The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-07-23
EUenine Chat
BY RUTH CAMERON.
NaSturtiunnS and

Nasturtiums and Handicaps.
When is a handicap not handi-
cap?
When it is imposed on someone
pIucky enough to make it into help.
Between two rows of nasturtium
paintings in my garden L set a row of
inverted flower pots to mark the di-
vision Two unfortunate seeds hap
pened 90 have strayed from the
straight row and came up under the
flower pots. What did they do when
they reached the surface of the earth
and found that they were still some
inches away from the open sunlight ?
Did they give up the struggle? No
On the contrary, they grew so much
faster than the other seeds that while
the open air nasturtiums were only
about two inches high, the two little
imprisoned plants, with only the raw
up the four or five inches to the open
ing and pushed their heads through,
thus apprising me of their imprisOn-
ment and winning their instant re-
lease. ri
Incidentally, although it is aside
from the moral of my tale, L must
record my admiration of their wisdom
in growing leaves small enough to
be pushed through the tiny opening.
while the other plants were sprouting
much bigger leaves. How wise nature
is, after all. Might we not be better
off if we trusted her more and tried to
improve on her less?
The other day L was visiting one of
the most wonderful institutions [
know, a world-famous home for the
education of the blind. The head of
the institution was telling me about
some of his notable people. One was
girl. who at the age of IA, had her
eyes put out by a boy who was shoot
ing rabbits. She was just entering
high school and was an Indifferent
student She went TO this institution,
learned 70 be blind Gas they say there)
and developed into an excellent stu
dent, especially in mathematics. Fur
thermOre she also developed a splen-
did pluck which made her willing to
go back among the seeing and COM
pete with them. She had lost two
years of high school, but despite the
handicap of blindness she did the
three years work in two and gradual
ed we'll up in her class.
That's what a handicap did to a
character with pluck enough to make
it into a stimulus.
Would DemOStheneS have been so
great an orator if he had not had a
handicap to spur him into efforts that
carried him on ana on TO shining
goal? Probably not
Nobody welcomes handicaps, but
many of us have one. sort or another
thrust upon us. Whether we accept
them as justifications for inferiority
or use them as a stimulus to make us
fight the harder shows the stuff of
which we are made.
Question: am going to announce
my enga gemcnt in a few days. My
fiance is willing to give me a diamond
ring, but we have not q. great deal of
money and / wish the 500 he would
spend could be put into the house fur
niSningS. / am afraid people will
think it's queer if 1 don't have a ring.
What would you o?-Fiancee.
Answered. try to have the cour-
age not to care what people thought
about something that was distinctly
my business. 1 know one woman who
has always regretted that she didn t
have that courage. Personally,
think the disprc portionate sums
young people spend on engagement
rings get them into the false and fool
ish habit of spending to impress rath-
or than to enjoy