The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-22
4 soME sMALL RoY ANBITIONs.
The M MANS MeuaSFy stlrrod by n Pair
OF sleeve tRseocGgEB.

OF sleeve PRSecCtOFB.
The other day. At q poultry market. 1
NaSN q chicken butcher wearing a pair OF
those basket sleeve protectors, and I stood
and laughed like n fool said the fat man
with tho white woOllen mitcens. First
time I'D sOen a pair OF basket sleSve pro-
tectors FOR years and yeArs-don't get 20
markets much--An0 30 I Just q TO laugh.
Tell you why. When 1 was a tyke 1 used
to look with wonder and awe upon a fellow
who wore a pair OF Daskst sleeve p~rotectOrs.
1 considered that a fellow with a pair OK
those things was all right all right and then
plus some more.
They had kind OF a jaunty. devil may
care air about 'em that 1 couldn't and ~
define. but IL was there. and 1 revered and
reverenced EN-. 1 made up my mind that
IL ever L grew up and got the price me
too for a pair Of those bssket sleeve gro
tectors. no matter what sort Of work I'D
happen to tackle to make a living.
Queer dickenses. boys. hsyI Member
those patent pencil attachments that mar
ketmen used TO have-may have EN- yet
hitched to their aprons? Well. 1 thought
those were pretty nifty things too, and 1
used to secretly banker TO own one OF EN-.
Made up my mind that l would wi one of
'em TOO when l got to be a man-buS
somehow o. another I never seemed to
want one after l reached the shaving age.
Guess some Of my ambitions as a boy
were pretty crazy anyhow. l wal 80
Jealous Of the first boy | eve met that
could spit through his teeth ut Il mark
and hit IL that l hated him. That same
boy pretty early in life got a job driving a
delivery wagon for a grocery. Well. pretty
soon after he got that job he was wearing
a pair OF those patent elastic shirt sleeve
supporters, OF holders. OF whatever you'd
call EN-; things with a clutch at either end
that pulled the cuff Of the sleeve back from
tho wrist. This boys pair Of those things
were OF pink elastic. and how he used to
iaunt them before my eyesl
"He knew blamed well that those pink
elastic sleeve supporters looked finer TO
me- than any Star of India OF Victoria Cross
could possibly look, and he knew beside
that because l had 20 go TO school and
wasn't earning anything there wasn't a
possible chance on earth Tor me 20 get a
mir like 'em--and so he Just held EN- over
me and made my life miserable. Yet when
( got to the wage earning | never
seerred 10 care at all for a pair Of pink
elastic sleeve supporters.
"Another boy that I hated had a ma
IOtU tANDiNA a. NAhhh J"SNNhs AhaG var
before the day of sweaters. This hated
boy wore the Cardigan Jacket beneath his
regular outer coat and 30 he didn't have to
wear anv overcoat. That l considered was
a gorgeous blessing not 70 have to wear
an overcoat TO school. INdespised this boy
for having it on me that way Anyhow,
his maroon ColOred Cardigan Jacket had a
couple If pockets in front that he kept full
~ all kinds Of nk-sometimes he even
carried mice to school in 'em. And that
nod, rnty inAi9pat1nO all the UrQafQr--NhR
fact that he had those two fine covered up
pockets to his Cardigan Jacket.
zone great triumph did come TO my tyke
life though, and hat was the fact that ] was
the first boy Of my school TO own a pair OF
copper toed boots. Well. I sprang the first
pair. as l say. at my school. and ] guess !
didn't break the hearts of all the other boys
or nOthin'. Resides the copper toes these
boots had red tops, with a silver star and
crescent stamped on the red tops, and that
made the blow all the more frightful to
the other tais that had to see me stalking
around in those boots. After n while.
though, nearly all of the other youngsters
showed up with copper toed boots and thus
took the wind out Of my sails.
ave never see boys wearing peaked
CABS any more-notiCe? | don't mean
these dinky little cloth caps with peaks
to EN-. but regular soldiers caps. with
glazed peaks. First boy that turned up
in our neighborhood with one of those
things on made a sensation all right. This
same boy had got hold OF a carpenters
mcneil somewhere, and he'd stick that
~carpentar's pencil underneath his forage
cap. with the sharpened end projecting
in a mighty blase way that certainly caused
us TO regard him as some punkins. / was
always crazy for a carpenters pencil when
was a hoy. but l never got hold Of one.
Never did ave much luck when 1 was a
hoy. anyhow. because my folks we're too
blamed respectable.
As a matter Of fact-yOu can believe
il or not. but I'm telling you the truth
they wouldn't let me AT the age Of ten
apply for the job 81 brakeman on a pas
sangpr train. That. I thought. was the
finest Job in the worid-brakeman on n
passenger train. just swinging a red
lantern all the time and wearing a peaked
cup mostly on the left ear and the peak
pushed back 40 az to show an oiled bang
Dlastered down, and sitting on a wood box
in the smoker talkinG to fellers. and carry
ing q pair Of red flags around everywhere.
and all that. But the main appeal OF the
brakeman's job was the red lanterns.
"Oh. we'll. that pair Of basket sleeve
prote ctors that I saw at the poultry market
tho other day certainly carried me back
> long ways, and | was still laughing like a
fool whom a~trOIlpd aWay.'