The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-02-22
GETTING MA away
BY BARBARA cooPER-cUsHMAN
(Copyright.l

NOpSli6uto
When we finally decided to 60 to !
Chicago to live. Nettie said: well,
we must take the canary and the cof- |,
fee-urn, and-ma." Ma just put her !
hand up to her face, so-a way she has
and smiled. She said nothing. That
usually means considerable anxiety
for the family. 1t certainly did this
time.
Pa went first. a week or two ahead,
then ma was to 60 to finish settling.
and Nettie and I-Nettie is twenty-five
and l am only nineteen-were to fol-
low two weeks later. The main thing
was to get ma of.
Everything went beautifully as far
% we were concerned. Nettie left the
offlce-Nettie works; she's very clev-
er; l just help ma keep house-well,
a. l said. Nettie left the Office for
whole morning to get ma q through
ticket and check her baggage, and we
both saw her aboard the express for
Chicago.
Truly, we nearly missed the train
even then, because ma had packed her
best bonnet. We hunted high and
low for 1t till nearly train time. Then
Nettie finally concocted some sort of
an affair out of . piece of Grape that
no one had packed because we didn't
think It good enough.
Well, l think l told you before, We
saw ma off, Grape bonnet and all.
Then Nettie sent q telegram to pa in
Chicago, saying:
Ma left on the noon train. Meet her
tomorrow. NETTlE.
! Nettie and | were pretty busy that
afternoon and evening. Several people
came in, and there were a dozen and
one things to be done about the house.
So that night Nettie and slept the
sleep OF the just We thought we knew
where ma was.
Next day Nettie went to the office
a. usual and was busy sorting out
the papers in my desk when I saw a
telegraph boy mount our steps and
ring the bell. Maybe I didn't hurry
then! Just snatched the telegram
from that boy and tore 1t open. This
10 what ! read:
Noon train is in from New York. Where
10 Ma. IA
ut was signed pa"
Nettie came along tho street Just
here. and rushed to her like maniac
waving the paper at her and shouting
In high key:
"Pa wants to know where's ma"
Nettie stared at me In dumb amaze.
ment. Then light came. ana with 1t
revelation.
"Pat, she has stopped on at i
delphia," declared Nettie solemnly.
forgot to tell you that mas father,
Grandpa Klein, lives In Philadelphia,
and her brother and youngest sister,
Well, when We got ma placed In
Philadelphia, mentally. we felt better.
However. Nettie telegraphed back to
pa to ease his mind:
Ma left Tuesday. Probably stopped
Philadelphia. Where Is ma? -
That last sentence she just put In
for sarcasm, but at the end OF q week
II had come to be SO well known at
the telegraph office near our home
that the operator thought that 1t was
some sort of signal or code phrase
She used to try different ways of spell
ing 1t to see IL it mattered. Once she
had 1t, where is maw?" Another
time. where's MAJ" Sometimes she
nut an exclamation point after It;
sometimes a question mark. Once she
iust had. "W's M" but We knew wha'
It meant.
Our telegram became such q daily
affair that 1t was like the newspaper
or the milk. Every night We had
telegram for dinner. In the meantime
where was ma?
OF course. We found out afterward
Indeed, while we were fussing In New
York, ma Was taking her ease and
lovely vacation In Philadelphia
Il On the arrival of the New York
Chicago train at Philadelphia. no on
| was visible to meet her. 30 ma wen
to the ticket ONCE. got her ticket vail
dated, or extended. or whatever II I
that postpones the trip from one trail
TO another. and then found that sh