The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-07-10
BROWNING THE WHEArs.
Skill Of the Griddle Man and Some
thing About the Small Boy Out
side Who Watches.

thing About the Small Boy Out
side Who Watches.
Griddle man cooking cakes on gas
griddle set Up in the restaurants win
dow; man in white jacket and white,
spread-top cooks cap.
Intent on mis- business. the cook
bending over the griddle and pouring
the batter out of plated metal pitch
Ell, says The New York Sun. An anna
teur could scarcely pour with the ac-
curacy Of results that he gets. An
amateur might pour too little, more
likely he would pour too much; but
the griddle man hits it just right.
You see him pour for a cake and
stop and tilt the pitcher up SO that
1t won't drip and you are sure he
hasn't poured enough, the spread Of
the batter on the griddle is 30 small;
but as he shifts now and begins pour
Ing the next cake, you see the batter
spread and keep on spreading until
1t has reached exactly the proper di-
mensions.
From the second cake. for which
despite what you've Just seen. you
think he hasn't poured enough either,
he shifts to pour the third; and then
you see the second cake spread out to
the full dimensions like the first, and
then you see the same thing precisely
happen In the case of the third and
then you see the three cakes cooking,
each one of full size. each one exactly
circular in its outline and all of exact
ly the same size--three perfect cakes.
So much for the skill of the expert
griddle man.
Outside Of this restaurant window
and about foot away from 1t runs
a heavy brass railing and against this
railing and looking In leans small
boy. Not poor, ragged boy, with a
thin. drawn, sorrowful face; he doesn't
look wistful; he Is just a healthy,
husky small boy. with doubtless what
most healthy boys do have, a good
appetite, and very likely at this mo-
ment hungry.
Here he stands, leaning up against
this brass railing, watching the grid
die man cook the cakes and holding
clasped against the railing In front
OF him-though OF this he Is Just now
quite forgetful--a little stick maybe a
foot long, a stick he has picked up
somewhere to have something TO car
ry In his hands.
He sees the griddle man calmly con-
templating the cakes and he sees him
turn them deftly. bringing the beauti-
ful Drowned under side of one after
another upward into view and turning
them SO skilfully that each cake finds
again with its batter side down pre-
cisely the place 1t held before and
without a spot of batter. Then he sees
the griddle man, always calm, turn
hall around and take In his left hand
plate from the top of pile that
stands at the end of the griddle, and
then after pause of just one mo-
ment to let them on their under side
get their final perfect brown, he sees
the griddle man start with his turner
TO take the cakes up
Now the small boy let's go of the
railing and straightens up-this is the
climax of the whole business-he
straightens up and throws that stick
up to his eye, holding 1t there with
both hands like a gun; and now the
griddle man thrusts the thin-b -bladed
long-handled turner under cake No. 1
and lifts 1t and tosses 1t to turn once
in the air and then TO fall neatly
caught on the plate; and
"Bing!" says the small boy, as cake
No. / comes down, and with gun held
steady. all ready.
"Bing!" he says again as cake No.
drops on No. /, and still all keyed
up.
"Bing!" he says again when the
third cake strikes. as II he was shoot
ing at SO many birds, birds that lie
would nightly like to land.
Then he leans over the railing again
and sees the griddle man como for
more cakes. All men have their hopes,
ambitions. longings and that sort OF
thing, what those are depending some
what on circulpstances and our time
OF life; probably the source OF delight
for this small boy would be found In
. plate Of those griddle cakes.