The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-02-05
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

Nobody knows what a kid will do. An
 exasperated father said: During the re- cent cold snap I let the water run. pre-
 ferring to pay the waterworks rather than
 plumber. The water was running fine
 when I left in the morning for my office,
 but on my return at night the pipes in the downstairs bathroom were frozen tight" |
 How did it happen?" I asked. Easy
 enough with a 1O-year-old kid in the
 house." he answered sadly. Ut all came
 about said he, from bit of my boast
 ing about my ability to skate on ice. a
 trick I learned during my school days
 in New England"
 found out that while his boy was
 an expert roller skater, he had never
 even seen pair of ice skates. So Christ i mas the father ordered a pair as a sur
 prise. They came. The boys prayer was
 that the lake on the golf links would freeze.
 At last patience and prayers gone, he
 set about to make a pond of his own.
 Into the bathroom he went and let an inch i of water freeze and spent the afternoon
 in trying to learn how to stand up on
 his ice skates. Boy-iike, he got tired and
 forgot to fix the drain so the water could
 run and the pipes froze
 This is why the boastful father had to set up until near midnight applying hot
 cloths to the pipes trying to get the water | to flow. He is now ready to believe there
 is no devilment 10-year-old boy cannot
 think out.
 froze hard enough for men to skate on it
 and there were skating parties. I have seen the ice on 1t thick enough to hold adventurous boys on several different oc- casions.
 | Why is it boy likes for it to snow? l The little furry of it the other night put | joy into many boyish heart and great was the disappointment of two I hap | pen to know when they awoke and found ! that the ground was not covered. 
 There are number of good sledding hills around Birmingham. The Twentieth street hill and what Is known to auto mobilists as ''the dip at Mountain Ter race are the favorites, while the Country club grounds afford some long coasts.
 
 l I lived once neighbor to J. A. Van | Hoose. I'll never forget how. when a big snow came, he quit business and put 1 in the day at the top of Twentieth street hill sending down happy sledding par ties. He is fond of children and they, of course, love him.
 l I remember on several occasions where we have had good sleighing right here in Birmingham. What is more musical than the jingle of bells on a moonlit night? Wheat greater joy than to slide over the roads while by your side sits seem to cover lot of happiness. Do you remember that cold spell nearly a score of years ago that did so much damage and caused even the old-timers to do bit of lying about what happened in the forties.
 We'll, was living in Georgia. I awoke early. I knew something had happened out of the ordinary, but didn't know just what it was. I was unmarried and lived on the second floor of frame house, and attributed the cold to its being Izt--- lated. I hurriedly got into my clothes and looking out of the window saw the deep est snow I had ever seen in the south. The hotel was next door. I went to break fast and found the regular boarders and a few transients huddled around the fire. couldn't get warm on both sides. There wasn't furnace heated home or build ing in the town.
 Someone suggested rabbit hunt I was eager and soon crowd of us were tramping through the snow. Over hills and valleys we went, spending the en- tire day in the open. The exercise, and particularly when chasing a rabbit, kept us warm.
 I'll never forget the starved condition of the birds. The cold lasted quite awhile. I found doves too weak to fly. saw coveys of cartridges dead for lack of food. The telltale tracks to the waters edge and back again told the tragedy of their bird life.
 I met a little boy the other afternoon 1 coming from school. He was sobbing as only child in distress can sob. The crying of a boy or girl always has upset
 me- What's the matter. little man?" ! said I. I'm cold" said he. ''Well. run
 home just as fast as you can, said I.
 "and you'll get warm" And off he went as fast as his stubby little legs would
 carry him.
 l How my heart went out to the brave l and sturdy boys who carried The Age Herald during the recent cold snap to
 your doors They are fine lot of young
 sters. Most of them are high school lads | They have got an ambition or they
 wouldn't stick to their jobs in all kinds of weather