The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-05-04
CHILD OF TO-DAY
SERIOUS MINDED
YOUNG PERSON
Scorns the Simple Games
Played By
Parents

THE child to today impre-ses ont
! as being a serious-minded young
person or if not of serious trent
of mind, at least not so easily amused
as the child who skipped to schoo
not many years ago.
And there was a time when little
children skipped gaily to school, al
though nowadays skipping seems tt
be lost art.
Recess owed its chief charm to the
fact that then one might interrupt
the tedium of books with a brieT
period of skipping to tide one over
until TIE noon hour when the pas.
time might be resumed for an entire
hour minus the few moments con-
sumed in eating lunch.
We only lived through the after
noon session of lessons hopefully be
cause it brought back the hour wher
We should be released from the weari
some task OF getting an education
and free again to resume the impor.
tant business of life-skipping.
One had to skip. 1t was in the
air. Not to skip when all the world
of childhood was skipping was quite
as impossible as TO be able to con
troll ones own breathing. Skipping
was the one important factor in lifei
all other things were incidentals.
But where are the shippers of yes
terday?
The spring returns, the season OF
the true shippers delight, but the
skippers-where are they?
Echo answers. "Where?'
Some of them have grown up ard
are ashamed TO skip any more. Some
of them are married and are watch,
ing hopefully this spring, as they die
last spring, for incipient signs of thif
weakness in their offspring.
If there Is anything In inheritance
some of the young children ought tt
give indications of possessing skip
ping spirit. But, alas! the child oil
this generation takes It's pleasure:
seriously.
James of today has his aeroplane
that is properly equipped with four
sylfabed names of real appliances;
Jimmie" of yesterday wanted notn
fng better than the leisure to skip
or the wood from which to fashion
pair of stills.
Jane of today feels her talking
dolls petticoat TO see IL the flounct
is real lace-where the reckless and
rosy little Jenny of yesterday ask
ed only the privilege OF being undis-
turbed in her. baking of mud piei
and clay ducks.
Skipping may be an affront to ones
intelligence, but it used to be a
prodigious amount of fun. Then to
be the hest skipper In school was
q distinction far surprising any class
honor that may be thrust upon the
student now.
What caused the decadence in skip
ping?
We left school early, before the
class fully digested the dative case;
when the mysteries of decimals in
arithmetic was small cloud on the
horizon But when We left, skipping
held its own as a manly art and a
womanly accomplishment.
There is but one fearful conclusion
that continues to thrust itself upon
us.
1t was something that the class
learned later that robbed our erst.
while companions Of the JOY OF skip
ping
Maybe it was a full knowledge OF
the work of the dative case that -un-
dermined this simple pleasure: maybe
it was something in decimals that
cast a blighting influence over the
spirit of youth.
Whatever it was triumphed. The
spirit Of skipping. once abroad in the
land, is dead.
Something learned In books shot 1t
through the heart.