Betty Jo & Dannie
Click the picture for more on "The Hat" Sunday January 20, 1952
Betty Jo ate over my house tonight and then Dannie came over. Man, Dannie hates my guts, but I don’t have any special love for him either. I was real wise to him and his pigheaded, jerky ways, and he couldn’t think of anything to say. So he really has it in for me.
Monday January 21, 1952
Stayed home with the family and watched television.
Tuesday January 22, 1952
Picked up a fine looking guy from La Puente tonight. Name is George Barlow, 24 years old, single, blonde, & good looking. Anyway in the dark he is. He says he’s coming over some Sat. or Sun. but I am not trembling in anticipation over it because you really can’t depend on pick-ups. Ten to one I’ll never see him again.
Wednesday January 23, 1952
Betty Jo came over for a while tonight. Am I ever dead sick, I feel like I’m beat down and trampled and I’m sick in bed right now. I wish I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow but I would be losing a whole $9.00 or so. I have lots of Scotch in me, which should help, so I am not missing out on work if I can possibly help it.
Sunday January 27, 1952
Man, was I ever sick tonight but I went out with Sandy Sweet, Betty Jo & Dannie. We went to The Hat and fooled around. Dannie said “Are we friends now Vilma?”, and I says “Weren’t we always?” and he starts laughing and he says he was bullheaded anyway and said he was sorry for the way he was acting. He said if he was a girl there’d sure be some hair pulling at times with me and our little disputes. I still don’t like him, but I tolerate him the best I can. I guess I get a big kick out of him.
Betty Jo ate over my house tonight and then Dannie came over. Man, Dannie hates my guts, but I don’t have any special love for him either. I was real wise to him and his pigheaded, jerky ways, and he couldn’t think of anything to say. So he really has it in for me.
Monday January 21, 1952
Stayed home with the family and watched television.
Tuesday January 22, 1952
Picked up a fine looking guy from La Puente tonight. Name is George Barlow, 24 years old, single, blonde, & good looking. Anyway in the dark he is. He says he’s coming over some Sat. or Sun. but I am not trembling in anticipation over it because you really can’t depend on pick-ups. Ten to one I’ll never see him again.
Wednesday January 23, 1952
Betty Jo came over for a while tonight. Am I ever dead sick, I feel like I’m beat down and trampled and I’m sick in bed right now. I wish I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow but I would be losing a whole $9.00 or so. I have lots of Scotch in me, which should help, so I am not missing out on work if I can possibly help it.
Sunday January 27, 1952
Man, was I ever sick tonight but I went out with Sandy Sweet, Betty Jo & Dannie. We went to The Hat and fooled around. Dannie said “Are we friends now Vilma?”, and I says “Weren’t we always?” and he starts laughing and he says he was bullheaded anyway and said he was sorry for the way he was acting. He said if he was a girl there’d sure be some hair pulling at times with me and our little disputes. I still don’t like him, but I tolerate him the best I can. I guess I get a big kick out of him.
The Jerk of '52
Dannie, Betty Jo’s semi-married boyfriend, was a real pill, a jerk, a bad boy. One of those guys who has a loudmouth with cocky attitude that would make James Dean proud. Just the type of guy Vilma despises alright. And just the type that Betty Jo loves.
One redeeming quality that Dannie had going for him, was that he did not abandon Betty Jo when she became pregnant. Back then men like Dannie were still morally held accountable, and they were expected to marry the girl. There was a good reason for this of course, it was common knowledge that the ancient institution of marriage was the best place to give this child a chance. Betty Jo and Dannie will eventually get married in these less than ideal circumstances, but based on Dannie's past and their already rocky relationship, this may not turn out like a fairy tale.
The contrast between Betty Jo is that of Vilma’s determination to save herself until marriage. She was in a much better position to choose her mate wisely since her thoughts were always future minded: “Is this man marriage material and is he worthy of me? If no, he would be tossed into the wind to blow away like a withering leaf.
"We must not forget that only when love between human beings is put to the test can its true value be seen." -Saint Pope John Paul II
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