July 7, 1918 - Carrie Jacobs-Bond

Still grieving over the "loss" of her best friend, Dottie ("Mrs. Joseph L. Kernan") who recently married, Mary did not make a diary entry yesterday.  She at least had a phone conversation with Dottie today.

Most of today's diary entry is dedicated to her love, Frank, who sailed for France "a year ago yesterday".  She laments the fact that the last letter received from Frank was in January.  And she writes a poem which starts with "A year ago yesterday Frank started for the 'Flaming Ray'".

Her mention of Flaming Ray, mysterious in the context of 2018, certainly makes reference to the song, "A Perfect Day" by Carrie Jacobs-Bond.  Written in 1910, the song became an anthem of World War I.  Although written about a sunset during a trip to California, the words had meaning to the disruption of personal lives experienced at the time of the First World War.  "When the sun goes down with a flaming ray and dear friends have to part."

A segment about Carrie Jacobs-Bond was recorded in 2009 for NPR.
One of a few recorded versions of "A Perfect Day" can be found on YouTube, this one with Paul Robeson.