During WWII girls my age played with dolls and visited each other’s houses when we could walk there. Use of a car was restricted because gasoline and tires were severely rationed.

My friend Jean’s family took in a friendly easy-going cat. When it came to choosing a name for him there was a bit of a controversy, then a compromise. They were going to call him Tom but the name finally chosen was Thomas J. Jefferson Spot Watkins-Suddath Cat. I won’t bore you with the reasoning.

Patsy was another friend, shown here with my sister when we were infants.   Remarkably, when she accidentally broke all but two pieces of my Blue Willow tea set, we remained friends. Her family had a gold star in the window, indicating that a family member had been killed in the war.

My friend Kitty and I cut out and played with military and movie star paper dolls, easily found at the five-and-ten cent store.  For clothing we all liked wearing red, white, and blue.