Birth of 33

Clara had her ticket
She also had a rig
Because she was just startin
It wasn’t very big

She slowly tuned the crystal,
And watched the meter drop.
Then tapped the key a couple times
To be sure it wouldn’t stop.

Now everything was ready,
She called a short CQ
And received an answer
On thirty-six sixty -two.

They chewed the fat “bout stuff and things.
“bout dresses, work and dates.
They finally called it QRT
The girl sent eighty-eights.

Clara though it might be funny
Whether it be Miss or Mrs.
To end a perfect QSO
By sending “Love and Kisses”

It sounds too sentimental;
Just a little too much “goo”
To be sending “Love and Kisses”
to a girl the same as you.

For an entire week she pondered;
Wouldn’t even touch the rig.
She pushed her slide rule by the hour,
Employing “logs” and “trig”

She added and subtracted.
What could the answer be?
To reach a happy medium
Twixt eighty-eight and seventy-three.

Clara finally looked up from her work
All smiles and not forlorn.
Twas July in Nineteen Forty
That thirty-three was born.

There’s no real definition
But it’s meaning is known well.
It’s how a YL says good evening
To another friend YL.

Author Unknown.