The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1915-12-03
UNCLE ZEKE
On Declining or Refusing.

Have cigar Uncle, said Sam
Grifdiths as the two sat 10 the
Rooster club room discussing the
possibilities of better Meridian
and more aggressive citizenship, a
better county and better methods Of
reaching and serving its citizens.
Thank you sir Said Uncle Zeke
as he accepted the proffered smoke
II seldom refuse a good cigar or a
chew of Union label scrap might
say never do. 1t seems to be hu-
man nature, as Jim Turner says, to
refuse to accept many good things
in this life, but when it comes to
the vicetinctured, look out, A to-
bacco fiend always accepts
N''I'll have to differ with you.
Uncle, on your assertion that hu-
man nature is inclined to refuse to
accept many good things"
State your reasons, Mr.. Griffiths.
I'll give You the long end of the arg
ument II you can show me where
I'm barking up the wrong tree, as
Dad Finch sometimes says"
Well, I'm going to differ with
you on that assertion. Suppose DR..
Neal asks you to take an auto
ride. You jump right in and hike
10 the healthful haunts of country
life. Farmer Freem Eakins says:
Gentle .en, help yourselves to all the
fruit you want. Two stomachs, about
Ia pockets and the touring car have
all they can carry home. Rev Joel
Brown invites you for Sunday dinner
and You Overwork your mouth say
ing I'll be there Someone
invites you and your wife to a
social affair and you spend a week
cleaning your finger nails, scrub
bing your hands, creasing your pants
and brushing your Sunday coat and
society crayat. Seems to me your
assertion won't hold water, Uncle.
"Oh. yes it will. You seem to
have the wrong deh0rned calf by the
ear or else you are looking through
the little knot hole at this moment
GUS question. From the time we
are first required to take castor oil
and vermifuge we refuse many of
the really good things in life. The
barefoot boy kicks like a tangled
grasshpper when he has to wash
his feet, submit to having his ears
and neck scrubbed, or the tangles
cOmbed out of his hair. A young
man refuses an invitation to attend
the big Bible class and turns down
his mothers admonition to stay
away from the Sunday bali game.
He refuses to court and marry a
lively little lassie who will inherit
80 acres of Ada county farm
land and bale of beautiful green
backs, and goes daffy over some girl
with hobble skirt, blue hair and
nothing to inherit but a family dis
position to squander earnings and
patronize mail order houses. You
take 29 out of every 80 young ladies
you meet and they'll refuse to asso-
ciate with young man whose
hands display the eloquent embIems
of toll, and go wild over some dud-
ish limitations of man who wear
daddy-purchased blubdubbery and
don't know enough about the af-
fairs of life to earn living for
cock roach or tadpole. You take
the grown-ups-better class, for in
stance-and they'll refuse good
things right along. Ask Doc Rey-
nolds to preside at public meeting
and he'll decline till you coax him.
You go to Mr.. Sebern and insist that
he be candidate for county commits
sioner and no matter how anxious he
is he'll say: 1 can't run. You better
get stronger candidate" Good men
have been preaching ever since Adam
graduated from the high school of
Eden that it is better to have saw
ing account than a habit of throw
ing nickles into slot machines and"
The arrival of George Atwater on
the scene with hot air double head
er for a new plan for park
for everybody put an end to Uncle
Zeke's argument.