Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28
THE SAME OLD FOURTH

The boy with the firecrackers is about
the same now as : he was when 1 was
tad, remarked the reminiscential man with
the ample waistband who now has brood
Of his own. 81 sort O. studied my kids with
their hrecrackers last year. and, on the
whole, they performed Just about the same
old stunts that US youngsters used to way
back yonder there IN the mists of cherished
years The only difference seems to be
that nowadays the young 'uns have more
hrecrackers to shoot off than us boys used
to have. Oneepackage of firecrackers was
a whole lot q fireworks for one boy On a
Fourth of July in my day, and there were
two or three Independence days that can
remember when one pack had to do for the
Wnoie FAMILY of u.s. and there were sure a
neap o boys in our family. Nowadays.
When firecrackers are cheaper, or folks
better OF, and boys are no longer regarded
as mere superf1uous lumber numbering the
eafth, anyhow the kids manage to get hold
OF enough crackers to keep the game a.
going pretty much all Fourth of July from
daylight until last call at night. They
don't have to save 'em up like we used to.
II was a regular thing in my day for the
shreWd klos to pinch out about half of their
nrecrackers SOS they could fire 'em off at
nlgnt after all the rest of the boys had
shot theirs, and how the provident young
uns mat executed this stunt used to be
$1,000 ny lHe improvement ones. - Je ever
see three children in a family get an apple
each ana then watch one of 'em sneakily
hoiding his apple ont until the other two
haa eaten theirs, and then see him produce
MS ana Jeeringly eat 1t before them and
gl9at over the fact that the apples of the
otner Two were all gone? Well, that S
ABOUT the way it was with the firecrackers
Inc queer old fiction still holds in the
that Sc OF the youngsters of today. I notice
that the green and the yaller crackers that
are 10 be found with each pack make a
louder noise than the common, ordinary
i ,, ones Just for curiosity. I'd like to
MY" wnefe that idea ever originated.
boy who will hold a firecrac ker In his
nand-an ordinary red one, I mean-while
1t goes off. and get away with the stunt
Wlthout damaging himself any. wouldn't
link OF holding one. of the green or yaller
ones That way. He'd be afraid that the
Wnole arm would be blown off of him SO
vast Is his faith in the two oddly-colored
noise makers.
oon believe the young 'uns of TODAY
are so strong Ia the matter of shootine
their crackers off under tin mans as u,e
USED 10 be-. ] can remember that nv good
mother used to have to hide her best dish
pan pan on the night before the Fourth, for
rear that US young rufffans 'ud swine II
and carry it off to the vacant lot to Shoot
hrecrackers off under
notice that the kids don't get burnt
up on Fourth of July quite SO much as we
:. seu ~: Wed never quite feel like calling
,Ju
oldn burn black hole or so in our hands
OF races. and the tad that had the largest
nuhber OF holes burned in his clothes was
. .I upon as the real thing. We used to
Link IL was really comca too to sneak
up oehlhd nice little girls, wearing stifiv
starCned holiday dresses, and throw fire
crackers on EN-, SOS we could have the
ecstacy or seeing their clothes burn but
tha. game Doesn't appear to make much of
MT win the youngsters of today
i observe that the dogs are lust about
as crafty nowadays on the Fourth of july
as they used to be. Very few of 'em now
adaVs nave got frame houses to crawl
under on ther Fourth, like the dogs used to
nave When l was young. but for all that I
notlce that, the wise dogs have got a
shreWd little habit of keeping under cover,
somewhere or another on Independence
DAYS Dogs know boys, all right whatever
else they know, and they're not taking any
chances.
It's about the same old gloom after a
tourth of July for the youngsters nova
daYs as it used to be. and on the morning
after the Fourth Of July you'll still see EN-
proWiing around on the sidewalks picking
up the dead ones that they fired off on
The night before. on the chance that they
might get hold of one or two that didn't
explode. ! never see a boy doing that that
L don't think, of how US kids on the day
after the circus had left town. used to go
out to the lot where the tent had been
pitched and race around the deserted and
broken-up ring and dream of the after
years when we. too, 'ud wear spangled
tights and things, ..,..ar :.