Charlevoix county herald., 1908-02-08
Pro PRe1 T SIEI't
Tho Fat Mans Memory Wa. Stirred

| pair OIL thoSo basket sleeve projectors.
and l stood snd laughed ike a fool"
said the fat man with the white
woollen mittens. First time I'd seen
pair OF basket sleeve protectors for
years-don't get to markets much
and so just had to laugh. Tell you
why. When l was tykc used to
look with wonder and awe upon n fell
low who wore IA pair of basket sleeve
! protectors. l considered that a fel-
low with pair of those things was
| all right all right, and then plus some
more.
"They had n kind of jounty, devil
may-care air about 'em that can't de.
line, but it was there, and revered
and reverenced 'em. | made up my
mind that if ever | 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 q living.
Queer dickenses, boys, hey? Mem.
her those patent pencil attachments
that marketmen used to have--may
have 'em yet-hitched to their aprons?
Well, | thought those were pretty
nifty things, too, and ] used TO secret
| ~ banker to own one OF 'em. Made
up my mind that would own one OF
, 'em, too. when / got to be a man
but somehow or another l never
seemed to want one after l reached
the shaving age.
Guess some of my ambitions as q
boy were pretty craN, anyhow. was
so jealous Of the first boy / ever met
that could spit through his teeth ut
mark and hit it that 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 sup.
porters, or holders. or whatever you'd
cal; en-; things with 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 flaunt them before
my eyes.
He knew blamed well that those
q
finer 10 me than any Star of India
or Victoria Cross could possibly look.
and he knew, besides, that because |
had to 90 to school and wasn't earn
ing anything there wasn't possible
chance on earth for me 10 get pair
like 'em-and so Ire just held 'em over
me and made my life miserable. Yet
4 TO. 1it,gr
never seemed to care at all for
a pair of pink elastic sleeve support
ers.
Another boy that | 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 gorgeous
blessing--not to have TO wear an over
coat TO school l despised this boy
for having it on me that way. Any
how, his maroon colored Cardigan
jacket had couple of pockets in
front that he kept full OF, all kinds OF
! junk sometimes he even carried mice
to school in EN-, 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
school to own n pair OF copper-toed
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 q silver star and crescent
stamped on the red tops. and that
made the blow all the more friehtful
to the other tads that had TO see me
stalking around in those boots. After
while, though. nearly all of the other
Youngsters showed up with copper
toed boots and thus took the wind
out Of my sails.
I'VE never see boys wearing peaked
CAPS any more-notice? ! don't mean
these dlnky 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
sensation all right This same boy had
got hold of carpenters pencil some
where. and he'd stick that carpenters
pencil underneath his forage Cup, with
the sharpened end projecting in a
! mighty blase way that certainly
caused us TO regard him as some pun
kins. was always crazy for a car
I penters pencil when | was boy, but
| never got hold Of one. Never did
have much luck when | was boy,
/ anyhow. because my folks were too
blamed respectable.
"As matter of fact--you can be-
! lieve il or not, but I'm telling you the
! truth-thev wouldn't let me at the age