tell you there is a girl in belgium french english russian perhaps american she is pretty and sweet and 19 rind and gee gece is she with him your part now Is maternal and calm Is she coming to america joe well eventually of course and be married here well you see they gotten that far perhaps they are going to send joe JOB to the pacific for occupation duty in which case your argument must be that it would be folly to get a divorce send tor for vera and undertake the maintenance of you your child and his new wife to say nothing of her traveling expenses ask him to write her that everything must wait until joe comes back for good joy of getting home this reasonable attitude must win tor for joe wont be too anxious especially in the pleasantness of getting home to break oft off all his old a association socia cia clat tion ions and friendships as well as his relations with you after all it likely that vera vcra Is going to otter him a good job in some other city and support him until lie ho is self supporting again if on the othir other hand he Is discharged from service then help him in every way you can to get reestablished without dwelling on his proposed change be as cheerful and natural as you can remember that thousands of these men come back whole in ill body but sadly twisted in mind and that only time can cure them A few months perhaps even a few weeks of home life of good meals of movies and malted milks and swims and contacts with old friends will be all the cure jibe foe needs he will suddenly come to his senses and although he may never apologize never say that he feels himself a tool to have written that letter he will be only too glad to sink back into his old normal happy american ways violets case is a little different iler her husband in the service two years has haq only recently left america ile he came home after about six months and told her he was tired of her he be did not think that theirs was wa a successful marriage he stayed home a few days grew affectionate and kindly again and went away with the usual wrench of parting from wife and daughter A few weeks later he wrote tier her a letter saying that theirs had not 4 if she se is U cretty and sweet and 19 i been a successful marriage and lie he wished a divorce violet was stunned but she wrote him temperately saying she was sorry he felt so and including the usual news of herself and the baby kent then began to send her long analytical letters explaining in just what psychological and physiological ways she had failed him ile he said he had never in their six years together been really happy ile he looked upon the whole thing as a failure there was no other woman he would always send violet money but he would stop every cent cant of allowance right now if she did not at once start for neno dont pay lucli attention instead violet wrote to me and I 1 advised her as I 1 advise all women in this fix to go steadily on without paying much attention to such letters I 1 suggested that she write less often but keep her occasional letters pleasant and ordinary war Is the real trouble not these difficulties ending in logical and yet without a trace of logic about perhaps kent was being bitten from head to foot by tiny penetrating gnats perhaps his company had a bad cook and he was having indigestion perhaps his top sergeant or young first lieutenant was puffed i up with power arrogant inexperienced rien ced unreasonable perhaps he had blisters on his hl feet or prickly heat on his neck perhaps hes hea just bitterly homesick bitterly lonely feeling bitterly that violet was having it pretty wt itola in a cool clean fresh house with good books clear skies plenty of ice and wa watermelon ter melon and the right to go to a movie or a dance whenever she wants to theres a touch of the sadist in us all lonely a dreary barracks life sometimes brings it out |