Arizona republican., 1892-01-15
FEEDING THE PAST.
The Hard Work That Father Timo Ha.
 to Do.

my long and varied intercourse with spooks and goblins and ghouls have found that when they cannot frighten me they usually take fright themselves. There is, after all, good deal of human nature about ghosts.
 He wore a long, white beard on his face and bore an old, sharp scythe on his shoulder. That was about all he had on. There was something familiar about his appearance, too, but have poor mem- ory for names and forget where have met folks. l could not classify him at first.
 Happy New Year." said l, by way of showing a friendly spirit and testing his attitude.
 Same to you," said he.
 He seemed to be well disposed.
 Haven't l met you somewhere be- fore:' l asked.
 shouldn't wonder. I've been going up and down this earth for good while. Once year l come around these parts and do business in small way. Maybe you've seen me now and then on New Years cards"
 "Ah," l exclaimed, ''are you the old gentleman that picks up the last figure of the dato line and goes hobbling off the edge of the card with it while little tot of a naked boy runs and puts new one in its placer
 "Tm that same old codger."
 "And your name;"
 "Time."
 "Sure enough, Father Time. ought to have known you at sight. I'm inti- mately acquainted with several mem- bers of your family. know Hi fust- rate"
 "Who:"
 "Hi-Hi Old Time, you know"
 "Ah, yes.'
 Well, We chatted on pleasantly enough until asked the old gentleman why he made it q point every year to come around and carry off the figures so that We had to set up new ones and spoil our letter heads until we became accustomed to the change.
 "I admit, said he, "there is a good deal of nonsense about it. l presume people would live as long and be IS happy if there were no such thing as a change of years. l suppose you don't care a snap whether this is 1889 or 1S9O and to tell you the honest truth I am convinced it is q very foolish thing to shift about so much, but must carry out my con- tract, and l expect to spring new year on the world every now and then as long as I live"
 "What contractF
 "Why, my resolution"
 "What resOlutiony
 Did you never hear of my resolution? Well, then, will tell you, and he leaned upon his scythe.
 "You see, you people make New Years resolutions, but they don't amount to anything. You swear off drinking and then get as full as ticks before night. You break off smoking and begin again before the week is out. You resolve to keep diaries, but you give up before January is gone. Now with me it is different. When make a resolution l stick to it. 4 long, long time ago l made a resolution that 1 would keep the past chock full of minutes and hours and days and years, and l have been tossing them in ever since. It keeps me pretty busy, and l don't mind cOnfding to you the fact that If I had it to do over again l wouldn't make such resolu- tion, but there is no help for it now, and I shall have to go on forever, suppose.
 Father Time gave his scythe a swish, and gathering up a handful of minutes flung them into the past and resumed:
 You have no idea how I have to hump to keep the past full. l no sooner drop year, or q month, or a week into it than I discover that there is room for more."
 "What becomes of all these years you feed to the past?" l asked,
 That's it; what becomes of them? If they did anybody the least good | shouldn't mind doing this work, but they don't; they are a dead waste. True, they feed and sustain the past, but what is the use of doing that2 If people knew enough to make use of the past and learn something from it there might be some excuse for maintaining it, but they don't, so all this work of mine is in vain"
 "Why don't you quit it? Why don't you let the past rip and turn your atten- ton to making more present. That is what we need. People would think a good deal more of you if you would quit carrying away the present and dumping it into the past"
 "So they would, and should like to accommodate them, but my pride keeps me at this work"
 "Pride?'
 "Yes; am probably the only person on earth who has consistently and un- falteringly fulfilled his New Years reso- lution, and l am proud of the distinction. But"-he lowered his voice and spoke earnestly to me-"if had it to do again should be very sure not to make New Years resolution"
 Then he left me to reflect upon what would better do in the way ot resolu- tions on this first day of the brand new year.-Detroit Free Press. -.-..s-----.s'