Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-13
AFTER THE VACATION

eff there's fun in going away In the sum-
mer," said the complaisant-looking tanned
man, there's just as much fun In coming
! home again-if not more. The chief ele-
ment of enjoyment in the going away bust
| ness, anyhow. is the anticipation of the
| fun you're going to have. l can't say that
| I've ever had quite so much fun on a sum-
| mer trip as I thought l was going to
| have before starting out Yet, every year
as the time approaches for me to go OF
somewhere or other with my wife for a
| month"; 1 become more or less internally
hilarious over the thought of all the good
things we're going to see and hear. and
I'm impatient for the starting day to come
around. l should be inclined to say that
the pleasure OF anticipation is the one that
| becomes the least blurred as we grow older
But, about the coming back home.
Along toward the last week Of my vaca-
ton. when I'm sort of getting tired OF
strange things and people, the idea OF
getting back home contains just much
pleasure in the thought as the idea of 60
ing away had ever held. And then, would
you believe it, we become positively rest
less for the arrival of the day we have
set to make the start for home When
| the day is pretty close at hand. none of
the ordinary pleasures of the resort were
visiting have any further attraction for
all Our one idea is to get back. and we
impatiently await the starting back.
NOW, we started back from the seashore
last Sunday morning. l wasn't due to go
to my office for several days, but 1 made
up my mind that it wouldn't be such a
poor idea to take the rest of my leave. the
few remaining days. in lounging around my
own home in Washington.
Got into Washington about 3 o'clock in
the afternoon. and-wel1, dunno. the
quiet-looking old avenue looked mighty
good to the both of us as we rode up on
the street car. Same old familiar shop
signs. same familiar open spaces and mon
uments, same familiar tones of the news
boys, same old northumberland If l
don't believe Mr.. Dooley is right in saying
that we were never meant to travel, but to
stay right along in the one place that we've
become used to and that has become dear
to us.
Il had the key of the front door and the
vestibule door all ready when we reached
the house-and maybe the little old house,
sitting back there in the shade, dignified
and contented sort of, as 1t struck me-
ahd little bit above us wanderers in that
it didn't care to go running about the
worId-maybe it didn't look good for sore
eyes!
And it was even better to get inside the
house. and see the same old friendly pic
lures on the walls, the articles of furniture
that seem to be almost a part OF US IN
their accustomed places, and everything
neat, and tidy, and trig; just as we had
respect, with several rooms that we MAD
inhabited since leaving Washington.
while l was looking around my wife was
next door interviewing the grocerywoman.
Mighty handy, that grOcerywoman, eSpe-
cially when. we come back from our summer
trips She lets US have anything we want,
although it's Sunday. and we've a great
habit of coming home on Sundays. BY the
time l was getting into my comfortable
old home-lounging clothes l smelt some
thing being broiled. and l went downstairs
to the kitchen to look things over. My wife
was experimenting the fixing up of
steak, with some fried potatoes and sliced
tomatoes and coffee-good enough food for
anybody, I'm telling you, after you've en-
dured the varied and somewhat mysterious
eating mixtures at summer hotels. My
wife was having actual fun in preparing
the little dinner herself, and when 1 sug
gested that I'd run around to the alley to
let our maid know that we were back and
to notify her to come around, my wife
said no, she'd attend to things herself for
that day, and it would do to have the maid
make her appearance In the morning.
Never had a dinner, anywhere on the globe
taste so absolutely dead swell as that din
ner tasted.
After dinner, went upstairs to the sit
ting room. got out my favorite pipe, that
had dried out beautifully during my
months absence. and enjoyed the first
smoke L had had in thirty days Oh yes.
T had smoked about fourteen cigars a day
during the trip, but / don't call that smok-
ing, and anyhow, most of the cirgars we're
rank-Summer-reSort cigars are always
rank. And those vacation smokes, any
how, weren't the real thing. because I had
to take them with all of my dressed up
clothes on, on verandas and porches and in
hotel exchanges. and all that sort of thing
talking to people in whom l had no earthly
interest, but toward whom l. of course had
to be polte-l don't call smokes, taken I'M
der such circumstances. real, sure-enough
smokes.
Had a couple of those glorious pipes
and then my wife came upstairs and said
My dear. | guess you'd better run up
and get Jack
Jacks the dog. you know We had him
boarding out with a dog man about cou-
pie of squares away during our absence
Went over to the dog mans place helter-
SHELTER as soon as my wife suggested it
got a mighty soft spot for that dog my
self-and when l got within hundred feet
OF the dog mans place | saw Jack snooz-
ing on the steps. l gave him the whistle
that he knows 50 well, and he was up on
his feet like flash, and rubbering to see
where the sound had come from that he
hadn't heard in a whole month. Then he
caught sight of me and, man. it was over
the fence like dog able to jump over the
moon for that Jack of mine, and paving
me over, and whimpering in his delight
ana then grabbing hold of my trousers TO
pull me down to the home so that he couId
see my wife, too. Had him down there in
JlIy, ana he spent a good twenty min
uteS making over my Wife-and so there
we We're, the whole family reunited and
complete Home in business again Word
sent to the iceman and milkman that We
were back, and all that And when we
turned in we could look around and saw TO
each other. Well, here we are and its all
ours. and paid for" I'd rather come home
any time than go away"