Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1908-01-22
"A PAIR OF SLEEVE
PROTECTORS
Tho Fat Mans Memory wso stirred


and | stood and laughed like a fool,
said the fat man with the white
woollen mittens. First time I'd seel
a pair of basket sleeve protectors fo
years-dont get to markets much
and so just had to laugh. Tell you
why When l was tyke ! used t.
look with wonder and awe upon fel
low who wore a 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 kind of jounty, devil
may-care air about EN- that l can't de
fine, but it was there, and l revered
and reyerenced 'em. | made up my
mind that if ever grew up and got
the price, me, too, for pair of those
basket sleeve protectors, no matter
what sort of work I'd happen to tackle
to make a living
Queer dickenses, boys, hey? Mem
Der those patent pencil attachments
that marketmen used to have-may
have EN- yet-hitched to their aprons?
Wei, ! thought those were pretty
nifty things, too, and | used to secret
ly banker to own one of 'em. Made
up my mind that | would own one Of
EN-, too, when / got to be man
but somehow or another l never
seemed to want one after | reached
the shaving age.
Guess some of my ambitions as
boy were pretty crazy, anyhow. was
so jealous of the first boy | ever met
that could spit through his teeth at
mark and hit it that hated him. That
same boy pretty early in life got
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
call EN-; things with a clutch at either
end that pulled the cuff of the sleeve
back from the wrist. This boys pair
and how he used to flaunt them before
my eyes,
"EIe 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 I
had to go to school and wasn't earn
ing anything there wasn't a possible
oho 70 not
like 'em-and so he just held EN- over
me and made my life miserable Yet
when l 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 a
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
lie didn't have to wear any overcoat.
That l considered was gorgeous
'lessing-not to have to wear an over
oat to school. / despised this boy
or having it on me that way. Any
low, his maroon colored Cardigan
acket had a couple of pockets in
ront that he kept full of all kinds of
he even carried mice
o school in 'em. And that made my
Indignation all the greater-the fact
hat he had those fine covered up
ockets to his Cardigan jacket.
zone great triumph did come to my
yke life, though, and that was the
act that l was the first boy Of my
chool to own pair of copper-toed
cots. Well, l sprang the first pair,
s l say, at my school, and l guess l
idn't break the hearts of all the
Their boys or nothin Besides the cop
err toes these boots had red tops,
18th a silver star and crescent
amped on the red tops, and that
lade the blow all the more frightful
, the other tads that had to see me
alking around in those boots. After
while, though, nearly all of the other
showed up with copper {
led boots and thus took the wind I
1T of my sails.
I'VE never see boys wearing peaked
Ups any more-notice? l don't mean
ese dinky little cloth caps with d
eaks to 'em, but regular soldiers
Fps, with glazed peaks. First boy
at turned up in our neighborhood
it'll one of those things on made a
nsation all right. This same boy had
It hold of a carpenters pencil some
here, and he'd stick that carpenters
'ncil underneath his forage cap, with
e sharpened end projecting in :
lightly blase way that certainly
used us to regard him as some pun
MS. was always crazy for car
nter's pencil when was a boy, but
never got hold Of one. Never did
We much luck when was a boy,
yhow, because my folks were too
AIMED respectable.
''As a matter of fact-you can be-
we it or not, but I'm telling you the
wouldn't let me at the age
ten apply for the job of brakeman
a passenger train. That, thought,
Is the finest job in the world
akeman on passenger train. Just
inging red lantern all the time