Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-23
SPIRIT .SPR|NGT|ME
Business Man Yields to Call of
Budding Nature.
NO TIME FOR DULL WORK
Office Routine Irksome When Birds
Are Singing.
VISIONS OF BOYHOOD DAYS
The Creek and the Old Swimming
Hole Loom Up Again Through
the Vista Of Years.
NO TIME FOR DULL WORK
VISIONS OF B0YHo0D DAY!

The man leaned back in his desk chair.
with his fingers interlaced back Of his head.
He gazed vacantly at the fresh, new-look-
Ing sunlight bathing the walls of the build
ings over the way. The office windows
were open, and great twittering of spar
rows proceeded from somewhere Little
gusty, warm zephyrs crept occasionally
through the open windows. The mans
desk was heaped up with work. But he
wasn't working. He wasn't even pretend
ing to work. and he yawned a good deal.
When he took occasional furtive glimpses
OF the stack Of work on his desk, he turned
from it with aversion
"Yo-hum-hum" he yawned, making a
prodigious chasm in his face and almost
dislocating his jaw. Work. work, work.
Good notion to flag 1t. What's the use of
working. anyhow? Listen to those birds.
They're not working They're just fool
ing around. having fun. Dog-gone the
work Sure Is a balmy day. Look at that
sky. Nary cloud. And as blue as-blue
as as tuo OF that bluing I used to see in
the Kitchen at home on wash day.
Gee! II I was back at that age, /
wouldn't be sitting here trying to make up
my mind to go to work. Not at this time
OF the year l wouldn't-just now, when
everything's starting: when the fuzzy-wuz-
zy stun Is on the trees, and all that.
Lilacs Nearly Due.
''Ho-hum! Greatest time of the year,
Fellow oughtnt to be asked to work at
this season. Pretty nigh time for the lilacs.
Vince! lilacs for mineI Like to roll in
'em. Like to just bunk off in lilac blos-
SONS Like the purple Ones too. They're
more lilacky than the white lilacs. Must
tell my wife to have purple lilacs all over
the house when they come in this year.
saw some pansies sticking out their sassy
little old faces in the park bed this morn
Ing. Been sleeping all winter, and now
they're getting chesty and showing them
selves. Wonder when those little yellow
name Of 'em-wonder when they show up?
Pretty near due now. Whole row Of those
little yellow flower bushes on that terrace
on Massachusetts, avenue between 14th AMI
10Th streets, and I must stroll I'D there
and have a peek at them when they como
out. They sure do illuminate the scenery
up that way.
'He-hoI HerringM be running soon now,
bones. but I'd like to be out in the coun-
try somewhere right nowl Tired Of these
old brick walls and concrete pavements.
Tired of four-fushtng around at this work
ing myself Remember a line of verse I
read somewhere: I want to hear the wild
stream sing Me, too That's what do
want to hear the wild stream sing. Streams
dio piSlty CIuIIupy anu dt CQlS
time Of the year. They chatter and chatter
all the way down the mountains and
through the level lands to the sea-got q
lot to say. because the long freeze is over,
lively and chatty. Certainly would like to
hear one Of 'em converse right this after
noon. Would like to be sitting on the
bank Of crick-oh, know it's creek but
used to in the old days-well, ia like to be
sitting on the bank of a crick. just covered
all over with this sunlight, listening to the
babbe- babble-babble of the water over the
stones, and thinking about nothing at all.
Don't want to think about anything. Just
want to sit in the sunlight by crick, lis
tening and listening, and letting the crick
do all the talking.
Poetic Thoughts.
1.-THE robins and the bluejays can answer
the crick back If they want to. Guess that's
miserable fun. hey. sitting beside a crick,
listening to the crick and the robins and
the bluejays talking 1t overI Yo-huml
Robins pretending that they've got a whole
lot Of work to do, getting ready for the
long summer, but they're only pretending,
at that never noticed that they did a
thing but bust their little threats telling
all hands how much fun 1t is to just be
alive and nuttering around in the sun
light. Hee-hum, What's that other line
of verse that's struggling to reach the tin
OF my tongue? Oh, 1 rememberl Low
laughing water and murmuring tree
Dainty idea, that. Must have been an ap-
preciative cuss that doped that line out.
Wonder how the dickens just happened
to remember 1t again? .Low-laughing wa
ter and murmuring tree hey? That's me,
again. I'd like to know what all that's
got to do with that Internal mess of fool
papers piled up on my desk that's what I'd
like to know. Blame the papers Good
notion not to touch one Of 'em.
"Arbutus, arbutus. There I go again!
To- 11,. @l,ok
into my mind? Association of ideas, 1
s'pose. Arbutus-well, we'll Seems many
year since went out into the woods, this
time OF year, gathering arbutus. I'D start
Bet could find an armful of 1t. Went
arbutus gathering once with the wife when
I was counting her. By jinks. but wasn't
I the spoony duffer that day! Sure did
make heap of love to her. And 1t was all
right at that. Not going to feel ashamed
of 1t. That's what we're young for, to be
spoony and make love, and all that. We
sure do dry up with the years. though.
Kind O forget about such things. Too
busy. Rank mistake, at that. Not half
enough sentiment in the world as it is
What dismal curmudgeons we do become
for fact! Blame my eyes, If don't feel
sort O. spoony toward that wife-girl right
now, dad-binged If I don't! She certainly
is a sticker-been mighty good to me all
these years, and come to think Of it I've
been too busy to make over her much
lately. Got to remember to do that here
after. Women sort of like to have a Teller
remember things. If it wasn't for that
burned mess Of papers to be fixed up there
I'd hop right up to the house, this minute
and suggest to her that We trot out into
the country and gather some arbutus
Wouldn't that tickle her, though.
And dogwood. Wonder If dogwood's
ready yet? Can remember her in the old
days with her arms full of dogwood and
but no, I guess dogwood comes along in
April or Mayhem so long since I had
chance to fiz-gig around in the woods that
I've kind O. forgotten the dates for these
things.
Jack roses-unl-but they can't be due
for some time yet. Remember there used
to be coon boys on the streets around here
selling armfuls of those deep red jack
roses and the corners were SO fragrant
with them that it was fun just to pass by
and catch a Whit. Haven't seen jack roses
on the streets of late years. Wonder why2
Maybe I haven't been looking-been so
busy. Must make a note of 1t to have jack
roses spraddled all over our dump this
year when they show up in the market
The Fishing Fever.
"Ffshin' That's what 1 want to do-go