Omaha daily bee., 1911-12-17
HUMAN NUTSANCES ABOUND
Ada Patterson Tells Us Of Some Com
mon Types.
BREEDERS OF MUCH SORROW
Varieties that Give Their victims
Definitely Located Pain and
How to Best Treat
Then.
BREEDERS OF MUCH SORROW
ny ADA PATTERSON.

ABA FANEEhAONs
OF all the human nuisancss who hav,
made life harder for US. we have no NOR,
poignant memory than that Of the in.
terrupter.
The man or woman, and IL is as OTTER
one as the other. who thinks what he OF
she thinks about q subject is SO much
more Important than what you are say.
ing about 1t, and who proves this by
cutting your speech in two. is the most
common type, Everyone has suffered
from this nuisance and everyone has al
some time felt an unholy impulse to kill
because Of the speech interrupter.
Another OF the species is the person
who calls at meal time and who have
breafasted, or dined, himself, sits at
table and watches you eat and even
amuses himself by comments upon your
appetite. II 1t Is robust, he implies his
greater refinement by telling you that
IT has always been quite impossible for
him to gorge. II your appetite is slight,
he trightens you by solemnly delivered
suggestion that you should lose no time
in seeing doctor. And, In any case, he
makes you self conscious. Eating is not
In itself a beautiful function. II is so
unpoetic as to have offended Byron, who
N~~~N@0-ANaNN
II We happen to sit opposite mirror
while refreshing your inner selves. we
are not moved to admiration by the
glimpses we catch OF ourselves in the
act Of munching. And we are never re-
assured by the presence Of an interested
spectator. He is likely to cause an acute
attack Of stage fright, ana he is sure
to rob us OF our appetites
There Is an informal interrupter who
comes In the back way, invading your
kitchen at the eleventh hour of the prep
aration Of a meal, or in the wringlng
out stage OF the family wash. She is
OF the same family as the guest who
p runs right in without knocking" But
the worst Of this maddening type is the
woman who visits you while you dress
Perhaps you are a business woman, and
make your plans for the day while you
brush and coil your hair, while you but
ton your shoes, and adapt your stays to
the days figure. The interrupter who sits
down, always In your way, is unwel.
come for one or both Of two reasons
Neither her chatter breaks your chain OF
thought, or her silences indicate that
she is making criticism OF your toilet or
yourself. Or, IL you are a home woman.
and are dressing TO go out, she makes
you miserable, too, If only, because
through her visit you are late for your
engagement, or she causes you to forget
some. essentials of the toilet. met a
friend entering a theater one night. Her
face was so pale I feared she would faint.
A beckoning gesture brought me to her
side.
II came in a hurry, and snatched off
my storm suit and got into these things.
We're going to supper after the play.
Mrs. Brown came in while I was Dress
ing. 1t always makes me nervous to have
a call while / am changing my dress and
7 forgot to take off my damp petticoat
I'm sure it's muddy. And anyway, I'm
certain the thing is coming off,"
The pretty little woman in the dainty
frock was on the verge OF hysteria.
Tears trembled in her eyes. Glancing at
the sharp-eyed sword-tongued Mrs
Brown. had no doubt she had noted the
oversight, and would inform the neigh
borhood that the woman she had inter-
rupted at her toilet was not as neat as
she invariably looked.
Even the hours of slumber are not Sc
cure against invasion. The interrupter
telephones after we have retired, or calls
before we have risen. Perhaps an indls-
tlnCl lIlIOTUlS US u HOTION. lOT
having disturbed our rest, but the sorrow
is not as sincere, or at least is not as
deep as it seems to us, the situation de-
mands.
The most tantsllzing interrupters are
those who talk while we work. They are,
perhaps, honest persons. At least, they
would not steal our pocketbooks. But
they have not the slightest compunction
about stealing our time and subtracting
from. the value of our work by prevent
ing complete concentration upon II.
And we all know the person who talks
while we read, or who chifrups while we
are writing letters Their voices seem to
come to us from the far distance, hut II
we do not reply at once. or II we reply
in a preoccupied way, the voice becomes
suddenly, sharply near.
There is no cure for the interrupter. He
belongs 10 the small class OF incurable
diseases. But he may be In a measure
checked. Give him a dose OF his own bit
ter medicine. Interrupt him. Nuisance
may curtail nuisance. Or let him know
that you consider the invasion Of personal
privacy a crime. Tell him that no one
has a right to interrupt any one, unless
that one be the one OF the three privileged
classes, bill collectors employers or ones
husband or wife.