Washington, D.C. has always been described as a pretty dull place and the only ones who ever seem to feel differently must have had a good deal of experiences in far worse locations.
In this case, I am referring to Iowa and the war-torn portions of the South Pacific, which are the only two locals this YANK MAGAZINE reporter had ever called home; so he liked Washington just fine. The scribe in question, Merle Miller (1919 - 1986), does not ramble on about historic bone-yards or any other pedantic clap-trap, but rather presents useful information that a G.I. can apply to his life: "Of course, getting a fair date while you're in town is no problem. A Canadian newspaperman recently discovered that, judging from ration-book requests, there are 82,000 single girls of what he called the "right marrying age" of 20 to 24 in town, and only 26,000 men of the same age Therefore, he concluded, a girl has only about a 30-percent chance of getting a husband -- or, for that matter, a date"
The missing period at the close of the article, I assume, is due entirely to war-time shortages.
For further reading about Washigton, D.C. between the years 1941-1945 this native son highly recommends David Brinkley's book, Washington Goes to War . There is no better book on the subject.
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