Sun, Nov 14, 1943: across the waters

"Ruby and Homer had a letter from Jack last week and he was at his place of embarkation. Suppose by now he is rolling across the waters."
 -- Letter from my grandmother, Bloomington, Kans., to my father, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Sunday, November 14, 1943.  Jack Seal was one of my father's neighbors and best childhood friends.  He was the only child of Ruby and Homer Seal, who ran the town store.  Unlike my father who entered an officer training program allowing him to remain stateside, Jack was sent overseas soon after entering the army.