The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-02-05
THE GOOD SPORT
AND THE TITEWAD

The world looks at men and women
and appraises them at their face
value. 1t calls them good, bad or in-
different, wise or foolish, cowardly or
brave, good sports or titewads, as
they appear on the surface. This is
not so much the worlds lack of dis
cernment as its lack of time. 1t is
aware that beauty is only skin deep,
but it viii seldom take the trouble to
skin any body unless it thinks IL can
sell the hide at fair profit.
Once, in city not Thousand
X miles from Oca1a lived a man who
had the reputation of being good
sport. He was the son Of parents who
know how TO make money honorably
and spend it generously but with
discretion. When they went their way
across, they left him with .much of
their ability and generosity but not
so much of their discretion. They had
saved him the trouble of beginning
where they began~4he was nearer to
beginning where they left off. They
left him beside the above-named char
acteristics medium amount of mon
ey-not so much, because they want
ed to have good time while here
and had confidence in his ability to
make his own way For awhile, it
seemed they had been correct. He
had all his fathers talent for maxi
ing money but not so much of his
mothers for spending it sensibly. So
after the first months, after he had
entered fully into the swing of the
business and social world, he gen.
orally broke even, seldom lost and
only sometimes gained.
But owing to his manner of life, his
disposition and knowledge, this wor-
ried him not till toward the end, and
not so much then. He. was good
citizen, he married and settled down
and did his part and then some to-
ward the upbuilding of his town. He
was lavish to his family, generous to
his friends and kind to every one. He
never drove q close bargain and he
pardoned many a needy creditor. He
helped many friends thru tight
places, and set some entirely on their
feet. He aided the sports Of the sons
Of his friends, he helped them out In
baseball and football and any other
of their worthy ambitions. He bought
saltwater and icecrean and birthday
and Christmas presents for the
daughters of his friends, and took a
clean and honest pleasure in the sat
isfaction he gave them. He didn't be-
long to any church, for the simple
reason that he couldn't belong t.
them all, but he helped them all, and
he belonged to, every lodge in town.
His friends called him d good sport
not because he had any special ten
dency toward sports, but because he
was always cheerful and helpful and.
never complained.
Meantime the lines were drawing
closer. Engaged in half dozen kinds
of business, with himself as the only
central management, no one but
himself knew the real state of his af-
fairs. And he did not realize it fully.
For long time he helped one enter
others, and as long as there was
net profit or no great loss, he worried
not that one might be losing. In time
he unloaded some on men whom he
thought could make them go; some
times they did; if they didn't he took
them back, thereby enhancing his
reputation as a good sport. But the.
lines grew tighter, and he began to
borrow. 1t was easy, for he had loan
ed, and what was of more Importance
was believed to be financial colos-
sus. So he propped his failing for
tunes with loansh he borrowed and
reborrowed, he took up a note ut one
bank with money borrowed from an
other he paid one friend with an