South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-04-24
Seeing America
First
By Fred Kelly.

/ Out or Diary INTO Here.
| one of the unfortunate circum-
stances of this life is the undue inn
/ portance of little things You get
/ everything nicely arranged and then
some minor detail goes awry and
| muses. up everything else. Suppose,
| for example, one starts on a long
/ journey, and ones p2iamas-
| But let US not anticipate.
| Here is what happened When l
/ was about to start across our highly
/ interesting continent, there were two
| important purchases that at once oc-
/ Cured to me, TO wit: Railroad
/ tickets and pajamas-Only in reverse
order. Now. as a general proposition,
L do not make the item of pajamas a
paramount issue. But with the
thought of a procession Of nights on
q Pullman sleeper, it seemed to me
that L owed it to myself not to try 70
minimize the mOmentOusness of a
vital detail. In ones own home. ones
pajamas are, of course, largely a per-
sOnal matter. As l look at il, the
man who stays at home, is entitled to
have all the simplicity in nightwear
that he may desire. But living In a
sleeping car is something else again.
one must contribute his mite toward
the scenic environment
So l set out for the marts in search
of something especially attractive and
mOdish in pajamas. L had not been
TO more than five or six stores before
1 found a bright young clerk who
seemed 10 catch the carnival spirit of
my wishes. He was an earnest young
clerk who gave fox trOt lessons by
night and sold pajamas by day. and
one could tell at glance that he, if
any one, would be in touch with the
very late
He tapped me on the chest conf
dentially with his index finger and
promised to show me something that
was exactly what he himself wore in
his hours Of slumber. Thus treasured
and placed at my ease, / soon found
myself gazing at a dazzling outfit
with broad pink stripes and mother
OF pearl buttons. They were wonder
full. / explained to him that 1 want
ed at least two pair, and we then took
up the question Of a suitable color TO
supplement the pink. / personally
leaned toward a rObin-egg blue that
my young friend had taken from his
files, but 1 could see that his iudg-
ment lay in favor of a plain, light.
purple garment with white silk fast
enlnSs It was indeed a regal looking
OUTFIT that ! carried from the store.
and i was flushed with a sense of tri-
umph as 1 fastened homeward TO
place the bundle Of treasure in the
little old alligator satchel
The approach Of darkness on the
first night OF our journey meant more
TO me than it ever had before. Soon
l should be in intimate association
with the grandeur Of my recent pur-
chaSes. AbstraCtedly I looked out of
the window at the hills beyond. Any
one might have guessed that I was
studying the scene. but L was trying
10 determine whether to select the
pink outfit or the purple
An how slowly the hours passed 1
between darkness and bedtimet AT
last however. I found myself i'm low /
er with the pink stripes clutched to +
my bosom. We were alone. my new /
paJamas and /. How bright and love
" they We're. ] painted TO get into /
them.
But strangely enough 1 had feel /
ing Ihat. having got into them. L I
should feel little if any desire TO /
parade the narrow sleeping car aisle I
1 ala not wish TO subject them To the /
rude, unfeeling comments of the
chance acquaintance. Then and there
/ made covenant with myself that /
none should see how attractively we /
assimllated-my pajamaS and IL
none except just me and the stars
that peeked in now and then through
the half raised curtain.
How needless the covenant How
little / knew what was i'm storei
Tlmld!y / let myself into them. And .
they were too small. They did not
hL They Gid not n-hi-hi-hi-hihi-it
me at alll
And IL would be several days before
/ should be near a store where I .
could buy others
l redressed and went 10 the smok-
ing compartment where I picked out
a tall gaunt stranger who seemed 10
Doe about my own size and engaged 4
him in conversation. Ii was two
hours before I felt as If i knew nim
well enough 60 lay before him my sad /
part of it-and make 10