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So that’s one thing. The other is that I kind of lied when I wrote to Joe about Dorothy Toy. (Yes! I finally met her!) I left out that the Chinese Ginger Rogers isn’t Chinese. She’s Japanese. She and Paul were doing a show in New York when Ed Sullivan, a gossip columnist at the New York Daily News, broke the news- You know, ratted her out- She’s hightailed it to the Chop-Suey Circuit, playing towns and cities where, she says, they haven’t met many Chinese or Japanese. She’s just Oriental. I never could have written that to Joe, but I never want him to consider me a liar like Ruby either.

Max called to say that he’s having a hard time getting me good bookings. (Cedar Rapids and Des Moines are up next. I ask you!) After I pestered him about why, he finally spilled the beans. Turns out George Louie’s bad-mouthing about me has moved from our dressing rooms to the front office. Club owners have enough to worry about without entertainers fighting backstage. I said I didn’t do anything. Max said, Yeah, yeah, yeah, and then he hung up on me! If I can’t work in San Francisco and he can’t get me bookings, what am I going to do?

I keep writing to you, but you never respond. What have you heard from Eddie? And Monroe? He also promised to write, but I haven’t heard from him either.

Sorry to make this so darned long, but I sure could use your advice.

Your gal pal, Grace

Topaz War Relocation Center

July 30, 1944

Helen!

You wrote to me not that long ago that a tree may prefer calm, but the wind will not stop. Things will take their own course regardless of what I want. The thermometer hit 120 degrees yesterday! I spent the afternoon lying on the cement floor in the latrine. It’s the coolest place in the camp- The little girls like to hang out there too- They got me to play jacks with them, if you can believe it. (Believe it!) When you want to do your business, it’s a good idea to kick the toilet first. Scorpions! I’ve tried every mess hall, looking for something decent to eat- No luck- We’re served things that make no sense- Spaghetti and rice at the same meal. People around here are gaining weight, but not me. I can’t eat that stuff.

Sometimes I go to the fence and stare at the desert. There’s nowhere to hide out there, no place to go, and no way to survive, even if I got out. I ask myself, why do they hate us so much? What did I do that was so dreadful or unforgivable that they need to lock me up in a place like this? There is no lower helplessness than realizing you’ve lost control over every aspect of your life- And you want to hear something? When I walk by the schools in the morning, I hear the kids saying the Pledge of Allegiance and singing “God Bless America.” But if we ask the authorities how long we’ll be in here, the answer is NO ANSWER! (Go ahead, Mr. Censor, black that out!)

Yours till the toilet bowls, Ruby

P.S. Thanks for the Pond’s cold cream, Camay soap, and petroleum jelly! They’re going to do a lot for my beauty regimen. You’re a pip.

San Francisco

August 4, 1944

Dear Grace,

I’m sorry to be the one to inform you, but I’ve got bad news about Monroe. He caught lobar pneumonia-the worst you can get. He’s dying, bed-slow, at Walter Reed Hospital. The Army doctors are experimenting with him-giving him something called penicillin. They’ve written to Mama and Baba that there’s little to no hope. And it could take months for him to die, even with that new drug. All we can do is pray-

The mood in the compound is very sad. We are a large family, but the idea that Monroe won’t be coming home- I- We- Baba stays at his office. Mama is out all the time. Since there’s nothing she can do for Monroe when he’s so far away, she’s taken my place as a Gray Lady. Caring for other mothers’ sons gives her faith that there’s a mother out there taking care of Monroe.

Best, Helen

Topaz War Relocation Center

August 6, 1944

Helen!

GREAT NEWS!!! I finally got my release from camp after seventeen months in this pit hole! Lee Mortimer has sent money for my train ticket, and he’s lined up an agent for me in New York. Everyone here is full of advice and warnings. Don’t speak Japanese when I leave the camp. Not a problem! Don’t gather in groups of two or more Japanese. Really not a problem! Don’t call attention to myself and ruin it for others. Well, they got me there. I plan on calling plenty of attention to myself, but I hope I don’t ruin it for others. Want to know what I’m thinking about? New clothes! Making real money again! I’m getting out of here!

Will write from the BIG APPLE!

More soon, Ruby

Fox Theatre, Detroit

August 10, 1944

Dear Helen,

Your first letter finally reached me, and it contains such sad news. I’m very sorry to hear about Monroe. I feel just terrible. And it seems so unfair. Monroe was always so full of life. And opinions! Remember when he took me to the protest against sending scrap metal to Japan? At the time, I thought he was stuffy, but he was right. Now I wish the whole country had paid more attention to what Monroe and others like him were trying to warn us about. You’re surrounded by your family, but please write to me if there’s anything I can do.

You’re in my thoughts, Grace.

San Francisco

August 14, 1944

Dear Ruby,

That is great news. I’m happy for you.

Did you get my note about Monroe? Maybe it got lost in the mail? Or have you already left the camp? If so, you won’t even receive this. Monroe’s got lobar pneumonia. They say he won’t make it. I keep thinking about the word worse. Is his pneumonia worse than if he’d been maimed or died alone on a battlefield somewhere? Is it worse that I’m more worried about Eddie than I am about my own brother? Is it worse that I want to stay home, get all the kids off to school, and make sure they complete their homework than go back to volunteering with the Gray Ladies with Mama? I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’d seen too many boys who’d lost limbs or had been burned.