The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1908-01-31
A PAIR OF SLEEVE
Protectors
The Fat Mans Memory Was Stirred

anu StoOu duu lduSneu ike a 1901,
said the fat man with the white
woollen mittens. First time I'd seen
pair of basket sleeve protectors for
years-dont get to markets much
and so just had to laugh. Tell you
why When / was a tyke ! used to
look with wonder and awe upon fell
low who wore a pair of basket sleeve
protectors. | considered that fell
low with pair of those things was
all right all right. and then plus some
more.
They had kind of a jounty, devil
may-care air about 'em that can't de-
fine, but it was there, and | revered
and reverenced 'em. made up my
mind that if ever l grew up and got
the price, me, too, for a pair of those
basket sleeve protectors, no matter
what sort OF work I'd happen to tackle
to make iiivng.
Queer dickenses, boys, hey? Mem
Der those patent pencil attachments
that marketmen used to have-may
have EN- yet-hitched to their aprons?
Well, | thought those ware pretty
nifty things, too, and | used to secret
ly banker to own one of EN-. Made
up my mind that | would own one of
'em. too, when I got to be man
but somehow or another l never
seemed to want one after l reached
the shaving age.
Guess some of my ambitions as
boy were pretty crazy, anyhow. was
so jealous of the first boy l ever met
that could spit through his teeth at
a mark and hit ii that hated him. That
same boy pretty early in life got a
job driving a delivery wagon for
grocery Well, pretty soon after he
got that job he was wearing pair OF
those patent elastic shirt sleeve sup
call EN-; things with a clutch at either
end that pulled the cuff of the sleeve
back from the wrist This boys pair
of those things were of ping elastic,
and how he used to fiaunt them before
my eyes!
HE knew blamed well that those
ping elastic sleeve supporters looked
finer to me than any Star Of India
or Victoria Cross could possibly look,
and he knew, besides, that because |
had TO go to school and wasn't earn
ing anything there wasn't possible
chance on earth for me to get a pair
like 'em-and so he just held em over
me and made my life miserable. Yet
when ] got to the wage earning age
! never seemed to care at all for
a pair of pink elastic sleeve support
erS.
Another boy that l hated had
maroon colored Cardigan jacket. That
was before the day of sweaters. This
hated boy wore the Cardigan jacket
beneath his regular outer coat and so
he didn't have to wear any overcoat.
That | considered was a gorgeous
5lessing-not to have to wear al over
coat TO school. | despised this boy
for having it on me that way. Any
how, his maroon colored Cardigan
Jacket had a couple of pockets in
front that he kept full of all kinds Of
junk-sometimes he even carried mice
to school in 'em And that made my
Indignation all the greater-the fact
that he had those fine covered up
pockets to his Cardigan jacket.
"One great triumph did come to my
tyke life, though and that was the
fact that was the first boy of my
boots. Well, | sprang the first pair,
as / say. at my school, and | guess /
didn't. break the hearts of all the
other boys or nothin'. Besides the cop
per 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 tads that had to see me
stalking around in those boots. After
a while, though, nearly all of the other
youngsters showed up with copper
toed boots and thus took the wind
out of my sails.
1--WE never see boys wearing peaked
caps any more-notice? | don't mean
these dinky little cloth caps with
peaks to 'em, 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 pencil some.
where and he'd stick that carpenter
pencil underneath his forage cap, with
the sharpened end projecting in a
mighty blase way that certainly
caused us to regard him as some pun
kins. l was always crazy for a car
ptnters pencil when | was boy, but
i never got hold Of one. Never did
have much luck when / was boy
anyhow, because my folks were toe
blamed respectable.
"As a matter of fact-you can be
lieve ii or not, but I'm telling you the
truth-they wouldn't let me at the age
of ten apply for the job OF brakeman
on a passenger train. That, | thought
was the finest job In the world
brakeman on a passenger train. just
swinging a red lantern all the time
and wearing a peaked cap mostly on
the left ear and the peak pushed back
go as to show an oiled bang plastered