So much of Dot's old Englewood neighborhood—the theatres, restaurants, the school and shops—are gone. And so I'd assumed that her home—the apartment building at 61st and Normal Boulevard—was gone, too. Much to my amazement, it seems it's still there. That's Dot with a friend in the top photo, in 1946. The bottom photo, from the Cook County property office, was taken in 2002.
Today's diary entry >
I just read your wonderful and impressive blog from beginning to February 14 in two readings and was struck by the seeming absence of parents. These girls seemed to be living on their own, coming and going as they wished, staying home from school, staying up until all hours (on school nights!), dancing and necking with boys in the kitchen. And Sis doesn't comment on them or the situation either. Have you thought about that?
ReplyDeleteI didn't explore the links too much because I wanted to catch up, but now that it will be one day at a time, I look forward to that.
Hi, Mary and thank you for the nice comments.
ReplyDeleteYes, Sis' daughter and I have talked about this quite a bit. We feel it came down to the trust Dot & Sis had earned over the years, as well as the respect Dot and Sis had for their mom and dad. We also think Dot chose --either on purpose or sub-consciously-- to limit her diary to activities she did with --and her feelings for-- her friends and her personal feelings about them. We feel she is deliberately excluding school, family things and almost all current events.