The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-01-02
AUNT BUSY Has HEB SAY.


Dear Nieces and Nephews: Of course the dear
girls and boys had merry time at Christmas and
Aunt Busy trusts the new year will be a banpv
one with Older people the new year always means
the making of many good resolutions and Aunt
Busy thinks the dear young people might do the
same. Ii the past months of the school year have
been wasted, if the attendance at Sunday school
and choir practice has not been regular if-oh
so many ifs, now is the time for the young folks
TO say, I'VE are going to work hard to make un
Tor what we have lost" and Aunt Busy is sure that
you will succeed. The dear little folk, who write
TO Aunt Busy have such innocent reforms to make
that to older eyes the resolutions seem amusing
but II you correct your little weaknesses now, in
the future years you will not be tired old and al
most discouraged from your failures and faults
because you weeded them out in the long-ago time
The old folks of today once had E1ong-ago" time
TOO, when their faults were Just small as yours
today but if they failed to correct even the small
ones then, they certainly paying the penalty
now. Of course Aunt Busy is preaching again.
but she does want her girls and boys to become
happy women and happy men. Do not wait from
year to year to start correcting your faults but be-
gin at once. Right here, Aunt Busy wants to tell
you about little girl she once knew. This dread
full child was very impertinent and disrespectful
to her teacher. No amount of punishment seemed
to improve her, until one day sweet good woman
whom this little girl liked very much spoke to her
about her fault pleaded with her until the little
last she had made an impression and finished with
"Now, dear, the year will soon be here Re
solve to change into polite, obedient little girl"
There was silence for moment and then this very
very bad little sinner. said "Well, it's three weeks
till New Years and I'll sass, sass sass her I'M
til then anyhow" Now many years have gone
since that naughty child was so wilful, and those
years have been spent by her in teaching many
girls and boys of a large school in New York City
Oh, the many times that the naughty children
have done just what their teacher did when she
naughty, too! Perhaps she is to blame may
be she is hasty, cross and impatient with the pu-
pills. if her disposition is the one of early years,
so remember little girls, little boys big girls big
boys, that the "Bogie" man is watching and you'd
best look out" Aunt Busy wants to plead with you
for the school teachers, the tired men and women
who are so underpaid, not to mention the thous-
ands of sisters and priests who caring for Gods
glory alone, get only their bare food and clothes
She wants to plead with her boys and girls for
those devoted men and women The least YOU can
give them is respect and obedience. Please try to
realize that money alone cannot pay for the nerve
strain, the tired brains and bodies of those teach
ers. If they take interest in your advancement,
money can never pay, but gratitude helps. Aunt
Busy does not believe that teachers perfect, in
deed no, but in general the pupils make" the
teacher 1ou young, gay, with hardly any
care your greatest worry being that you must
study, while the teachers have the remembrance of
years of past worry, often the dread of the future
when tired out they will be put aside for younger
modern instructors, often they have loved
ones depending them for daily bread, Aunt
Busy knows right now of brave teacher in this
city who is helping a brother in college, is watch
ing an invalid sister slowly but surely dying, but is
trying to look prosperous and happy as the other
teachers, who have far less care. Aunt Busy once
read letter to a pupil written by teacher, who
knew she was dying. For forty-one years she
taught in the public schools of large city. One
sentence that Aunt Busy will always remember
was E'In the dim distant future may some dear
girls gladden. your heart as you did mine" Aunt
Busy felt her eyes fill when she remembered the
bad, thoughtless conduct of her school girl days.
She particularly remembered her rudeness to one
teacher quiet patient sister, with sad tired beau
tiful brown eyes, one whose life was a daily mar
tyrdom from illness. Aunt Busy remembered the
times she refused to read in class, the times she
drew funny pictures, made funny remarks to make
others laugh wrote her cuffs to pass
around to other lazy girls and did many dreadful
things. for which she should have been whipped
with a strong trunk strap.
Just few words more and Aunt Busy is fin
ished She certainly has preached this time and
too much she fears but tonight she feels like 30"
in Louise Alcott's Little Women" Don't you re-
member where 80" would go into the attic. put
on a crazy looking cap, queer looking pen
in the air. put smudges of ink on her funny nose
and saw Genius Burns {" Well Aunt Busy felt
that way tonight If only one girl boy resolves
to treat teacher just little kinder, Aunt Busy
will be very happy. With her dear love and many
sincere wishes for happy. successful year, she
remains lovingly, your short, fat, funny old
AUNT BUSY.