Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1914-02-10

tousled-and his hands and face are uanswer
able testimony TO the fact that the rising genera
ton occasionally gets back to Mother Earth even
in the private city streets. pessimsts to the con
trary, Notwithstanding He has been having ~
great time. ST. Valentines night is almost al
much fun as Halloween Valentines? Sure. hesI
been giving valentines-but they aren't exactly
the kind Sister Lu or even little Jane received.
He's presented the Acknowledged Celestial down
at the with most touching reminder OF
how he looks when he irons shlrt-Tnd he's had
a thrilling, hair-breadth escape from the aforesaid
washee-washee. who couldn't see 1t as a Joke at
all Pshaw, a Chinanan could run anyway!
Then there was cid Peanut Carlse who kept the
fruit stand on the opposite corner. Poor. eS-
citable old Dago! II there hadn't have been quits
50 many little American devils in the gang he
might haES run one of them down and gotten his
revenge. But, if he did, what would become OF
his peanuts and his smooth, sleekly-polished ar
pies in the meantime. with all those other kths
pests swarming around and yelling like Comanchs
Indians?
And grandma and grandpa They sit quietly
by in their big armchairs and smile complacently
at the enthusiasm of the youngsters In their
hearts memories OF other st, Valentines
eves-'way back in other days, in the dim and dis
tant past, when they both were young and the
fever of love beat strong in their breasts. There
valentines for them now, for they old
and gray and their course OF life is almost run
and, somehow, ST Valentines day is day for tbs
young. But walt What is that graadmas
lap, Can it be? Yes-it is-its q vaenSsneE
Grandpa has remembered 1t is not Of those
gaudly-panted modern ones OF elaborate ynanli-
facture; no, but oldfashioned one o. many
layers of carved and curlycued paper framing
a tiny picture OF the Madonna and bearing the
simple message BE my valentine IL is the
kind grandma knew and learned to love long
years ago when grandpa, then as flne a young
dandy was to be found in all the country
round came sparkling her She smiles happily
and mods across at the old man. who understands
all that she teels--and remembers
IN the morning the mall man comes Loaded
down with more valentines. Indeed, it seems just
like another Christmas to little Jane, when she
beholds his pouch full to OVERLOOKING But he
can't it in that light at all, or in any other
light except that he has been Juggling that blamed
old pouch for ten squares. leaving something st
almost every door. and the darned old thing is
heavier than when he first started ont With It.
Christmas Is bad enough and the people who
made these fool holiday stunts ought to be salts
fled with plagueing mail men once year; but
instead, they don't give him time to recover from
the Christmas avalanche OF mail before they jam
all this crazy Valentine foolishness down his
throat After that pouch has gotten to a
spectacle, convenient size-sO that it feels more
like mail pouch and less like ton OF coal
the mail man may appreciate the sentimental side
Of the day He may recall the flushed, eager
faces that fairly hurled themselves almost
through the door in their eager1ess to snatch tbs
mysterious letters from his hands He may
call his own boyhood when he himself both gave
and received valentines with childish glee ami
couldn't understand why in the world this OF
all mornings the mail man was so late. II so ms
smiles good naturedly and remembers that everf
task however onerous it may be has its
ward when viewed In the right light
Watch your newspapers on ST. Valentines daF
for one particular news item-eoping couples
who chose the day because it is especially Cupds-
Some years they many in number, and SONS
times but few and far between. But there Is al
ways a half-dozen at least Cupid sees TO that
himself And to the lovers themselves, II is
day OF all days. for each gives himself to the other
q really truly valentine for life