The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-07-19
FLITTINBY'S REFORM
CLEANS UP THE AccuMuLATiohs
OF YEARS.
Reaches the Mature Age When He
Throws Away Dead Matter n
Is Ready to Begin Life
Again.

II am beginning to throw away
things said Mr.. Flittinby; going
through my papers and things a
throwing things away.
II ind among them newspaper clip
pings about things that ! would never
have thought of again but for this
reminder, and some things l ave
forgotten SO completely that even the
sight of the clippings does not recall
to me why / cut them out and saved
them; so important, really, are many
of the things about which we bother
ourselves or which at some time we
found of interest.
There are letters from men long
since dead, and old bills that regal
forgotten periods of our life, that now
seem strange to us, we live so much
in the present. And why keep these
old receipts? The men that gave them
are dead now or moved away and
these accounts will never be sent in
again, and if they were they have
long since been outlawed by the lapse
of time. Throw them away.
Here are old birthday cards, with
pretty, with affectionate, with loving
greetings; bringing most pleasant
memories, though they do remind us
of the years that have gone since first
they came to us. And why should we
preserve them? We can remember,
, we can cherish those who sent them,
without them to remind us, and they
-,~,Il O,1p ha thnrn with tho old ma
, pers in the drawer. To the basket
gently with them.
"And here, as | live, are some old
valentines! Well, well. This does
make us young again. But dear, dear;
that was long ago. Why should we
keep them longer? To the basket,
I gently. We have the valentine her.
self nov.
There are so many things that we
put away to save, to treasure, life
seems to stretch interminably before
us when w are young, and we are
going to keep these things always
And it takes us, happily, a long, long
time to get to where we can see
the beginning of the end. Youth en-
velops us with a buoyancy and
strength that makes life seem a JOY
that is to 60 On forever, and in sturdy
middle age, indeed, we take little &C
count of the years, but then comes
a time when we begin to realize that
two and two make four and no more
Nov l have arrived at that time
of life when l begin to know. DOM
for heavens sake think that l am tax
ing a mournful view. Far from it.
Life never seemed to me so full
of joy as now. and I'm good for
good long stretch Of it yet, will
senses keen and understanding broad
ening, finding enjoyment in every
thing; and taking this broader view
of things, not occupied too much by
detail. this stored up accumulation o.
long gathering truck SEEM superflu
GUS and useless, and so I'm just goins
through it and throwing things away
"This lot that I've been goins
through to-day is just stuff that ha'
accumulated in the cubby holes in m,
desk; but I've got boxes and bundle!
of such stuff stored away, and
must get it out, a box or bundle a
a time and go through 1t, and throw
it away. For of what use will it eve,
be to anybody? What becomes o
this sort of stuff, anyway, when pee
ple-er-r-I mean why shouldn't
sort this stuff out 10Y myself, and no
leave it to cumber things up for some
body else to throw away?
There may be some things, to b.
sure, that I'll want to save, things tina
other people will want to keep, AM
these things l will save; but as t.
the bulk of this stuff, why, it's just 81
much hindering useless baggage, AM
this I'll throw away, and with tn
decks cleared start life anew"