Evening star., 1902-02-01
HAVE CHANGED

ssThis morning." said the man with the
square chin and with the package under
his arm, my youngest boy braced me for
q pair Of club skates. I'm taking 'em home
to him now. and tomorrow. Saturday, with
a sweater and a REFER Jacket, he'll spend
the whole day skating. The skates set me
back Just 1925. They're a nice-looking pair
of things. such as I never saw when was
a boy.
well. It's all right. I'm glad to get the
skates for the kid; glad to be in position
to get 'em for him, and nothing pIeases me
more'n to see my young ones have fun and
enjoy themselves. But things have chang
ed lot, haven't they? I got to thinking
today OF the laborious process by which
finally won out pair Of skates when !
was the age of that youngest boy of mine.
IT began to line up my game to cop out
that pair Of skates along In the fall, Just
about when the air was beginning to get
nippy. There were whole lot of young
'uns In my family, and I'd no more have
thought of asking my dad for the price OF
pair Of skates than Of asking him for
million dollars-and I'd have been just
about as likely to get 'em, for he was
throw away on such luxuries as skates.
Well, went around the neighborhood do
ing chores, with the idea Of getting pair
Of skates when skating weather set In.
and cut cords and cords of kindling wood.
and even cleaned chimneys to get together
the nickels toward the pair Of skates.
did these jobs on Saturdays when there
wasn't any school, and I won out an aver
age of about cents per chore.
Now, you remember the skates OF those
days, don't you?-those things that you
screwed into your heels and strapped up
two or three times across your feet? Well,
the pair that I had my eagle eye on cost
$1-50. and for weeks I used to go down to
the window where they were and gaze at
'em longingly every day. At length I got
the $1.50 together and went after those
skates, feeling like surfeited monarch as
I went. Well sir by that time the for
tunate youngsters already in possession OF
skates had been skating on good ice for
more'n three weeks, but no sooner came
into possession Of my pair of skates before
a measley thaw set in, and I had to wait
nearly two weeks before a freeze came
along and gave me chance to use 'em
when the freeze happened along I had
to go around among the boys + knew and
to have to bore holes in your heels for the
skate screws? I'll bet walked forty-nine
miles before I struck boy that'd lend me
his gimlet. Well, when 1 began to bore
holes in my heels with that gimlet, I found
that was up against it. I'd had the pair
Of shoes I was wearing for a long while
and the heels Of 'em were scandalously run
down. 1t didn't take me any time at all to
one of the skates I found that the skate
screw came right through the heel, and
that 1t was liable to drill hole about half
an inch deep in the bottom Of my foot
didn't have the price of another pair of
shoes with full-sized heels, of course and
mother pair of shoes wasn't exactly coming
to me yet from my folks, and there 1 was
tried to wheedle one of my older brothers
into letting me have his better pair of
shoes for skating purposes, but he couldn't
see 1t until 1 solemnly agreed to let him
use my skates half of the time in return
for the favor.
Then it was all right He let me have
his shoes, and I'd skate for while, until
he'd come along on the ice and nand me a
clout and throw me down ami take the
skates that I'd saved and paid for off nv
feet SOS he could skate himself, in accord
ance with the terms of our bargain And
didn't have any nice warm sweater nor any
REFER jacket to skate in, either And. as
i1k; as not, when was trying to sneak off
to the pond with my skates hid under nv
coat, my mother'd nail me before 1 made
the gate and make me put in ton O. coal
or saw cord of wood or take a pie or a
cake to her sisters, four miles away. or
something like that and until I'd done
these stunts I'd have no more chance to
skate than a snowbird.
Things certainly have changed up a
whole lot, haven't they. since those days?''